Yesterday, I visited a seventh grade class about
four chapters into The Watsons Go to
Birmingham-1963. I wanted to see how they would respond to The Watsons. Would they laugh at Byron?
Situate the book in its historical context? Feel empathy for Joey & Kenny?
Before I could search for answers to my
questions, I noticed the teacher had an
8 1/2 X 11 sheet of paper on her door that said, “I’m reading…” just above a
picture of the cover of the book. Being
made aware of the teacher’s personal reading, reminded me that I used to use
this blog as a space to write about what I am reading.
So,
what am I reading now?
What’s
it about?
Delia the protagonist of What Flowers Remember watches as her
friend, Old Red, declines. With spunk and ingenuity, she tries to help Old Red hold
on to memories, people, and places that seem to be fading away. The short chapters are organized by the
months of the year, spanning about a two-year period. Rural experiences like
attending fairs, neighborhood church events, and engaging in horticulture are
depicted realistically.
The friendship between Old Red
and Delia is representative of cross-generational relationships that my
co-author of Young Adult Literature:
Exploration, Evaluation and Appreciation (3rd ed.) and I discuss
under contemporary realistic fiction. We write, “[For youth], it may be
difficult to think about what it is like to be a senior citizen. However, many
young adults do form very strong ties to older people, only to realize that,
just as there are challenges with growing up, there are challenges with growing
old” (p. 138-139). Delia certainly attempts to adjust to a newfound awareness
of aging.
*The book was sent to me, as books often are, but I was
not asked to review it, and I will never be compensated in any way for
mentioning it here. Like the teacher I visited yesterday, and most people who read a good book, it’s just natural
for me to want to share it with others.
