  | Slip of a girl Author: Giff, Patricia Reilly | |
| Price: $6.50 | ||
Summary:
Set during the Irish Land Wars (1879-1882) this novel in verse follows Anna Mallon through a series of tragedies as her mother dies, older siblings immigrate to America, and she and her father and sister with special needs are about to be evicted from their farm.
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| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 3.30 Points: 2.0 Quiz: 505918 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (07/15/19)
School Library Journal (08/16/19)
Booklist (+) (08/01/19)
The Hornbook (00/01/20)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 08/01/2019 *Starred Review* Anna Mallon has seen the potato blight destroy her family's crop again and watched her brothers leave Ireland for America. Her mother grows weak and dies, while the English earl’s agents drive neighbors from their homes. Her sister Jane emigrates, leaving Anna, her little sister Nuala, and her father to carry on with little food and dwindling prospects. Though she wants nothing more than to remain in the home built “by Mallon hands / four hundred years ago,” Anna lashes out, throwing a rock at the earl’s house. With Nuala, she flees toward a distant town, where they find refuge. Although the family’s suffering recalls the plight of characters in Giff’s Nory Ryan’s Song (2000), who also endured the Great Hunger, this affecting novel ends differently, with an uprising against the English and Anna returning home to stay. An author’s note comments on the Land War. Written in free verse, the story moves quickly, but the clarity of the writing and the images created leave strong impressions of the characters and settings. The subtly shifting emotional tenor of the narrative ranges from pensive to sorrowful and from desperate to hopeful. At intervals, archival photos offer windows into the time and place. A vivid, involving historical novel. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 08/16/2019 Gr 5&8-In 1880's County Cork, Ireland, families are struggling to pay rent to new English landowners and are being evicted from homes that their families built generations ago. Anna, the middle sibling in a large family, must uphold her promise to her mother to protect their home and land. However, when the bailiff comes knocking and there's not enough money to pay rent, Anna runs. Giff draws on personal family history to tell Anna's painful and courageous story. Written in verse, this is a great introduction to Irish history and the genre of historical fiction. Primary source photographs and a glossary lend to the novel's authenticity. VERDICT This is a great selection for young fans of historical fiction who may not be ready for something weightier. A general purchase for public and school libraries that see a desire for historical fiction or address this period of history in class.-Maryjean Bakaletz, Hunterdon County Library, Flemington, NJ - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
