A careful handThursday, February 03, 2005
I compliment Mary Ann Rodman for the excellent job she has done writing Yankee Girl. I remember these turbulent years, and am impressed with the accuracy reflected in this author's work.
Moving from the North to the Deep South, Ms. Rodman's young protagonist, Alice, is not prepared for the conflicting experiences she must come to terms with.
Though her parent's beliefs are deeply ingrained in Alice, her actions do not always reflect them. While her parents face their own challenges, Alice yearns for social acceptance from her southern classmates.
Mixing subtle humor with deadly serious social circumstances requires a careful hand. Mary Ann Rodman has done a fine job accomplishing this goal. I believe that upon finishing this entertaining page-turner readers of any age will leave the world of Yankee Girl better equipped to deal with life's inequities and more willing to help resolve them fairly.
An excellent read with a timeless themeMonday, October 18, 2004
Mary Ann Rodman hasn't forgotten what it's like to be eleven, when the longing to fit in sometimes conflicts with doing the right thing. Her re-creation of childhood is timeless, although the setting of the fifties rings true in subtly-woven-in details that anyone who lived through the era will recognize but that younger readers will not find intrusive.
Rodman creates three-dimensional characters with realistic problems and personalities. There are no easy answers as Alice Moxley, the book's heroine, struggles with big issues like integration, smaller issues like finding a date for the Class Day party, irritation with her parents who are so caught up in their worries and stresses that they forget that sixth grade is just as stressful as adult life.
Young readers who have to walk the narrow line between doing the right thing and fitting in with their peers, whether the issue is integration or any other problem, will find much to relate to in Alice.
Highly recommended.
Historical PerspectiveWednesday, September 01, 2004
A serious yet humerous view of the deep South at the time of the Civil Rights movement, post Martin Luther King, desegregation and conflict. All is told from the perspective of an 11 year old girl named Alice. Very good reading.
Also Recommend reading No Greater Deception, A True Texas Story by Sydney Dotson
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An Important Book: YANKEE GIRL by Mary Ann RodmanSunday, March 21, 2004
Without flinching the author embeds the reader in her authentic portrayal of the plight of a Northern 11 year old suddenly finding herself ensconced in the deep South at the time of the Civil Rights movement. Alice, the all too human protagonist is caught in the customs of the locale where she desperately wants and needs friends, despite the negative of her concealed empathy for Valerie, upon whose shoulders has fallen the mantle of integration in Alice's new school.
Despite the heavy subject, the story sparkles and entertains with wry humor and attention to detail of the '70s through the human frailties of adults and classmates alike.
Alice learns by experience and practice what theory has provoked during those dangerous and unsettling times. The story is touching as Alice comes to terms with her own deficiencies and climaxes finally with her action.