review Sparrow Road

review Sparrow Road Sheila OConnor Ý 9 read Sparrow Road characters ↠ 9 It's the summer before seventh grade and twelve year old Raine O'Rourke's mother suddenly takes a job hours from home at mysterious Sparrow Road a creepy dilapidated mansion that houses an eccentric group of artists As Raine tries to ma. I wish I could give this book a blizzard of starsIf there is one book you read this summer This is it This is the book that made me fall in love with reading again 12 year old Raine has an unexpected summer that at first she resists and as she transforms and the people she meets transforms it changes her life foreverI read this coming of age book every free chance I got over two days It is so beautifully written like riding a slow golden wave that builds and builds and covers all in its beauty to rest finally at a peaceful shore O Connor creates such an amazing scene and set of so many characters with such sparse poetic prose It s written in the first person which I usually don t enjoy but this is written so elegantly it FEELS like third person as we see and feel how all the characters are thru Raine s eyes and heart It s a book about searching for something you don t know It s about love hope redemption getting left behind and doing the leaving yourself when ready I cried many times reading this book I flipped back to pages to re read the scenes that painted my heart with wonder and feeling Don t miss out on this book I can t wait to read of O Connor s books

review Sparrow Road Sheila OConnor Ý 9 read Sparrow Road characters ↠ 9 Ke sense of her new surroundings she forges friendships with a cast of uirky characters including the outrageous and funky Josie Together Raine and Josie decide to solve the mysteries of Sparrow Road from its haunting history as an orph. When I saw that Sheila O Connor was a professor at Hamline University where Gary Schmidt and Anne Ursu work I wondered if she would have strong characters like they do in their middle grade and young adult novels She does It is the main strength in this novel along with beautiful writing The emotional arc of twelve year old Raine and the character development of secondary characters kept me going in this book The plot was predictable and the action minimal but the subplot had surprises and the ending was strong Much of the tension is centered on adult issues and this will appeal to students who like realistic fiction that tug at emotions The messages of missing people addiction abandonment artistic creations and dealing with conflict between adults make for good discussionsRaine has come to Sparrow Road an artists retreat with her mother for two months in the summer Here mother is going to cook for the artists working on projects Raine dreads coming and is mad at her mother for uprooting her from Milwaukee where they live with Grandpa Mac When Viktor owner of Sparrow Road picks them up and explains the Silence Rule no talking during the day so artists can work Raine has a fit Her mother didn t tell her about that ridiculous rule Her mother has been secretive since they left and it fuels Raine s anger On the first day her mother goes to town with Viktor and when Raine begs to go along her mother says No telling her to lock herself in the cottage Raine is a teenager and in the middle of nowhere and I thought this didn t seem very normal not to mention not bringing Raine into town When Raine s mom tells her to stay by the cottage so she can see her I did some head scratching but eventually the plot unfolds and Mom s actions become clear As Raine settles into life in the big house she makes friends with the artists all interesting characters in their own right Suddenly Josie marched into the kitchen her long sure steps reminding me of the cowboys in the westerns Grandpa watchedLillian is not uite right in the head even those she s sweeter than ice cream and the wise Diego is comic relief The subplot where Raine starts to write and comes up with an imaginary friend based on an orphan Lyman Chase who drew a picture is an interesting way to show her emotional arc of figuring out what is going on with the adults around her as well as show the creative process At first she struggles to write until Diego gives her the prompt What was or what could be When her imaginary character Lyman develops a voice of his own I wondered if this is what it is like for writers creating characters in their storiesWhen they have an Art Extravaganza and Raine is terrified to read her piece out loud it made me think of fears of speaking in front of others and risks taken when doing anything public Doubts creep into the mind and terror can reach out like tendrils through the body wracking up visions of people laughing or looking stupid It is hard developing a thick skin and while nothing goes horribly wrong for Raine she still has to get over her fears and vulnerability by stepping in front of family and friends Blogging is that way for me I feel vulnerable because it is a public domain Am I learning and changing and getting better with analyzing books I hope so But I also know I have a lot of bad reviews Perhaps when I hit my 10000 hour mark that Malcolm Gladwell talks about in Outliers I will feel confident and not so self consciousThe plot is predictable which was probably okay because the mom seemed out of character in the beginning Once it appeared her mom knew Viktor I connected the dots as to what was going to happen next While this takes a bit of the tension out I didn t feel disappointed because the characters move the pace along and I anxiously anticipated what was going to happen next I credit O Connor s terrific writing to keep me going I am not a very patient reader and don t like this type of book as a matter of personal taste Another tweak I d make is I think that the book had too much of an adult focus versus a child focus Raine is dealing mainly with adult problems and there is no other kid that is her age to interact with in the storyline only an imaginary friend While she is surrounded by loving supportive adults I would have liked some other kidsThe character Lillian sounds like a teacher even though she has the beginning of dementia She talks about all children being brilliant and her love for her students is obvious She is a teacher who sees the potential in students and her voice seemed very authentic to me I wonder if the author taught young students before becoming a university professor The emotional arc of Raine is well written with nice depth as she deals with not growing up with a dad and having empathy for the orphans who once lived at Sparrow Road Diego gives Raine some good advice when it comes to writing Just pick a piece closest to your heart That s all art really is Your feelings sent out to someone else When Raine says she wants her piece to be really good sounds like a clear case of writer s block Diego responds Good will goof you up from the beginning Art just has to be Dream your dreams Trust the words that come Good advice wouldn t you say Close Up and Personal Spotlight #1 professor at Hamline University where Gary Schmidt and Anne Ursu work I wondered if she would have strong characters like they do in their middle grade and young adult novels She does It is the main strength in this novel along with beautiful writing The emotional arc of twelve year old Raine and the character development of secondary characters kept me going in this book The Merlin and Other Poems plot was History of William Marshal Vol III predictable and the action minimal but the subplot had surprises and the ending was strong Much of the tension is centered on adult issues and this will appeal to students who like realistic fiction that tug at emotions The messages of missing Denial andDeception An Insider's View of the CIA people addiction abandonment artistic creations and dealing with conflict between adults make for good discussionsRaine has come to Sparrow Road an artists retreat with her mother for two months in the summer Here mother is going to cook for the artists working on Pegging the Boy Next Door First Time Anal projects Raine dreads coming and is mad at her mother for uprooting her from Milwaukee where they live with Grandpa Mac When Viktor owner of Sparrow Road History of William Marshal Vol II picks them up and explains the Silence Rule no talking during the day so artists can work Raine has a fit Her mother didn t tell her about that ridiculous rule Her mother has been secretive since they left and it fuels Raine s anger On the first day her mother goes to town with Viktor and when Raine begs to go along her mother says No telling her to lock herself in the cottage Raine is a teenager and in the middle of nowhere and I thought this didn t seem very normal not to mention not bringing Raine into town When Raine s mom tells her to stay by the cottage so she can see her I did some head scratching but eventually the The Day the Numbers Disappeared plot unfolds and Mom s actions become clear As Raine settles into life in the big house she makes friends with the artists all interesting characters in their own right Suddenly Josie marched into the kitchen her long sure steps reminding me of the cowboys in the westerns Grandpa watchedLillian is not uite right in the head even those she s sweeter than ice cream and the wise Diego is comic relief The subplot where Raine starts to write and comes up with an imaginary friend based on an orphan Lyman Chase who drew a CROCK POT RECIPES My BEST Slow Cooker Recipe Cookbook Chicken Beef Pork and Lamb Lunches and Dinners for Your Crockpot GOLDEN RECIPE COLLECTION picture is an interesting way to show her emotional arc of figuring out what is going on with the adults around her as well as show the creative The Black Death, The Great Mortality of 1348-1350: A Brief History with Documents (Bedford Cultural Editions) process At first she struggles to write until Diego gives her the Survive DinotopiaR piece out loud it made me think of fears of speaking in front of others and risks taken when doing anything A literatura e o leitor public Doubts creep into the mind and terror can reach out like tendrils through the body wracking up visions of Slavery Part 2 people laughing or looking stupid It is hard developing a thick skin and while nothing goes horribly wrong for Raine she still has to get over her fears and vulnerability by stepping in front of family and friends Blogging is that way for me I feel vulnerable because it is a 1000 paper cuts public domain Am I learning and changing and getting better with analyzing books I hope so But I also know I have a lot of bad reviews Perhaps when I hit my 10000 hour mark that Malcolm Gladwell talks about in Outliers I will feel confident and not so self consciousThe Wiradjuri Spirit Man Art Australia Book plot is Kinky Hardcore Slaves predictable which was Heathers the Musical probably okay because the mom seemed out of character in the beginning Once it appeared her mom knew Viktor I connected the dots as to what was going to happen next While this takes a bit of the tension out I didn t feel disappointed because the characters move the Developing a Series pace along and I anxiously anticipated what was going to happen next I credit O Connor s terrific writing to keep me going I am not a very Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome personal taste Another tweak I d make is I think that the book had too much of an adult focus versus a child focus Raine is dealing mainly with adult Women in uniform 1939-1945 problems and there is no other kid that is her age to interact with in the storyline only an imaginary friend While she is surrounded by loving supportive adults I would have liked some other kidsThe character Lillian sounds like a teacher even though she has the beginning of dementia She talks about all children being brilliant and her love for her students is obvious She is a teacher who sees the Growing Up Again Life Love and Oh Yeah Diabetes potential in students and her voice seemed very authentic to me I wonder if the author taught young students before becoming a university The Time of the Eye professor The emotional arc of Raine is well written with nice depth as she deals with not growing up with a dad and having empathy for the orphans who once lived at Sparrow Road Diego gives Raine some good advice when it comes to writing Just Performing the Curatorial pick a How Far Will You Go for the Ring? piece closest to your heart That s all art really is Your feelings sent out to someone else When Raine says she wants her Race from A to Z piece to be really good sounds like a clear case of writer s block Diego responds Good will goof you up from the beginning Art just has to be Dream your dreams Trust the words that come Good advice wouldn t you say

Sheila OConnor Ý 9 read

review Sparrow Road Sheila OConnor Ý 9 read Sparrow Road characters ↠ 9 Anage to the secrets of its silent brooding owner Viktor But it's an unexpected secret from Raine's own life that changes her forever An affecting and beautifully written story of family and forgiveness Sparrow Road is an incredible gif. It really is a beautiful book The writing is beautiful the setting is the best the characters are pitch perfect I never wanted it to endThe summary on the back of the book lied to me I thought I was getting into a spooky house mystery adventure thing But instead I got something better thisThis book probably deserves 5 stars But I jut wanted a few things to happen and they never did so I knocked one offI wanted Eleanor to play a better role Her final scene about dreams and stuff was nice but I was thinking along the lines of a huge emotional breakthrough where the reason for her crudeness is revealed and she becomes nice Instead I just got a sad little departure And yes I was sad for her to leaveLillian was great Her spot at the orphanage was never fully revealed but it was good enough When she said after the Art Extravaganza that she needed a nap I was POSITIVE she was going to die in her sleep POSITIVE It d be an ultimate climax for the endingI loved Josie The gap in her teeth really made her character come alive And Diego I thought Viktor would also have a bigger role but I didn t really care for his character so it s fine that he didn tThe part of the story with Gray was really touching and meaningful He never really got to full Dad status but I think he s getting thereI didn t want Raine to leave Sparrow Road Grandpa Mac should ve come live with them in the cottage That would have been the perfect endingI picked up this book because I was waiting for a better one to be available But I found a great book better than the one I was waiting for Highly recommendAlternate rating A

• Paperback
• 272
• Sparrow Road
• Sheila OConnor
• English
• 25 January 2019
• null