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Heartless Lyn @ Great Imaginations
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost"
Mini Book Review: The Lottery Rose by Irene Hunt
Review: Older middle grade books usually age quite quickly. While The Lottery Rose made some very excellent points, the story was straight-to-the-point and tended to overly generalize the "big mean world" of adults. Perhaps I was not the target audience for such a story. Hunt's writing reflects sharing the emotional upheaval of ostracized and severely abused pre-teen boys. That last line might have stood out as a little harsh and unfeeling, but boiling down a major issue in our schools and in our homes to just plain meanness doesn't educate the reader, but merely covers the facts with black-and-white coping mechanisms.
As I have found with older books, expect some pain and heartbreak when you read this story. It is not for the faint of heart. The era of the story also reflects a strong pro-Christian stance, so be prepared to guzzle down some of the God-juice.
I do appreciate that the main character, a boy named Georgie, interested in an atypical interest, gardening and flowers. Kudos for venturing off the gender-beatened path.
Overall, it was an interesting way to approach the subject of teacher-student bullying and child abuse, but the story could have attempted to dig deeper.
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