From Amazon.com: Giff (Lily s Crossing; All the Way Home) again introduces a carefully delineated and sympathetic heroine in this quiet contemporary novel. Artistically talented Hollis Woods, age 12, has made a habit of running away from foster homes, but she s found a place on Long Island where she wants to stay for a while. She immediately bonds with Josie, her new guardian, who is a slightly eccentric, retired art teacher. Yet Hollis is far from content. She worries about Josie s increasing forgetfulness, and she sorely misses her last foster family, the Regans, whom she left under tense circumstances that are only gradually made clear. Giff intersperses tender scenes demonstrating Hollis s growing affection for Josie with memories of the Regans, whose images Hollis preserves in her sketchbook. Pictures of motherly Izzy Regan, her architect husband and their mischievous yet compassionate son, Steven, sensitively express the young artist s conception of a perfect family. As readers become intimately acquainted with Hollis, they will come to understand her fears, regrets and longings, and will root for her as she pursues her dream of finding a home where she belongs.

Edit: Newbery Ring
spacedog
yokaye
Rosalinde
bookhunter21
tuff517

will read in the next week or so. thanks.

finished today. a bit too straightforward, but the format, alternating chapters of memory w/ ones set in the current time, helps keep one's interest.

SPOILER:
at first i thought maybe the son had died or been seriously injured. it would've been really fascinating to see the emotions of all the characters if the son had died and the family still decided to take her in.

will be sending out on monday.

Rec'd today as part of the newbery ring - thank you!

A quick, enjoyable read. I liked the flashbacks interspersed with the present-day story line, had it been written chronologically, there would have been no suspense at all. The descriptions of the pictures were so specific that I was half-expecting to see a sketch at the beginning of each chapter. ;-)

Will send to Rosalinde soon.

ETA: sent to Rosalinde 8-4-06

Received in the mail today. I read the back cover and wish this one was next on my list to read! Alas, I have 2 other Newberry books before this one. I'll get to this one soon.

E for excellent. Another one finished late at night. I thought I’d start it last night and then finish it tonight. But it kept drawing me in that I finished it all at once. This is the kind of story that I can relate to, at least for the artistic side of it. And also because my husband and I have been considering doing foster care.

Hollis seemed to want to find genuine people that would like her as is. Not the kind of people that didn’t take the time to really see or know her. Having an artistic spirit, she expressed herself best in drawings, not in words or actions. She was also very sensitive, which is probably why she had developed the prickly outer shell. Hollis is someone that I would love to know.

The story was told deftly, as if the author was also drawing you a picture. First showing the framework, adding shades of meaning, emphasizing certain parts and then revealing the whole scene. I wish more books were like this one!

Thanks for sharing. I’ll send this on to bookhunter soon.

Received Monday, August 21.

I agree "E for Excellent." This book affected me very deeply. I liked the format of the "picture" chapters and then the narrative. I thought it was interesting that Hollis found out it was not so easy to take care of someone who is not 100% happy with what you want them to do, even if you are doing what you think is best for them. I am glad Hollis found her "W" picture at last and found a place she could belong.

I will send this to tuff this week. Thanks so much for sharing this book!

Sent to Dixie today with Number the Stars. Thanks for sharing this book!

Back home, thanks!