Items related to Poetry Girl
Growing up in New Zealand following World War II, twelve-year-old Natalia uses poetry to escape from her problems at home and at school
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
From School Library Journal:
Grade 6-8-- When 12-year-old Natalia is kept behind a year in school, she begins a cycle of failure which brings her to the brink of suicide. Her father sells their farm and tears her away from the safe life that she has always known. The next two years are a time of upheaval as the family moves into a temporary home, her discouraged father has a nervous breakdown, and a neighbor betrays her trust. She is happy when her father buys a new farm, even though it means that once again she'll be the oldest student in yet another school. Natalia increasingly takes refuge in the poetry she has memorized, escaping to the compelling cadence of "The Ancient Mariner" or the nonsense of Lewis Carroll, blocking out both reality and learning. When a sadistic teacher makes her the butt of his sarcasm, she contemplates just walking off into the bush and dying. However a kind word from her older brother and a glimpse into adulthood help her change her mind. The novel offers an insightful look into the ways in which failure can become a pattern. The New Zealand setting adds interest and the Briticisms should not distract from the theme, although some readers may not fully understand the school system and grade levels. Both Natalia and her distant, distracted mother are well developed, and the lack of sympathetic adults leads readers to share Natalia's sense of depression and doom; however, it also makes the ending both too abrupt and too pat. --Eleanor K. MacDonald, Beverly Hills Public Library
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Publishers Weekly:
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Natalia, 12-year-old daughter of a Russian emigre and a native New Zealander, offers a first-person recounting of the day-to-day events of two years in her life. She is a troubled, lonesome girl, who retreats into poetry when she feels overwhelmed by the harshness that surrounds her. Cruel teachers, sadistic schoolchildren, bickering parents, academic humiliations and betrayal at every turn are merely a few of Natalia's troubles. But while her story should read like a diary, Natalia does not evoke readers' sympathies. Her retreats into poetry are unconvincing, and her tragedies unending. Calling to mind--although not nearly as affecting as--Michelle Magorian's Coming Home , this writer seems unable to break away from a self-pitying tone, which even the unusual setting doesn't alleviate. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherHodder & Stoughton Ltd
- Publication date1984
- ISBN 10 0340338865
- ISBN 13 9780340338865
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages184
- Rating
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