Sebuah novel tentang 'beranjak dewasa' oleh Katherine Paterson (yang juga membuat, antara lain, Bridge to Terabithia) dan dialihbahasakan oleh penyair legendaris Sapardi Djoko Damono.

Saya sangat terkesan dengan versi film Terabithia, tapi karena belum baca novelnya, The Great Gilly Hopkins ini menjadi kali pertama saya membaca karya Mbak Katherine. Sesuai dugaan saya, langsung terasa cocok. Agak mengingatkan saya pada beberapa judul novel Judy Blume yang juga pernah diterbitkan di Indonesia: gambaran psikologi dan kehidupan keseharian anak pra-remaja denga nuansa kocak-getir-hangat yang pas.

Cerita ini tentang pengalaman Galadriel 'Gilly' Hopkins saat menjadi anak angkat seorang wanita hangat bernama Trotter + kakak angkat dari anak yang sangat pemalu, William Ernest. Gilly anak yang.... kepala batu, tidak sopan, hobi tawuran, egois, dan penuh amarah. Namun, saya suka dia. Saya suka proses pendewasaannya selama buku ini.

Teknik penulisannya bagus. Walau sudut pandang yang dipakai orang ketiga, tapi penggambaran suasana dan tokoh jelas disampaikan melalui 'bahasa' dan persepsi Gilly. Perlahan-lahan seiring berjalanya cerita, jenis kata sifat dan nada bercerita yang digunakan menjadi lebih halus dan menyenangkan. Dengan demikian, penulis dapat menggambarkan perubahan dalam diri Gilly secara implisit tanpa membatasi diri dalam sudut pandang orang pertama.

Ada sedikit ganjalan berupa gaya penerjemahan yang rasanya terlalu harfiah, terutama di bagian dialog (walau paling tidak, gaya Gilly yang ngomong-seenak-udel masih tersampaikan dengan kuat). Saya juga merasa ceritanya kurang panjang.... yah, ini bisa dianggap pujian, karena ini tandanya saya masih ingin menghabiskan lebih banyak waktu dengan tokoh-tokohnya.

Dari pengalaman saya berurusan dengan anak-anak bermasalah, saya mempelajari bahwa alih-alih 'anak baik' dan 'anak buruk', dikotomi yang lebih tepat adalah 'anak yang melakukan perbuatan baik' dan 'anak yang melakukan perbuatan buruk'. Yang kedua dapat berubah menjadi yang pertama berkat faktor lingkungan. Hal tersebut jelas tergambar sebagai tema buku ini. Pembaca mungkin akan jengkel melihat tingkah Gilly di puluhan halaman pertama, tapi lama-kelamaan akan terlihat kepribadian sebenarnya yang baik hati namun kesepian.

Buku yang sangat pas dibaca anak pra-remaja, maupun orang dewasa yang sedang berusaha mengingat kembali dan memahami psikologi anak seumuran itu.

2.5

I only finished it because it's short. I didn't really like the characters, plot, or writing. I'll probably still try the movie though.

The pain! Oh, the pain! I cannot begin to tell you how much this book hurts me. I just... can't even begin to understand why such a book was written in the first place. It's so depressing... and not in a good way! The message in the book is just so horrible to be given to children that I don't think any child should read this! This can literally break a child's spirit! That's how bad the message of this book is! I didn't enjoy this book at all!

Paterson's books, and I do mean all of them, are so depressing that I don't want to pick up another one ever again! They all have the same meaning of how life isn't fair, we have to deal with our problems, there's no such thing as happy endings, etc. I hate these books for being so pessimistic! Why must we think of life as "it sucks, deal with it"? It makes no sense to me. I don't like that message and I don't agree with it! The only good thing I can say about this book is the fact that Paterson's writing improved greatly! There are no longer chunks of the book that are missing. It's all there and you don't have to re-read anything. Thank God because I wouldn't want to read any parts of this book again!

I can appreciate wanting to write a story about foster care children and how it's rough on them but that doesn't mean you have to make it seem completely hopeless for them! Gilly, the main character, was a foster child that was taken from home to home and it effected her in such a way that she turned into a bratty girl who sweared, got into fights, was a racist, and a thief! Not to mention a big manipulator. These things don't bother me as much because in the novel, you see her grow into a better person. However, her ending was just horrible. I know not everything is suppose to have a happy ending but what kind of ending was that!? The message written there was nothing but pure hopelessness! How horrible it must be for children to read this and get that sense out of life!

I would have to say that I did enjoy some of the other characters. Trotter was Gilly's foster mother and she was so sweet and caring. She looked out for both Gilly and William Ernest. The only thing I hate about her was the fact Paterson used her to convey her "message." William Ernest was such a cute little boy! Very intelligent and I loved how he said "Pow!" all the time! Mr. Randolph: Adorable! Simply adorable! I could read to him all day! Miss Harris, her teacher, was fierce! Don't mess with her or she'll tear you a new one! XD The one character that I hated, other than Gilly at the beginning, was her mother, Courtney. It's because of her that Gilly turned out so messed up. She never cared for the child and that's why Gilly's life was torn in two. I feel sorry for the girl...

I suppose the book could be enjoyed by some... well, very few. It's just a horrible book, in all honesty. I don't like it. I'm not sure why things must be looked upon in such a negative light. I understand not everything is all sugar and rainbows... but there should have been another meaning in the book other than, "You ruined your life and there's nothing else you can do about it." I could have handle the sad ending a bit better if there was some positivity to it. But no. None whatsoever. I wanted to give this book a two star rating because I did enjoy some of the characters but I just cannot overlook the ending. Perhaps people who are more stone-stomach than I can handle this book. If not, then skip it. You are not missing out on much.

In realtà 4.5.

Dopo aver letto ed amato "Un ponte per Terabithia", non potevo non dare un'occasione anche a questo romanzo di Katherine Paterson.
La storia di Gilly Hopkins è particolare, profonda e soprattutto da comprendere. La nostra protagonista è un'orfana e passa da una famiglia ad un'altra con la stessa facilità con la quale si cambia i vestiti. Dice sempre che non le importa, che le piace cambiare, ma il suo disagio è palese a tutti.
Una bambina come Gilly ha semplicemente bisogno di attenzioni, di qualcuno che la ami, di smetterla di fantasticare che sua madre - quella vera, secondo lei - un giorno arrivi a salvarla dalle famiglie adottive.
I personaggi che incontrerà nel corso della storia sono quei tipici personaggi che possiamo solo amare. In particolare Trotter è davvero una persona meravigliosa, dolce e con una pazienza fuori dal comune. A volte cerco di pensare "Se fossi stata al posto di questo personaggio, cosa avrei fatto?" ed in questo caso non riesco a darmi una risposta. Non ho un cuore buono come il suo.
Lo stile di scrittura è fluido e scorrevole, in più il libro è abbastanza corto. Il risultato che si ottiene dalla combinazione di questi fattori è una perfetta storia per ragazzi da leggere nel corso di una giornata per ricordarsi che al mondo quello che conta non è il facile lieto fine, ma la lotta che si compie per arrivarci.

Did you ever wonder how it feels to live in a foster house?

The Great Gilly Hopkins is a book about a foster girl that is desperately looking for her mom. Purposely she has a bad attitude about the foster homes because she wants to be reunited with her mother. Gilly causes these foster families to dislike her so that her mother could, hopefully, one day, come pick her up and take her to her ‘real house’. Right away when Gilly is sent to her newest foster home with Trotter (a fat religious lady) she wants to leave. She dreams of her mom coming to take her out. Gilly is, most of the time, angry, mad and annoyed at having to take care of William Ernest (“a stupid annoying little kid”) and at having to show Mr.Randolph (“a blind black man”) the way around the house. Gilly plans to escape by stealing some money from Mr.Randolph and from Trotter’s house and taking the train to California where she believes her mother is. The plan doesn’t work out as she expects it to.

I really enjoyed reading the book. I was always very curious what was going to happen next because most of the chapters finished suspensefully. The book was very funny, especially how Gilly described the characters.
The ending was sad and happy at the same time. I would desperately want to read a sequel book because the writer makes it enjoyable to put yourself in Gilly’s shoes.

I hated this story!

Gilly is brash, mean, and insults others. You know that she creates trouble and appears tough because she is so hurt inside from wanting her biological mother, Courtney, to come get her from her new foster home.

Gilly is NOT a lovable character (even knowing why she does what she does) because of how she treats others. This includes her racism. Reading this story, I thought, "Well, at least you know there will be a happy ending of her realizing the love from and to her foster family."

It doesn't end that way! I think the ending is even more upsetting knowing that Gilly created her own unhappy ending that she can't undo.

Yes, there is character development and growth for Gilly. Yes, it's a realistic ending.

I can understand lessons like these for middle schoolers, but is that what people want, for children to read books about how unfair and rough life can be?

If reading a story like this helps a child or adult heal, relate, open their eyes, etc., then yes, I will whole-heartedly recommend this book. Otherwise, I personally would not, because I finished reading this book feeling very frustrated and sad.

This book breaks the mold for all that is good in children's fiction. I had the great fortune to hear Katherine Paterson deliver the keynote at a writer's conference yesterday, and at age 87 she delivered a witty and profound speech in which she delved into the difficulty of writing from a deep place--and how it can sometimes seem impossible.
She also revealed that Trotter, the loving, larger-than-life foster mom in this novel, is her favorite character in all her books. I have to concur. She seems so real that I had a feeling she was sitting on the couch with me as I re-read Gilly, just about in one sitting. The story of a foster child who finally finds love does not spare the gritty details--Gilly is no saint, but I root for her every step of the way. And for her found family. Plus Paterson's language. Sure I'm jealous. The kind of jealous that makes me want to set the bar higher for myself.
If you haven't read it, do.

Gilly is a hard headed little brat focused on making things difficult for people around her but she soon realizes that life is actually hard, and what you want, may not be what you really need.

This is a children's book but it does not adhere to the traditional - 'And they all lived happily ever after..' - and that's one of the main reasons I like it. The characterization in too is done well and you can actually feel Gilly's anger at her circumstances through the writing.

Recommended reading for middle grade children

Empiezo esta reseña dando un poco de contexto. Leí esta libro chorrosientos años atrás, cuando tenía 12 años y me lo dieron como lectura obligatoria para el colegio (Está demás decir que el hecho de que algo sea "obligatorio" lo empaña de inmediato) y en ese momento odie el libro, lo consideré de lo más aburrido y apenas lo terminé, aunque tampoco estoy seguro al cien por cien a que lo haya acabado. La cosa es que hace unos días estaba llegando cansado a casa y me encuentro que mi familia estaba viendo en Netflix la película de La Gran Gilly Hopkins, la pesque por la mitad casi final pero me quedo gustando tanto la película que decidí darle una segunda oportunidad al libro (que estaba guardado en mi biblioteca hace un par de años) y saque algunas conclusiones que quiero compartir. El libro es cortito, se lee de un sentón si es que tienes el tiempo (en mi caso no fue así). El libro tiene como personaje principal a, como dice su título, la gran Gilly Hopkins, quien hace honor al título como un personaje súper bien escrito y desarrollado para los 11 años de edad que tiene. El libro nos muestra a una niña de esas edad muy madura y a la vez problemática, pero nos da completamente la justificación para ello, lo desarrolla bien y eso es un punto para el libro. El resto de los personajes nutren a la historia, siendo algo excéntricos complementan personalidad tan fuerte y a veces demasiado madura de Gilly con su cariño y humildad. Tú solo te enamoras de Trotter y el señor Randolph, es muy fácil. La narración es sencilla, como todo libro para niños, pero bastante buena, divertida y con un buen ritmo. El único problema que le veo a la novela (en comparación a la película, aunque sé que las comparaciones son odiosas) es que las escenas de peso emocional pasan demasiado rápido, cuando se puede indagar más en ellas (la película me hizo llorar con su escena final, pero en el libro paso muy escueta, y aunque se entiende que se trata de un libro dirigido a niños, pienso de que se podían hacer más cosas). A pesar de eso, la gran Gilly Hopkins no es un libro aburrido como lo pensé en ese momento, sino que es una película con una crítica social muy explicita acerca del materialismo, la idea tradicional de familia y sobre todo un libro acerca de como podemos cambiar a través del amor.

I think that it was a good book and the end was awesome.

4 stars!

11 year-old Galadriel Hopkins (AKA Gilly) is a pretty Mean girl.

Gilly is Arrogant, Racist, Self-centered, Closed off to others and pretty Tough. But, she's also very Bright.

The book stars with Gilly moving onto her 3rd foster home (in the last 3 years)... Onto the home of old, fat Maime Trotter and small, shy, not seemingly very smart, 7-year-old William Ernest.

Gilly knows how to roll, how to deal with new foster homes and schools - she's done it for ages! (since she was 3) - she knows how to keep holding until her next move...or until her mother comes for her.

What Gilly doesn't know, though?

...is the effect that Trotter, William Ernest and the black next-door-neighbor Mr. Randolph will have on her... And how much she'll held them dear, in the years to come.


What will happen?

Can a Mean girl change her ways?

Will Gilly ever see her mother again?

Or will Gilly remain a "foster child" forever?

Read the book to find out ;)

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I enjoyed this book...

Truthfully, I didn't like Gilly very much on the beginning of the book. She is Such a Mean girl!

We really get inside Gilly's mind on most parts of the book; and Gilly's thoughts about people and the way she treats people are pretty horrible. There's pure racism (I kid you not) and I hated how she treated Agnes (the closest thing she had to a friend).

BUT, as the book progresses, Gilly starts changing... because she slowly starts caring and her tough facade starts crumbling.

I loved seeing her change. And I absolutely loved the trio that made that possible.

Also, it's nearly impossible to not love William Ernest... And Trotter ☺

I felt Lots with this book! I even cried!

The ending was not what I wanted, but I understand why it happened; and it was realistic... And happy, even.

(But, In a perfect, rosy, full-of-rainbows-and-sunshine world - that we know does not exist - you know what I wanted, right?!)


Overall, this is a pretty good book that shows the transformation of a young girl, who realises that though life isn't always as we would like it to be; there's always someone who cares and is worth doing our best for.

Now this is A Book! I consider myself a realist. Some people might consider me a pessimist. This book is for people like me. You might consider this book sad, which may be true, but I don’t. Sometimes things are just the way they are and you have to figure out a way to deal with them.