A little odd and a little sad in the way I feel like all Paterson's books are... I don't think this is one of the stronger ones, but it is fairly short.

Katherine Patterson has done it again in this sweet easy read about judging others. Great for middle schoolers this book brings up ideas about perceptions versus reality (what do you think you know based on rumors and what do you really know?), the power of kindness, and growing up. Vinnie and her family have to move after the sudden death of her father and she finds solace in her teacher, Mr. Clayton. She meets Lupe, the school outcast, and must decide to listen to her heart or to the voices of others.

Inside look at the distorted thinking of the mind of a child. How much simpler life would be if these erroneous thoughts could be openly shared and worked through with a trusted individual. Much pain would be spared those who carry such burdens and those who reap the consequences of the actions carried out by the misconstrued reality of those thoughts. It was bothersome to me that Vinnie was so mean, verbally, to her brother, and never apologized to him. It affected him deeply.

Another Katherine Paterson book made me cry. I was overdue.

horrible.......

family in mourning - manifest in different ways, coping with a move, and addresses prejudice

Wasn’t really into this one

When Vinnie (Lavinia) lost her father to cancer, her younger brother, Mason stopped speaking. Now Vinnie and Mason have left Washington, D.C. and, along with their mother, they have moved in with their grandmother in Brownsville, Virginia, where they are starting a new school. Though she really likes her new teacher, Vinnie struggles to fit in among her new classmates, and she finds that only Lupe, whom she nicknames the Flip-Flop Girl based on her footwear, pays any attention to her at all. As the school year gets underway, Vinnie struggles to help her brother's teachers handle his behavior, to make her teacher notice her and understand her crush on him, and to see herself as the kind of person who might be friends with an unusual girl like Lupe.

I would describe this short, descriptive novel as a cross between The Hundred Dresses and The Summer of the Swans. It shares themes in common with both of these books, and it delivers a story that addresses them succinctly, clearly, and with beautiful prose. While this book isn't as deep or layered as something like Lyddie or Bridge to Terabithia, it does reflect upon issues of grief and loss in ways that are very palatable and accessible for kids. This book isn't heart-wrenching, as the death itself has already taken place when the book begins, but instead it focuses on moving forward after the initial shock of loss has worn off, and it gives the reader a sense of hope that things will improve as time goes on.

When I mentioned to my husband that I rated Flip-Flop Girl four stars on Goodreads, he remarked that he couldn't imagine Paterson writing a book that wouldn't get four or five stars, and I tend to agree with that statement. Paterson's writing is consistently of very high quality, and she tells stories that are real, believable, and relevant. Having read her astute observations about writing children's books in Gates of Excellence and The Spying Heart, I am pleased that her fiction, so far, very much lives up to my high expectations.

This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.

The protagonist of the book is a nine-year-old girl named Lavina (often known as Vinnie), whose life has been upheaval since the passing of her father. After their father's funeral, Vinnie and her five-year-old brother Mason, who has become mute, are transferred to live with their grandmother in a small town in rural Virginia.

Not as re-readable as my favorites of Paterson's, but still full of the same truth and hope without sugar-coating.

an outstanding story. So Sweei.

This was a really good book. very interesting story. A short book and quick to read.