As you read the reviews on Bookshop Talk, you'll notice that every review is positive. No, we're not a bunch of literary
pushovers who love everything we pick up; we just see no point in telling you about a book if we didn't like it.

March 26, 2012

THE TRUTH ABOUT SPARROWS, by Marion Hale, 2004


Sadie Wynn doesn't want a new life; her old one suits her just fine. But times are hard in drought-plagued Missouri, and Daddy thinks they'll be better off in Texas. Sadie hates this strange new place, where even children must work at the cannery to help make ends meet and people are rude to her disabled father. Yet when trouble comes, it is the kindness of these new neighbors that helps the family make it through. And no one helps more than Dollie, a red-headed chatterbox of a girl who just might become a good friend - if Sadie gives her half a chance. (Goodreads)


Review by Sarah - Book Addict


Sometimes, a book comes into your life at just the right moment. 

The Truth About Sparrows is the story of a girl named Sadie Wynn whose family moves from Missouri to Texas during the great depression.  Sadie’s a bit of a spit-fire, and her grit gets her through tough times, but she struggles to have the kind of compassion and charity she sees in her momma.  After her family’s move she meets a homeless old man who makes an indelible impression on her, and that encounter sticks with her as she as she tries to come to grips with her changed life and navigate the emotional pitfalls of adolescence. 

I love books with strong young heroines; in some ways this books reminds me of Anne of Green Gables, in other ways of the Laura Ingalls Wilder novels  or Caddie Woodlawn.  Sadie is strong and spunky but imperfect.  I can really relate to her.  But I think what struck me most was the hopeful tone of the book. 

If you’re lonely in a new place…read this book.  If you’re worried about the economy or how to make ends meet…read this book. And it you don’t fit in either of the aforementioned categories but love great ‘girl’ fiction, read this book.

Market: middle grades
Language: None
Sensuality: None
Violence: None (that I recall)
Mature Themes: hunger, poverty, homelessness, disability, childbirth (but I’d let my first grade daughter read it or listen to it)

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