Dovey Coe

by Frances O'Roark Dowell
PRMS, hardcover, 181 pages
genre: YA coming-of-age, mystery

Dovey Coe is a smart-mouthed Appalachian girl whose older sister Caroline is a true beauty. The wealthy town bully, Parnell Caraway, starts wooing Caroline as she's preparing to go to teacher's college. Dovey is fit to be tied! Along with her deaf mute brother Amos, she prefers trekking all over the mountains, hunting and gathering plants, to any social activity.

This is a re-read for me (though I missed the seventh grade book club discussion last Thursday). I remember not having been impressed with this story the first time I read it, but not why. In re-reading it, I think part of my issue is how quickly the story resolves once Parnell dies. The seriousness of his death is only briefly mentioned, as Dovey realizes that his sister Paris and his mother are sad that he's gone. Even her relationship with Amos doesn't seem to be a strong enough thread to hold the story together.

The Secret Language of Girls

by Frances O'Roark Dowell
Hennepin County Library audioCD 3:52
read by Michele Santopietro
genre: YA (very young!) chick lit

This book has the *coolest* image and title, but the story just doesn't deliver. I think the reader's voice didn't do justice to the characters, because I enjoyed it a bit more when I read the text in the print copy in my collection.

But the story just didn't work for me even though there were some neat girl moments . . . this would resonate for certain sixth grade girls. But the shifting between Marylin's, Kate's, and even Petey's perspective was disconcerting. The story seemed to shift abruptly from the start of school to Halloween to . . . It seemed more like a string of vignettes than a cohesive story.

I did like certain scenes (e.g. Marylin's first kiss and the disappointment that goes with it, Kate's friendship with Andrew) but it isn't one that I'll be able to enthusiastically booktalk with my students.