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Kim
Rating:
Review
Set in present day Philadelphia, main character Eliza Naumann is in grade school, and is an unremarkable student, when she wins the class spelling bee. When she wins the school spelling bee, she continues along the spelling bee ladder, shocking her teachers and classmates, along with her parents, Saul and Miriam, and her older brother, Aaron. Eliza’s story isn’t the only one being told in this slim novel. Saul readjusts the way he views his daughter, Miriam’s quest for Perfectimundo is outrageous, and Aaron reevaluates his belief system, all while Eliza studies for the next spelling bee. The change in Eliza causes some interesting things to happen in her family as they try (struggle?) to accept the transformation of the little girl they thought they knew. As a rule, I don’t loan books to anyone, since I’ve had books not come back, but I actually loan this one out. I want everyone to read it.
Best Line:
“Miriam flips the cleaning pad from green to yellow, downshifting from scrubber to sponge. The counter gleams like an ice rink, post-Zamboni.” There’s a woman after my own heart.
Suzanne
Rating:
Review
Think spelling bees, not honey bees. Goldberg’s first novel is imaginative, with strongly developed characters in a family with serious problems. The story has more depth than I imagined from reading the back cover, and more funny lines. Eliza, a fifth-grader relegated to the slower class at school, discovers she has a talent for winning spelling bees. She sees this as her ticket to parental approval, which she so anxiously wants. Her father Saul, a Judaic scholar who’s a really lame dad, does give her a lot more attention, but this is only one of several big shifts taking place as the family eventually unravels. Everyone is so wrapped up with what’s happening in their own lives that they fail to notice what’s happening with anyone else. The novel touches on both funny and sad attributes of childhood and cliquish school society. Aaron, the teenaged son, searches for a feeling of belonging, and mother Miriam’s shoplifting problem morphs out of control. Add some mysticism to the plot, and get ready for a big surprise near the end. I enjoyed this book and would read it again.
Best Line:
“She hates that the more frustrated she gets, the calmer he becomes, hates that when she wants to shake things up he talks like everything in the world is in its place.” (page 105)
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