Part of Me

Starred review from July 17, 2006
Holt's (My Louisiana Sky
) atmospheric novel traces five generations of a Louisiana family. Spanning the years 1939–2004, the book encapsulates the struggles, sorrows, infatuations and triumphs of various family members as they enter adolescence. Readers first meet 14-year-old Rose, who lies about her age to become the bookmobile driver for the new Terrebone Parish Library. Working hard to help her family make ends meet, she never realizes her dream of going to college but remains an avid reader and writer. She passes down her love of books to some but not all of her children and grandchildren. Rose's son Merle Henry would rather trap than read; her granddaughter, Annabeth, wishes she were more popular; and her great-grandson, Kyle, works at the library like his grandmother did, but doesn't have much use for books until he discovers Harry Potter. The author subtly weaves in historic influences such as the Dust Bowl, the Vietnam War and the Watergate hearings. Rose resurfaces briefly as a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, and once again takes center stage in the final pages of the novel when, at age 79, she becomes a published author. Economical, evocative prose reflects the leisurely pace of Southern living and movingly conveys family tensions, family love, and the power of stories to bring generations together. Ages 10-15.

September 1, 2006
Gr 7-9 -This lyrical novel is actually a collection of vignettes that spans five generations of a family living in the Louisiana bayous. Beginning with Rose as a young girl who, in 1939, must drop out of school in order to help her mother put food on the table, the stories follow pivotal moments -an injured dog, learning to dance, a summer job -in the lives of her descendants. What connects the chapters is the presence of books, whether on a bookmobile or on a library shelf, or even the writing of one -s own story. Holt once again excels at creating character and an evocative sense of place." -Melissa Moore, Union University Library, Jackson, TN"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2006
Set in Louisiana bayou country, this unusual collection of stories spans four generations of one family and uses reading as the thread that strings them together. The first three tales, which begin in 1939, concern Rose, who must go to work at 14 and passes herself off as 17 to drive the library bookmobile. Two stories tell of Rose's 12-year-old son, Merle Henry, reading " Old "Yeller around 1957. In 1973, his daughter, Annabeth, an eighth-grader, clings to fairy tales in the face of first love. Then Annabeth's 13-year-old son, Kyle, in 2004 can only find a library job--though he doesn't like to read. The final story, also taking place in 2004, centers again on Rose, now 79. Though readers may sometimes wish for more about a particular character, this collection offers a different experience: marking the passage of time through a succession of related characters. Readers intrigued by Rose, whose early entries are the only stories told here in first person, will have the satisfaction of seeing her in later tales and watching her quiet triumph at the end. The author of " My Louisiana Sky" (1998), Holt sketches a broad range of characters with verve and sensitivity.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)

February 12, 2007
A love of words—books, reading and writing—is the theme that runs through Holt's series of vignettes, which illuminates four generations of a Louisiana family. Teenage Rose, an aspiring writer, kicks things off: forced to flee the Dust Bowl–ravaged Texas panhandle in 1939 with her mother and siblings, she lies about her age in order to get a job driving the library's bookmobile to help her struggling family and never looks back. Subsequently, Rose's outdoorsy, dog-loving son, Merle Henry, holds great fondness for Old Yeller
. In the early 1970s, Merle Henry's daughter, Annabeth, tries to ease her adolescent growing pains with Hans Christian Andersen. And Annabeth's son, Kyle, who is tortured by the thought of reading, eventually finds a spark of inspiration in a library job and Harry Potter. Actress Reading uses a mellifluous Southern lilt, often suffused with notes of sadness, to capture the broad spectrum of emotion here. Though a recitation of the family tree at the beginning of the program feels more overwhelming than helpful, listeners will likely find satisfaction as Reading confidently brings the characters and inspiring imagery full circle. Ages 12-up.

January 1, 2007
Holt's affectionate multigenerational portrait starts in 1939 Louisiana with fourteen-year-old Rose, then skips ahead eighteen years to Rose's thirteen-year-old son. Following the family through the perspectives of two more generations of teens, up through Rose's great-grandson in 2004, Holt accentuates her characters' individuality while drawing out the subtle traits, including a sometimes dormant love of literature, that keep them connected.

(Copyright 2007 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)