Sparrow Road Novel Includes a Now Sober Father and Orphans

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Book Review for Sparrow Road by Sheila O'Connor

• Age Range: 10 and up 
• Grade Level: 5 - 6
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780142421369
• ISBN-13: 978-0142421369
• ASIN: 0142421367
• Amazon Sales Page for Sparrow Road

I just read Sparrow Road because I found the cover to be intriguing.  Really!  And the college on the cover is integral of this story about a twelve-year-old girl's summer before seventh grade, which is not what first might come to mind!  Raine has spent 12 years happily living with her mother and grandfather in Milwaukee. Her mother suddenly moves to Sparrow Road in the country for the summer, taking Raine along, and a mystery begins.  It is fairly easy for an adult to read between the lines and figure out some of what is going to happen, although at the beginning the rules at Sparrow Road seem like some strange or harsh events will occur.  Questions asked through the text of the book help keep the attention of young readers.  How many things a twelve-year-old understands about the world is also revealed in this complex story.

It seems at first that Raine's mother is quitting her job in the city to be a maid at an artist's summer retreat, where little talking is allowed.  Sparrow Road used to be an orphanage.  Later, the plot thickens and the reader learns that Sparrow Road is near to where Raine's absent father lives.  He has been sober for a year.  He wants to meet Raine.  Although the plot is a little dark about his past drinking, Raine, and all the artists who have become her pseudo-parents, work through it without too much ado.  Raine and her father have a few meetings and begin to get to know each other while a plot about the former orphans who lived at Sparrow Road evolves.

The questions the orphans who used to live at Sparrow Road might have parallel the questions a child with a missing parent would ask, and so the theme of wondering about those kinds of things is predominant in the book.  Raine is offered the choice to stay at Sparrow Road where she could live near her father, but not near the grandfather who has been a real parent to her or return to Milwaukee.  This seems like too much of a choice to offer a child, but Raine decides to return to her former life with her grandfather, mother, and school friends.  Her father will be visiting her in Milwaukee in the near future.

This story would be fine for children who are not in the position of wondering where their missing parents are, and who do not have difficult life stories themselves.  It is a good story and it has a satisfying ending.  However, there are children who do not have happy endings in their own lives, so the book isn't for everyone.  The book is good for helping children develop some empathy for single parent families or children who have experienced being an orphan.  It is just a good read!

Originally posted on Amazon by Carolyn Wilhelm

Thank you for reading, Carolyn Wilhelm

Teacher of Self-Publishing from the Very, Very Beginning on Udemy

Invaluable and Engaging Read for Editing Books with Excellent Advice

The Frugal Editor: Do-It-Yourself Editing Secrets, from your query letters to final manuscript to the marketing of your new bestseller.

Title: The Frugal Editor

• Series: HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books for Writers
• Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1505712114
• ISBN-13: 978-1505712117
• 
  

This book is engaging and fun to read. It answers the questions you have been considering researching someday as you write and wonder if you are doing the right thing. As I read, I learned answers to questions I didn’t know I had been thinking about.

This book will help you be frugal with your time. It may be used as a research book by consulting the index for all your projects.

Don’t turn in any manuscript without first reading this book. This book will help polish any writing piece.

The author suggests it is important to be open to accepting suggested edits. The difference between an editor and a someone who reads to find typos is well-explained in this book. You might need both!

The author explains:

*Writers should use Word editing, but not rely on it alone.

*Manual and digital proof-reading and editing are both important.

*Step-by-step information is provided for editing in Word.

*Books and web sites that will help a writer are recommended, as well.

*The difference between save and save as when naming manuscripts is explained. This is important to know so work is not accidentally lost.

Howard-Johnson explains why a manuscript should be edited for only one with one kind of edit at a time. The editing is never done!

Did you know the whole publishing world dislikes the term fictional novel? Novels, by definition, are fiction. Other terms the “whole publishing world” dislikes are also discussed to help writers avoid newbie mistakes.

To start a book title with the word the, or not? Certain issues arise if the title of your book starts with the (or a or an).

The author divulges agents’ pet peeves!

The book includes humor, such as this sentence: “Though find function is not a therapist, yours can help you with your personal oddities.”

Howard-Johnson explains the passive voice isn’t all bad, and examples of times it can be used are provided. The author gives the link to Rutgers University, which gives examples of how politicos and others use passive to weasel out of stuff. 

If you write nonfiction exclusively, did you know more nonfiction writers are using dialogue than ever before?

Ten easy ways to improve your dialogue are listed and explained.

Maybe you want to “Get Rid of Dialogue Migraines?”

Legitimate uses for the ampersand are given. Who knew?

Avoiding the green grocer’s apostrophe is discussed to avoid phrases such as, “Avocado’s Sold Here.”

Howard-Johnson says rules and guidelines for print and the Web are galaxies apart, and to think of them as different genres. Speaking of the web, she explains: 

1. How to avoid Internet shams and scams.

2. Guidelines for sending your submission packages by e-mail or snail mail are also discussed.

This book is invaluable!

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

This review was originally posted on Goodreads and Amazon by Carolyn Wilhelm of Wise Owl Factory. 

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG 

The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.