Funny/uplifting 20th century reading for 8th grade

[Bocky]

I am looking for help with my modern literature and history line-up. DD 13 loves to read. She’s read a lot of fantasy and graphic novels lately. Her favorite books are Brian Jacques Redwall (which she has loved for years) and Azumanga Daioh. She is finding the heavy themes of most 20^th century literature/history to be depressing, and has asked me to give her more humorous or uplifting reading. She is particularly unhappy with all the “people doing horrible things to other people in the 20^th century.†(For example, we did just read To Kill A Mockingbird and Anne Frank’s Diary.) We are finishing up World War 2 now, so I am looking for literature and historical fiction from 1945 to the present day.

 

What I have already:

We’ll keep using our two spines, Hakim Vol 10 All the People (she really likes this series) and Human Odyssey 3 (she tolerates this). I will still ask her to read Shetterly, Hidden Figures young readers edition and Park, A Long Walk To Water; hopefully these two books are not too depressing. Also from my list and noted as funny:

Jack Gantos, Dead End in Novelt (funny 1960s)

Gary Schmidt, The Wednesday Wars (1967)

Firoozeh Dumas, It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel, 384 p. (funny 6^th grade memoir Iranian immigrant during the 1970s Iranian hostage crisis)

 

Any suggestions? Huge bonus points for any books that engage the themes of the cold war, the civil rights movement, colonialism, and terrorism while being uplifting and/or humorous. 

[jaredluvsjoanie]

British author P.G. Wodehouse wrote hilariously brilliant novels set in 1920s England, primarily dealing with the aristocratic classes. SO FUNNY! As a bonus, you can watch the film versions of his Jeeves and Wooster stories, made in the early 90s and featuring (very young-looking) British actors Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster and Stephen Fry as his butler Jeeves. I read a few years ago an article by Hugh Laurie recounting a time in his life when he was severely depressed and contemplating suicide. A friend introduced him to Wodehouse's writings. Laurie credits these works as quite literally saving his life. Give them a try!

[Lori D.]

  I think you are very wise! I personally think that is can be very easy to overwhelm just-starting-to-mature tweens/teens (say, ages 11-12 through ages 16-17) with too much darkness and heaviness. They are getting it in the news, and getting in reading 20th century history, and it's easy to push those fragile, developing hormones and emotions into a despairing mindset. Just my opinion. ?

Just me, but for an 8th grader, I would probably avoid most classics and fiction about the heavy 20th century events, and just enjoy works written by 20th century authors. (If your DD is enjoying fantasy and sci-fi right now, perhaps enjoy doing a unit of that -- there are a number of well-written "re-imaginings" of classic fairytales out there for tweens/teens. ? ) Perhaps esp. focus on well-written young adult fiction (although, a lot of that can be heavy, too), as a sort of "last hurrah" before moving into more traditional classics in high school. Just a thought! 

Below are some ideas, pulled from various lists I made when we were doing historical fiction to match up with 20th century. Some are more serious or heavy titles, but I tried to give you a quick idea of what the books are about so you can decide if they are worth looking into or not.

Also, I just remembered that Chrysalis Academy had a great Modern (20th century) History & Lit. list that she developed with lots of ideas from various posters in this past thread: "Ok, guys, help me refine a modern era reading list for a 6th grader" -- a lot of the ideas would work great for an 8th grader. Consider including a lot of the documentaries and feature films listed in the various posts to flesh out your uplifting 20th century reading. ?

BEST of luck in finding what works best for your DD! Warmest regards, Lori D.

_______________________________

1890-1990
- Tuck Everlasting (Babbitt) -- given the chance at immortality, what will Winnie choose
- Call of the Wild (London) -- realistic; short classic
- The Great Wheel (Lawson) -- lighter, realistic; immigrant teen boy who helps build the first Ferris wheel

1900-1910
- Summer of the Monkeys (Rawls) -- lighter; rural farm boy hi-jinx with monkeys
- Little Britches (Moody) -- mostly lighter; rural ranching childhood hi-jinx (note: father dies at end)
- The Great Brain (Fitzgerald) -- mostly lighter; small town boy hi-jinx (note: there are some serious parts)
- The Earth Dragon Awakes (Yep) -- serious; San Francisco Earthquake
- Anne of Green Gables (Montgomery) -- humorous; realistic

1910-1920
- Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity (Cwiklik) -- biography
- Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Journey (Lansing) -- biography
- Angel on the Square (Whelan) -- serious, but not heavy; Russian Revolution
- Dragonwings (Yep) -- serious, but not heavy; immigration
- Mama's Bank Account (Forbes) -- light, humorous anecdotes
- Christy (Marshall) -- uplifting; young school teacher in rural Smokey Mountains
- The Secret Garden (Burnett) -- uplifting
- The Ransom of Red Chief (Henry) -- humorous short story
- Rilla of Ingleside (Montgomery) -- 6th in the Anne of Green Gable series; WW1 is the backdrop

WW1
- The Road From Home -- HEAVY; Armenian genocide
- After the Dancing Days -- somber; post WW1, injured soldiers returning home

1920-1930
- Cheaper by the Dozen (Gilbraith) -- humorous; big family hi-jinx
- Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze (Lewis) -- serious; turbulent/violent time after the fall of imperial Chinese emperor
- Murder on the Orient Express (Christie) -- adult "cozy" mystery
- Life With Jeeves (Wodehouse) -- humorous; British upperclass antics

1930-1940
- All Creatures Great and Small (Herriot) -- humorous and inspiring; British rural vetrinarian
- A Year Down Yonder (Peck) -- humorous; US Depression
- Moon Over Manifest (Vanderpool) -- serious; Depression in the rural South
- Jim the Boy (Earley) -- lovely, gentle tale set in the Depression in the Midwest
- Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry (Taylor) -- serious; Deep South racism and the Depression
- Bud, Not Buddy (Curtis) -- serious; ends positively
- Out of the Dust (Hesse) -- serious; the Depression
- Al Capone Does My Shirts (Choldenko) -- lighter
- The Cabinet of Hugo Cabret (Selznick) -- more of a puzzle/mystery/adventure story

WW2
- House of Sixty Fathers (De Jong) -- China under Japanese occupation in WW2; Chinese boy helps US airmen
- Escape From Warsaw (Serrallier) -- serious/heavy; true story of Polish children separated from their parents, trying to survive WW2
- Winged Watchmen (Stockum) -- serious, but not heavy; true story of Danish family under Nazi occupation
- The Endless Steppe (Hautzig) -- serious, heavy; true story of surviving being outcast to Russian Siberia
- The Book Thief (Zusak) -- serious, heavy; told through the point of view of Death as a character trying to understand humans
- The War That Saved My Life (Bradley) -- serious; ends positively; crippled girl and brother sent to live in the country to protect them from London bombings (notes on mature topics: mother is abusive; the woman who fosters/helps them is gay)

1940-1950 (other than WW2)
- After The War (Matas) -- HEAVY; European Jewish girl who lost all of her family goes to newly-forming Israel
- The Cay (Taylor) -- shipwreck survival adventure; overcoming racism (note: one of the 2 main characters dies as a noble sacrifice)
- a biography of Gandhi
- In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (Lord) -- humorous; Chinese immigrant family to the US just after WW2
- Kon Tiki (Heyersdahl) -- non-fiction; account of 6 men who recreated an ocean crossing from South America to the Pacific Islands on a log raft
- Year of Impossible Goodbyes (Choi) -- serious; autobiography of a Korean teen escaping the invading and oppressive Japanese (WW2), and then the Communism of North Korea

1950-1960
- Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Bradley) -- lighter; murder mystery solved by a precocious 11-year-old girl
- The Wheel on the School (DeJong) -- inspiring; Dutch children work to restore habitat to bring back storks to their town
- Kildee House (Montgomery) -- very gentle tale of an environmentally-conscious man who builds a home in a hollow redwood tree

1960-1970
- Red Scarf Girl (Ji-li Jiang) -- heavy/serious memoir of life under Chinese Communism/Cultural Revolution
- The Wednesday Wars (Schmidt) -- lighter school misadventures
- The Toothpaste Millionaire (Merrill) -- lighter story of integrated teen friends who work together to start a toothpaste company
- Rocket Boys (Hickam) -- adult memoir, with a few mature moments; true story of teen boys pursuing amateur rocketry
- The Watsons Go To Birmingham (Curtis) -- moments of humor; racism/Civil Rights
- I Am David (Holm) -- serious, but ends positively; boy escapes Eastern European communist camp and searches for his mother
- The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain (Sis) -- autobiographical picture book for all ages
- The Outsiders (Hinton) -- serious; classic

1970-1980
- God's Smuggler (Andrew) -- inspiring autobiography of Christian missionary to Communist countries 
- When You Reach Me (Stead) -- lighter/adventure, with references to A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
- Maniac Magee (Spinelli) -- lighter "tall tale" that addresses racism
- The Westing Game (Raskin) -- mystery novel with fun puzzle-solving
- Julie of the Wolves (George) -- adventure/survival story
- Watership Down (Adams) -- lack of female characters, but discussion about forms of gov't and similarities to The Aeneid
- Animal Farm (Orwell) -- NOT uplifting, but good discussion about Socialism/Communism
- The Hunt for Red October (Clancy) -- adult novel; Cold War suspense/thriller

1980-1990
- When The Wall Came Down (Schmemann) -- non-fiction; great explanation of Cold War, and the end of it
- The Pushcart War (Merrill) -- humorous; shows how wars start
- A Long Walk to Water (Park) -- serious, but ends positively
- Dear Mr. Henshaw (Cleary) -- serious, but ends positively; boy learning to come to terms with his parents' divorce, and with disappointments

1990-2000
- Breadwinner; Pavanna's Journey (Ellis) -- Afgahanistan girl disguises self as boy to get food for the family oppressed by Talaban
- The View from Saturday (Konigsburg) -- positive/lighter; racial diverse teens work together

2000 - present
- Alia's Mission (Stamaty) -- elementary level graphic novel, but inspiring of the Iranian librarian who saved books from the Talaban
- I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban (Malala) -- autobiography; serious but inspiring
- Wonder (Palacio) -- inspiring; overcoming physical deformity
- Hoot (Hiaasen) -- humorous; environmental activism
- Soul Surfer (Hamilton) -- inspiring autobiography of teen surfer who lost her arm to a shark and returned to surfing
- books by Wendy Mass -- lighter
- The Martian (Weir) -- adult "shipwreck" survival story on Mars; a LOT of 4-letter words; only okay in the writing, but fascinating from the science/math and survival aspect -- inspiring/positive ending

Another book you might be interested in, perhaps in high school if DD isn't quite ready for it in 8th grade, is Sophie's World (Gaarder) -- not masterfully written, but lots to discuss, as it covers the history of philosophy movements through a thin overlaid story.

 

Edited October 2, 2018 by Lori D.

[Bocky]

British author P.G. Wodehouse wrote hilariously brilliant novels set in 1920s England, primarily dealing with the aristocratic classes. SO FUNNY! As a bonus, you can watch the film versions of his Jeeves and Wooster stories, made in the early 90s and featuring (very young-looking) British actors Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster and Stephen Fry as his butler Jeeves. I read a few years ago an article by Hugh Laurie recounting a time in his life when he was severely depressed and contemplating suicide. A friend introduced him to Wodehouse's writings. Laurie credits these works as quite literally saving his life. Give them a try!

 

Yes - I love Wodehouse. She has read Right Ho, Jeeves. I am thinking of giving her Code of the Woosters. I also have A Wodehouse Bestiary in my collection, which I might give her to read; it's my second favorite short story collection of all time, after Connie Willis Christmas collection. I was ready to charge forth into the second half of the 20th century, but it might be better to enjoy some more of these earlier gems. Thank you!

[Bocky]

 

 I think you are very wise! I personally think that is can be very easy to overwhelm just-starting-to-mature tweens/teens (say, ages 11-12 through ages 16-17) with too much darkness and heaviness. They are getting it in the news, and getting in reading 20th century history, and it's easy to push those fragile, developing hormones and emotions into a despairing mindset. Just my opinion. :)

 

Just me, but for an 8th grader, I would probably avoid most classics and fiction about the heavy 20th century events, and just enjoy works written by 20th century authors. (If your DD is enjoying fantasy and sci-fi right now, perhaps enjoy doing a unit of that -- there are a number of well-written "re-imaginings" of classic fairytales out there for tweens/teens. :) ) Perhaps esp. focus on well-written young adult fiction (although, a lot of that can be heavy, too), as a sort of "last hurrah" before moving into more traditional classics in high school. Just a thought! 

 

Below are some ideas, pulled from various lists I made when we were doing historical fiction to match up with 20th century. Some are more serious or heavy titles, but I tried to give you a quick idea of what the books are about so you can decide if they are worth looking into or not.

 

 

This is great advice, thank you. DD 13 is a very kind and empathetic soul. DD 16 read To Kill A Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian and learned a lot from them. DD 13 is just not emotionally ready for these heavier reads. It really bugs her that people treat other people so badly. I am thinking 12th grade will be a much better time to engage with classic 20th century literature.

 

I really appreciate your detailed booklist, especially the annotations. Thanks too for the link to Chrysalis Academy's thread. You're the best!  :001_smile:

[Lori D.]

On 11/25/2017 at 1:58 PM, Bocky said:

This is great advice, thank you. DD 13 is a very kind and empathetic soul. DD 16 read To Kill A Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian and learned a lot from them. DD 13 is just not emotionally ready for these heavier reads. It really bugs her that people treat other people so badly. I am thinking 12th grade will be a much better time to engage with classic 20th century literature.

I'm teaching two Lit. & Comp. homeschool classes this year -- a grade 7/8 and a grade 8/9 class -- and tried to be very careful to provide a mix of more serious and lighter books, and a variety of genres. And seeing these students, I think that for a number of them, waiting a few years to deal with the really serious/heavy classics of 20th century Lit. is a good idea.

Another thought for your 8th grader: if she likes fantasy, 8th grade might be the ideal year to do Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings -- a lovely year-long, gentle intro to beginning formal literature studies with the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Or, you might check out the year-long study of Where the Brook and River Meet, which covers the Anne of Green Gables books. While that is written for high school girls as a unit study, as I recall, the WTM posters Silver Moon and 8FillTheHeart each did it with their advanced middle school daughters -- just did not go as deep into the more serious topics in the study. (See: "Anyone used where the brook and river meet?")

And if your DD is a voracious reader, you could do one of those two studies as your formal Lit., and then have DD do as solo reading literature that matches up with the history time period. You could have a book basket with several of the titles for each decade from the 20th century for her to choose from, and every 3 weeks, switch out with books from the next decade. ?

BEST of luck, and hope you both ENJOY whatever literature you settle on for 8th grade! ? Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited October 2, 2018 by Lori D.

[Garga]

I can't say enough good things about "The Little World of Don Camillo" (this version--https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Little-World-Don-Camillo/dp/1900064073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511644061&sr=8-1&keywords=the+little+world+of+don+camillo.)

 

It was written by an Italian man in the 50s I think. He had fought in WWII and been in concentration camps and later in Italian prisons for speaking out against fascist leaders in Italy. He was a comic and his political cartoon offended someone in power. Through all of that, he kept hold of his sense of humor.

 

While he was in the concentration camp, he met a priest who did an amazing job of turning what you thought was right on its head. If someone hit you, you hit back to protect yourself, right? No. The priest taught the people around him how to deal with hatred and cruelty without sinking to that level. What I just wrote is the real life story of the author--that's not the plot of the book.

 

So, after the author got out of the camp and out of prison, he wrote stories about people in a small Italian village during the years that Italy was fascist. The mayor of the village was tough--a fighter. And so was the priest. They were both strong and physically impressive men. The Mayor was fascist and the priest wasn't and they constantly butt heads or tried to outsmart each other. Neither one would back down and neither was a wimp.

 

The book is a set of short stories that shows the times these two characters butt heads with each other. But instead of it just degenerating into fighting for no reason, they learn how to deal with each other and learn deep respect for each other. The way they do this is that the crucifix in the church is a character in the story. And when the priest grabs the big candlestick to hit the major over the head, the crucifix tells him a more clever way than violence to deal with the problem that ends up making things ok by the end of the story. (The crucifix is taking on the role of the priest that the author met IRL in the concentration camp.)

 

And the stories are hilarious. I chose to read them aloud to my son, and we'd have to pause while he'd cover his mouth and snicker and shake with quiet laughter at what was going on. They were funny, they were uplifting, they showed people with completely different world views learning how to get along. They were brilliant.

 

We read them in 9th grade, but they'd be fine for an 8th grader. They'd be fine from 7th-12th grade and beyond. They weren't written for children, so they are good for any reader of any age. I loved them at age 44, which is why I chose to read them aloud.

Edited November 25, 2017 by Garga

[Bocky]

I'm teaching two Lit. & Comp. homeschool classes this year -- a grade 7/8 and a grade 8/9 class -- and tried to be very careful to provide a mix of more serious and lighter books, and a variety of genres. And seeing these students, I think that for a number of them, waiting a few years to deal with the really serious/heavy classics of 20th century Lit. is a good idea.

 

Another thought for your 8th grader: if she likes fantasy, 8th grade might be the ideal year to do Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings -- a lovely year-long, gentle intro to beginning formal literature studies with the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

 

Or, you might check out the year-long study of Where the Brook and River Meet, which covers the Anne of Green Gables books. While that is written for high school girls as a unit study, as I recall, the WTM posters Silver Moon and 8FillTheHeart each did it with their advanced middle school daughters -- just did not go as deep into the more serious topics in the study. (See: "Anyone used where the brook and river meet?")

 

And if your DD is a voracious reader, you could do one of those two studies as your formal Lit., and then have DD do as solo reading literature that matches up with the history time period. You could have a book basket with several of the titles for each decade from the 20th century for her to choose from, and every 3 weeks, switch out with books from the next decade. :)

 

BEST of luck, and hope you both ENJOY whatever literature you settle on for 8th grade! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

These are all good thoughts. I do have LLfLotR sitting on my shelf. Maybe this would be a good time to start it, and put the historical fiction in a book basket for her to choose from. I have always let her veto books, but the number vetoed this year has really impacted the reading list. She read Anne of Green Gables in August, announced darkly, "She sounds just like my sister!" and rejected the sequels.  :laugh:

[Bocky]

I can't say enough good things about "The Little World of Don Camillo" (this version--https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Little-World-Don-Camillo/dp/1900064073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511644061&sr=8-1&keywords=the+little+world+of+don+camillo.)

 

 

Thanks for this recommendation. This sounds excellent, and is in my amazon cart. I can't wait to read it, and hopefully dd13 will like it too.

[Lori D.]

On 11/26/2017 at 7:06 PM, Bocky said:

She read Anne of Green Gables in August, announced darkly, "She sounds just like my sister!" and rejected the sequels. 

:lol:
 

On 11/26/2017 at 7:06 PM, Bocky said:

...Maybe this would be a good time to start it, and put the historical fiction in a book basket for her to choose from...

If you do, from the list above, these were absolute favorites ? . I really think your DD would like the first title especially -- it's such a fascinating speculative fiction idea embedded in a very realistic turn of the century small town setting:

- Tuck Everlasting (Babbitt) 
- The Great Wheel (Lawson) 
- Life With Jeeves (Wodehouse)
- All Creatures Great and Small (Herriot) 
- The Cay (Taylor) 
- In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (Lord) 
- The Toothpaste Millionaire (Merrill) 
- Maniac Magee (Spinelli)
- The Westing Game (Raskin)

Whatever you go with, have a lovely literature year! ? Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited October 2, 2018 by Lori D.

[Kareni]

I am looking for help with my modern literature and history line-up. DD 13 loves to read. She’s read a lot of fantasy and graphic novels lately. Her favorite books are Brian Jacques Redwall (which she has loved for years) and Azumanga Daioh. She is finding the heavy themes of most 20^th century literature/history to be depressing, and has asked me to give her more humorous or uplifting reading. ...

 

I'll recommend she read The Mouse That Roared  by Leonard Wibberley; read the book and then watch the movie.

 

And I'll put in a hearty second to the suggestion of the Don Camillo books mentioned above.

 

My daughter (who also liked Azumanga Daioh) enjoyed both of these when she studied that time period in 9th grade.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[goldenecho]

The Help (It's about black maids in the 1950s or 60s...its real but has a lot of humor in it.  People do do some bad things to other people in it, but the worst things are sort of in the background (not directly happening to the charactes).

 

If you don't mind Christian books, All The Way Home by Anne Tatlock is amazing.

This book spans from pre-WWII to the 1960s.   The first half of the book is about the main character, and her friendship with a Japanese girl and her family...the second half of the book reunites those characters and deals with Jim Crow in the south.   I love this book because characters in this book seem so real and relatable and yet so perfectly set in their time...it draws you into their worldview.     My only criticism is that the two halves of the book seem like different books...equally well done but different in tone.    Its not funny, but it's uplifting.

 

(She has other historical books too...only have read a few.   I would suggest not reading I'll Watch the Moon.   Has a subplot of a character being molested, and another character who lost his whole family in WWII.   Would be a bit much for her.  But some of her other works might be good.   Want to read all of them but only so much time).

[Bocky]

:lol:

 

 

 

 

If you do, from the list above, these were absolute favorites ;) . I really think your DD would like the first title especially -- it's such a fascinating speculative fiction idea embedded in a very realistic turn of the century small town setting:

- Tuck Everlasting (Babbitt) 

- The Great Wheel (Lawson) 

- Life With Jeeves (Wodehouse)

- All Creatures Great and Small (Herriot) 

- The Cay (Taylor) 

- In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (Lord) 

- The Toothpaste Millionaire (Merrill) 

- Maniac Magee (Spinelli)

- The Westing Game (Raskin)

 

Whatever you go with, have a lovely literature year! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

Thanks! I have a couple of these on my shelf; the rest are on the library list. 

[Bocky]

I'll recommend she read The Mouse That Roared  by Leonard Wibberley; read the book and then watch the movie.

 

And I'll put in a hearty second to the suggestion of the Don Camillo books mentioned above.

 

My daughter (who also liked Azumanga Daioh) enjoyed both of these when she studied that time period in 9th grade.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

The Mouse that Roared looks very good. I put it in my amazon cart. 

 

I got Don Camillo a couple of days ago, but my visiting MIL got to it first. She's really enjoying the book, and I'm looking forward to my turn. DD 13 will have to wait.  :laugh:

[Kareni]

I got Don Camillo a couple of days ago, but my visiting MIL got to it first. She's really enjoying the book, and I'm looking forward to my turn. DD 13 will have to wait.  :laugh:

 

The Don Camillo books (there are seven or so, as I recall) are a three generation series in my family.  My mother had read them and recommended them to me when I was a teen, and I subsequently recommended them to my own teenage daughter.  They are some of the few books I read as a teen that I still own.

 

I hope that your three generations also enjoy the books.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Bocky]

The Help (It's about black maids in the 1950s or 60s...its real but has a lot of humor in it.  People do do some bad things to other people in it, but the worst things are sort of in the background (not directly happening to the charactes).

 

If you don't mind Christian books, All The Way Home by Anne Tatlock is amazing.

This book spans from pre-WWII to the 1960s.   The first half of the book is about the main character, and her friendship with a Japanese girl and her family...the second half of the book reunites those characters and deals with Jim Crow in the south.   I love this book because characters in this book seem so real and relatable and yet so perfectly set in their time...it draws you into their worldview.     My only criticism is that the two halves of the book seem like different books...equally well done but different in tone.    Its not funny, but it's uplifting.

 

(She has other historical books too...only have read a few.   I would suggest not reading I'll Watch the Moon.   Has a subplot of a character being molested, and another character who lost his whole family in WWII.   Would be a bit much for her.  But some of her other works might be good.   Want to read all of them but only so much time).

 

I've heard of The Help, thanks to Oprah and the movie, but I haven't read it yet. I think I'll pre-read it. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

I looked up All the Way Home, and was thinking yes! until I saw it is 640 pages. DD 13 generally is an enthusiastic reader, but maybe not 640 pages enthusiastic. Of course if it was a slice-of-life manga like Azumanga Daioh 600 pages would be no problem. :laugh: