Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush 1983 Honor Book *

Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush is about a 14 year old girl named Tree who is left to care for her retarded brother Dab for days at a time while her mother works and dates her boyfriend. Unbeknownst to her Dab suffers from a rare disease that becomes acute when one takes drugs or drinks alcohol. Dab has been using barbiturates and becoming increasingly ill. Tree's dead uncle, Brother whom she never knew existed appears to her as a ghost and has her enter a magical mirror where she learns that her father isn't really dead but abandoned her family, her uncle didn't die in a car accident but committed suicide, and that her mother used to beat her brother and tie him up. Her mother finally returns home and find Dab extremely ill, they get him to the hospital just in time to run up a big bill before he dies. So she must leave again to work off the debt and brings in a homeless woman to live with Tree who moves into Dab's room less than 24 hours after his death.

If my wonderful summary of the book doesn't give it away I'll tell you straight out. I hated this book! Anyone reading this review should shower me with gifts and thank you cards for reading this book so that they don't have to go anywhere near it. Not only is it confusing and strange, it's inappropiate for children, and I question how valuable it even is for adults. Never I have a read a book that has caused me to consider a negative star system. I feel like finding the author and asking for compensation for time wasted reading this book. Either after reading 72 Newbery books I have no idea what it takes to be considered a Newbery, or somehow the judges that year were using the same barbiturates as Dab when choosing this book.

Joey Pigza Loses Control 2001 Honor Book *

A single mother drops her son off at his father's house for 6 weeks. Because he's hyperactive, he must be on constant medication and very quickly his alcoholic father convinces him to remove the patch that administers the medication. Joey continues to spiral down out of control as his medication wears off, until finally he's able to steal money out of a fountain at a mall and call his mom to come get him.

I really didn't like this book. I found it frustrating and depressing. What grandmother takes money from her grandson just to buy cigarettes? An addicted woman I guess. I just wanted to slap Joey's grandmother and father up side the head. Definitely not a book any child needs to read.

M.C. Higgins, the Great 1975 Medal Winner *

M. C. Higgins, the Great is about a boy living in the mountains. His mother walks off the mountain each day to go to work leaving him to watch his younger siblings.

Okay, I did not get this book! Maybe it's because I was reading in the midst of lots of other African American literature and this just didn't seem as poignant. For one, I didn't feel like M.C. had a character arc. He seemed no different on the last page of the book as he did on the first. I can't recommend this book.

Miss Hickory 1947 Medal Winner *

Miss Hickory is a story about a little doll made out of wood that must learn to survive winter in a nest.

I'm baffled as to why this book won a Newbery. Never before have I read a book where the main character's head gets eaten at the end of a book. Odd. Not sure I would read this one to my kids.

Gay Neck, The Story of a Pigeon 1928 Medal Winner *

Gay Neck, The Story of a Pigeon tells of a boy in India and his adventures raising a pigeon who becomes a messenger in World War I.

First of all, children today probably won't be able to get past the pigeon's name which means multi-colored. But if they can, they probably won't last beyond the first few pages. Reading this book felt like a chore, especially when the story is told through the eyes of the pigeon.