*****8 1/2 stars****
Dedication:
For---
Leigh, Jeffrey, Rachel, Michael, Maddie Jo, and Miles...
and for young artists everywhere
Epigraph:
"Live your life. Write your life. Paint your life...very few people do that. They're scared of it."
--Andrew Wyeth
What a lovely surprise! Thought I would hate it...thought it would be a sickeningly revolting "girl" book...but Georgia's honest, true voice hooked me and kept me reeled in for the rest of the story. My heart ached for Georgia--not only does she face some unique challenges in life (financial difficulties, estrangement from her grandparents, being placed on a school "At Risk" list, feeling distant from a formerly-close friend, trying something new by creating and submitting an art portfolio to a contest, etc.)--but she must do it without the mother she lost and with a father who is still emotionally raw about his beloved wife's death.
The art angle was especially appreciated. Part of my youth was spent in Pennsylvania, and Keystone State folks are very proud of Chadd's Ford and Longwood Gardens. If you ever visit the museum Georgia loved in this book and you do not stop at Longwood Gardens just down the road (one of the most beautiful places on God's green earth--and where my father taught me to use his Nikon camera), it would be a crying shame.
I think you'll like this book. Just wait until you find out who gave Georgia her anonymous present...
