Every Day After

Towards the end of the school year, I did a historical fiction unit with my fifth graders.  Several kids who were not interested in historical fiction before the unit realized how awesome it is by the end of it.  I have always loved reading books about the past.  I  read the Little House on the Prairie books over and over as a kid.  As an adult, I still love it.  Especially if it focuses on pioneers, the Great Depression, or World War 2. And actually, now that I think of it, I love the 50s, 60s, 70s...all time periods intrigue me!  

I picked up Every Day After by Laura Golden after it was raved about on Twitter.  Well, my "Tweeps" still haven't let me down.  I loved every thing about this book!  

Lizzie Hawkins is having a rough year.  It's 1932, and the country is in the middle of the Great Depression.  Her father lost his job and left the family.  Her mother has become depressed to the point in which she sits in a rocking chair all day long, not moving or speaking.  She is dealing with a bully at school, and her long-time friend Ben is having troubles of his own and is drifting away from her.  Lizzie is tough and fiercely independent.  She finds ways to make money for her family and realizes in the end that it takes friends to help each other through hard times.  

I think fans of Turtle in Paradise or the "May Ameila" books by Jenni Holm will love this one.  Lizzie is an awesome character that I can't wait to share with my class in the fall!

Have you read Every Day After?  I'd love to hear what you think!