Dragged for Me

Beyond the Bright Sea was really, really not the book for me.  I found myself feeling as if it were much longer than it really was.  Like Wolf Hollow I just really didn't find myself able to enjoy this book very much.  I did like the message.  I don't know.  I figure it will maybe get some Newbery buzz, maybe not.  And I figured I wanted to give it a try but it was one that I could have passed on and not felt bad.

Sewickley!

I was actually sitting in my car, in Sewickley, just before work, listening to Wolf Hollow when I heard the narrator say, "Moreover, we did eat at Lancaster's in Sewickley twice a year."
That was very exciting!   Because I didn't realize that the book was set in Pennsylvania before hearing that!  Later on the book does make mention of Pittsburgh and Aliquppa, too.  But it was very exciting to hear "Sewickley" while in Sewickley!
Wolf Hollow is getting Newbery buzz.  And I did like Wolf Hollow.  And I do wonder if it will win the Newbery.  But man, it just wasn't all I thought it would be.
I agree with people who have said it was reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird. But that's the thing, it was a too too too much like TKAM.  And it also was a little too much like Stepping on the Cracks.  To be totally WOW for me.  I wasn't sucked in or blown away.  But it was good.  It just wasn't WOW.  3 of 5 stars for me.