Sylvia & Miz Lula Maye
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- USD 9.99
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- USD 9.99
Descripción editorial
When 10-year-old Sylvia Freeman moves to Wakeview, South Carolina, she's sure that her summer is going to be plain ol' boring—that is until she meets her 99-year-old neighbor, Miz Lula Maye. It's always been just Sylvia and her momma, but as the hot summer days pass, she finds herself heading down the dusty dirt road that runs from her house to Miz Lula Maye's more and more. With Miz Lula Maye, everything is an adventure, whether they're swaying on the porch swing or chasing after missing cats. Then, one day, a stranger comes to town with news about Sylvia's past that changes her life forever. With her world turned upside-down, what can Sylvia do?
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This lumbering first novel takes place during the summer of 1978, when 10-year-old Sylvia moves to rural South Carolina with her mother, who has found a job picking peppers. On her own during the day, the African-American youngster strikes up a friendship with Miz Lula Maye, her 100-year-old neighbor. When the girl's mother, who refuses to discuss their family history with her daughter, asks Sylvia if she really likes "hanging out with that old lady," the girl defensively replies, "What do you mean? What's wrong with being friends with an old lady? She makes me feel alive! We have fun together doin' things and talkin'! I like spendin' time with Miz Lula Maye besides, she doesn't even act old!" Sylvia's first-person narrative frequently sounds forced and becomes burdened with inconsequential details. After eating lunch one day with her elderly friend, for instance, Sylvia helps the woman tend to her cat's broken tail and then lies down to nap, noting, "As I drifted off into a much needed and deserved sleep, my last thought was that I was surprised I hadn't thrown up that delicious ham sandwich." With its sleepy pace and overly neat conclusion (Miz Lula Maye's long-lost grandson reappears and turns out to be Sylvia's father), this will likely hold little interest for most young readers. Ages 8-12.