Kimberly Greene Angle

Gr 4-7-Twelve-year-old March Anne expects this summer to be like all others-spending time with her girlfriends, helping on the family's Georgia watermelon farm, and learning from her grandma, who has been raising March Anne and her brother since their mother died nine years ago. But in July, the girl's world is turned upside down when Grenna suffers a heart attack and is bedridden. March Anne valiantly tries to cook the dinners, but her misadventures only serve to highlight the void that her grandmother's absence will leave. Things gradually settle down, and March Anne regales Grenna with stories about school, especially the antics of three previously irritating boys. When Grenna insists that a hummingbird has stayed for the winter, March Anne assumes her grandmother is "wonky," but the creature soon makes itself known, remaining nearby until the February day when Grenna passes on. Afterward, March Anne must come to terms with her grief not only for her grandmother, but also for her mother. Her friends are there to help, and her family draws closer as her father opens up about his repressed heartache over his wife. While the vocabulary is poetic, the Southern idioms and cliches are exaggerated, and March Anne's first-person narration never entirely engages readers. The tone is somewhat saccharine and preachy, and the themes are presented with a heavy hand. An additional novel about friendship and loss.--Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
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Reviewed by Harmony for TeensReadToo.com

March Anne Tanner has grown up on a watermelon farm in Jubilee, Georgia, raised by her grandma, Grenna, and her father. She doesn't know too much about her ancestors, or rocks, or what to do when Grenna suffers from a heart attack.

The only thing she knows is watermelons. But she soon learns that not everything is expected and sometimes, those things you don't think matter, matter most.

Though you may think so from the summary and title, HUMMINGBIRD is not all about watermelons or even hummingbirds. It's about life, love, loss, and friendship. It's about learning about other people to recognize who you really are.

It's a novel that I absolutely loved with one exception - it drags in the middle. Despite that, though, I definitely recommend it.… (más)