Up a Road Slowly

Gr 5–8—After their mother's death, Julie and her brother are sent to live with their spinster schoolteacher aunt. Cordelia is tough and unsparing, but she provides them with a home and the stability that Julie thrives under. From age seven to 17, Julie experiences everything from the laughable—a conversation with God about why she's blamed for everything—to the serious—the death of a classmate who she treated poorly. The theme of fitting in is prevalent throughout as Julie struggles with the marriage of her beloved older sister and her father's remarriage. Secondary characters are well fleshed out from Uncle Haskell, a drunk, pathological liar, to Danny, the boy next door who Julie ultimately falls in love with. Winner of the 1967 Newbery Award, Irene Hunt's coming-of-age novel is read by Jaselyn Blanchard. Her pace, voicing, and emotion are not particularly engaging. Purchase only where there is a need for additional Newbery titles on audio.—Kefira Philippe, Nichols Middle School, Evanston, IL