Reviews for Letters in the Attic

The average rating for Letters in the Attic based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-03-18 00:00:00 Paul Simard This is historical fiction set in the early 1960's and at the same time, a coming of age story for 12 year old Elizabeth (Lizzy) McMann. Lizzy has spent most of her life looking after her mother. When Manny, who she thinks is her father, leaves them, Lizzy and her mother end up in a small town in New York State living with previously unknown grandparents. It is a mixed blessing. Her grampa is loving and supportive, but her grandma is filled with bitterness and bile. Ridgewood, New York, is filled with new experiences for Lizzy. The onset of her first period is every girl/woman's worst nightmare. On the other hand, when she purchases her first bra, it impossible not to laugh. Her relationship with her best friend, Eva, who she falls in love with, is complicated and tumultuous. Lizzy discovers her mother's secret life and learns who her real father is. When her mother gets engaged to Lizzy's teacher, it seems like they might have a happy ending after all. I enjoyed this book and there is much to recommend it. Lizzy is a strong character. She's smart, complex, and observant. The cast of supporting characters are multidimensional. I have been looking for a novel with a lesbian character I can comfortably hand out to grades 4 and up. This book meets this need. It is a positive addition to our existing LGBT collection, but I wanted more from Lizzy. We've got compelling gay protagonists in Totally Joe by James Howe and Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle. These are characters who appeal to everyone and kids can see themselves being friends with. Unfortunately, I don't see Lizzy appealing to kids in the same way. Some of this might be because the story is historical fiction and I'm not sure kids will get and understand all the cultural references. Mostly I think it's because Lizzy just doesn't shine in the way those boys do. For great chunks of this book Lizzy felt like a ghost. Don't get me wrong, I liked her, I just couldn't come to care deeply for her in the way I did for Joe and Nate. So while I'm happy as can be to have Lizzy in our library, I don't think she will take off like those boys have. I'm going to hand the book out to some of my readers and see what they think of her. I hope to have to eat my words. This Review is from my blog at

Review # 2 was written on 2014-12-27 00:00:00 Jewel Spears Letters in the Attic was another quick read I found on Scribd. Lizzy McMann is secretly happy that her father wants to leave her mother. She never liked him anyways and besides, he rarely acknowledged her, unless he wanted something. But her mother wasn't taking it too well. They eventually decide to move out of Phoenix to upstate New York, where her grandparents resided. Lizzy didnt even know she had grandparents so she was looking forward to meeting them. The stay at New York turns out to be completely different from what she imagined it to be. Lizzy's grandmother has been very hostile and wouldn't even look at her. She also took every opportunity to ridicule her daughter. Lizzy also ends up learning certain secrets about her mother that makes her initially excited and later very angry. Along the way, she ends up learning that she likes girls and that fact scares her, especially since everyone she knows considers that a very bad thing. Letters in the Attic was a sweet read but I think younger readers may appreciate it more than I did. I wasn't super thrilled by how the characters evolved through the book. The mother was someone who never learned from her mistakes, and most characters aren't fleshed out too well. It bugged me a lot how every chapter started in the present and then flits back to something that happened a few days or weeks ago. I don't mind flashbacks generally, but this style of narration just seemed too distracting and tiring. Besides, I am not a fan of characters who live too often in the past. Other than these odd hiccups, this was a nice book. All Lizzie wants is a dream home, with parents that would form the perfect family portrait. But more importantly, she wants her mother to be happy and often ends up taking care of her mother.