Reviews for Plain City

The average rating for Plain City based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-09-16 00:00:00 Bruno Sakowicz This is an fascinating preteen novel about 12 year old Buhlaire who lives with her two aunts, Aunt Digna, and Aunt Babe, in a Water House in Plain City. Buhlaire is described as having light eyes, pale skin, and bushy, straw-carrot Rasta hair. Her mother, Bluezy Sims, who owns the property where her family lives, travels a lot singing in different towns and has left her daughter in their care. The girl has few friends due in part to several factors, first being her mother is a blues singer, second, she lives in a poor section of town, and last, she keeps to herself, spending hours walking alone throughout the surrounding area. Grady, a boy in her class, follows her around though he and Buhlaire are constantly at odds. She dislikes her Aunt Digna, her primary caretaker who is strict and tries to keep the girl in line. Though not quite a teenager, Buhlaire feels she can take care of herself. Though she loves her mother, Buhlaire seldom sees her except when Bluezy breezes into town. She misses her father who she doesn't remember. She has been told that her father is "missing in action." In her mind, he is a fallen hero. When the principle of the school tells her that her daddy isn't dead but is alive and living in town, Buhlaire decides to find him, learn about her "backstory" and perhaps go live with him. This is the first novel I've read by Virginia Hamilton. She's written many stories for children preteens and teenagers. I highly recommend her novels for young people and those interested in good story telling with provocative themes.

Review # 2 was written on 2008-09-20 00:00:00 Mike Bruns I read this book when I was around 11 years old and I carried it with me everywhere. I think it's not only an excellent read but one which is easy to relate with and true. None of the characters are perfect and none of them are evil. There is dimension and depth to each.