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Title: Quaking
ISBN: 0399247742
Author:
Kathryn Erskine
Publicate Date: 2007-06-21
Publish: 2007-06-21
List Price: $17.99
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $5.68
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $1.99
Amazon Merchant Price: $13.49
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1: My Favorite Book of 2007
Kathryn Erskine respects her readers. She tackles subjects that others seem to avoid like the plague. She does it with wit and grace through Matt, the sarcastic and cynical main character of QUAKING.
Matt (not Mattie, and certainly not Matilda) has once again been dumped into the hands of distant relatives of distant relatives. And this time, she has to make it work because there's nowhere else left for her to go.
But these peace-loving Quaker people will have to understand that she doesn't have any feelings, so she does not intend give in to their silent pleas for love and affection. It's just not worth it to let her guard down only to have everything taken away again.
And she doesn't intend to take their advice and stand against bullies, either. Don't they even have the common sense to run and hide at the first sign of trouble? This tactic has always served her well in the past.
Or has it? Maybe it is time to stand, especially if she wants to stay in one place for once.
This book was my favorite of 2007 Young Adult Novels.
Off to Turn Another Page....
This review was cross posted at The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents ([...])
By Professional Reviewer, Julie M. Prince
(www.juliemprince.com)
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2: An awesome debut novel! Entertaining! Educational! Explosive!
When I saw "Quaking" reviewed on the TeensReadToo web site, I mentioned it to my best friend who is a Quaker. She said she'd read it and found it very moving, and encouraged me to read it too. I'm certainly glad I did.
What she failed to tell me is that it's a kid's book--and I love to read kid's books. Actually, Amazon has it listed in the 9-12 age range, but since the protagonist is fourteen, it should be listed as Young Adult (YA). Personally, I think it's one of those books that's a cross-over, written to appeal to adults as well as kids ... like so many YA books are.
Kathryn Erskine's debut novel tells the story of Matt (and DON'T call her Matilda!) who is an abused fourteen-year-old shunted from one foster home to another. Matt dresses Goth and memorizes the floor, hiding from the trauma of her past, spurning all offers of kindness and care. What a culture shock for her to end up in the home of Quakers Sam and Jessica Fox!
The story builds in intensity as Matt begins to care about her foster parents and becomes involved with the Quaker peace testimony. Feelings about the war in the Middle East run high in her school and her town, with the school bully ("the Rat") and a teacher ("Mr. Warhead") leading the charge against local pacifists.
Matt tries to hide her fear of the Rat and his gang, but as the town begins to erupt with violent attacks against houses of worship, she knows it's only a matter of time until the Quaker Meeting House and her foster father are victims. Eventually, in an explosive ending, Matt finds her voice and the strength to face her fear and stand up for her own convictions.
The author challenges herself by telling the story in Matt's own voice and does a masterful job of bringing the strong, loving girl out of her protective shell. She uses icons of a happy childhood to expose cracks in Matt's armor. The mesmerizing rhythm of Dr. Seuss's "Green Eggs and Ham" find the first chink: <<"And then I remember how dangerous it is to go to that place. The place you think is safe. Because it is not.">>
Jessica's homemade soup dissolves the last of Matt's defenses: <<"I love this soup. I want to hide in this soup, among its carrots and potatoes and celery and chicken and warm breath ... I want to fall asleep in this soup, wrapping myself in its wide noodles and using a soft lima bean for a pillow.">>
That last passage is like magic to me; a marvelous image that may be my favorite in the entire book!
I particularly enjoyed this book because I learned more about my friend's church. "Quaking" reveals a lot about Quakers and their testimonies, but first and foremost, it's a brilliant YA novel about a young girl who opens her heart to unconditional love. I recommend this beautifully written story for the whole family.
Reviewed by: Betty Dravis, 2008
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3: Bush's badlands
Fourteen-year-old Matt (Matilda) is a Goth, but that partially a pose to keep the world away. She uses her look, and her humor - a knife-like sarcasm - to avoid connection and taking action. But she finds at her new home, the parents, in particular the father Sam, are devout Quakers and activists engaged in the anti-Iraq war movement. As she moves closer to Sam, those same beliefs lead to her harassment at school by a big mouth bully and a pro-war civic teacher. As the title suggests, after years of an almost dormant emotional life, Matt begins "quaking" and moving toward action. The ending -- which echoes that of Crutcher's Whale Talk --is tragic, and thus befitting of a book about the Iraq war. Like my own novel Nailed Quaking also explores kids who decide not to fit in and thus turn high school into a trip through the badlands.
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4: As an Author I am in awe of this book!
If you are mad at the war in Iraq you will like this book. If you wonder how it feels to be a foster kid tossed from house to house, you will love this book. If you've had a really crazy fanatical teacher like the main character Matt does, you will totally relate. Really great read.
Beckie Weinheimer, author CONVERTING KATE, Viking Books 2007.
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5: Moving story of love and change.
Kathryn Erskine's QUAKING tells of Matt, who dresses in Gothic black and defies everyone until she moves in with a peaceful Quaker family in Pennsylvania. Their lifestyle and philosophy will challenge her battles and her outlook on past and present problems in this moving story of love and change.
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