Freedom Jane McKenzie isn't good at following the rules. She's good at getting into trouble-and playing marbles. All she wants is to enter the marble competition at the Autumn Jubilee and show the boys in the neighborhood that she's the best player. First, Freedom has to convince her mother to let her enter. But there's a new baby on the way, Freedom's daddy is drinking too much, her little brother is a handful, and her mother is even more difficult than usual. Freedom learns that when it comes to love, friendship, and family, sometimes there are no rules. Set in 1959, The Marble Queen is a timeless story about growing up. "I wanted to stay with Freedom and her oh-so-real family forever. I wanted to keep watching her play marbles with the boys. And I wanted just one more visit with the kind but eccentric next-door neighbor. Blake has combined the fascinating world of childhood marble-playing with the ups and downs of perfectly realistic characters. A winner!" -Barbara O'Connor, author of How to Steal a Dog and Greetings from Nowhere "Rich with historical details, The Marble Queen will pull you back to 1959, but Freedom Jane McKenzie is a protagonist for all time. Whether she's knee-deep in family struggles or proving to the world she has what it takes to play marbles with the boys, Freedom's voice rings out with determination, humor, and warmth." -Nan Marino, author of Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me
Freedom Jane McKenzie isn't good at following the rules. She's good at getting into trouble-and playing marbles. All she wants is to enter the marble competition at the Autumn Jubilee and show the boys in the neighborhood that she's the best player. First, Freedom has to convince her mother to let her enter. But there's a new baby on the way, Freedom's daddy is drinking too much, her little brother is a handful, and her mother is even more difficult than usual. Freedom learns that when it comes to love, friendship, and family, sometimes there are no rules. Set in 1959, The Marble Queen is a timeless story about growing up. "I wanted to stay with Freedom and her oh-so-real family forever. I wanted to keep watching her play marbles with the boys. And I wanted just one more visit with the kind but eccentric next-door neighbor. Blake has combined the fascinating world of childhood marble-playing with the ups and downs of perfectly realistic characters. A winner!" -Barbara O'Connor, author of How to Steal a Dog and Greetings from Nowhere "Rich with historical details, The Marble Queen will pull you back to 1959, but Freedom Jane McKenzie is a protagonist for all time. Whether she's knee-deep in family struggles or proving to the world she has what it takes to play marbles with the boys, Freedom's voice rings out with determination, humor, and warmth." -Nan Marino, author of Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me
Stephanie J. Blake loves black jellybeans. She is scared of the dark. She reads lots of books. She's a terrible driver. She eats chocolate. A lot. Sometimes she has deja vu, and she likes it. Her middle name is Jane. The Marble Queen is her first book. When she's not in front of the computer, she can be found in her backyard in Colorado with her husband, their three boys, and their two dogs. If she weren't a writer, she'd be a country singer. Or maybe a pastry chef. Stephanie is also a member of the Apocalypsies, a group of children's and young adult authors debuting in 2012, and Smack Dab in the Middle, a middle grade authors' blog.
Gr 5-7-Hopefully this engaging first novel won't be the only book about Freedom Jane McKenzie, because she is one likable gal. The writing is fluid, rich with description yet accessible, and the author deftly weaves together multiple layers of conflict. The characters are fully developed and endearing, particularly 10-year-old Freedom. She is spunky and determined to keep beating the neighborhood boys at marbles even though her mother insists she should act more like a girl. She's also a hoot, with hilariously bad impulses. Her mom has many rules she expects her daughter to follow, which leads, of course, to a lot of head-butting. Freedom's father is a rascal with a big heart. He tries to do well by his family but is not always successful. The book brims with poignancy and humor as the McKenzies make mistakes, some serious, others that are laugh-out-loud funny. This family is as real as it gets. Readers will hurt for their downfalls and cheer their love, loyalty, and triumphs. The story is set in Idaho Falls in 1959, but Blake maintains such a good balance between period details and the overarching issues of family dynamics and growing up that Freedom's travails will ring true with today's tweens. Terrific.-Alyson Low, Fayetteville Public Library, AR (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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