Book Title: From Anna
Author: Jean Little
Categories: Fiction, Children's Literature, Historical Fiction
Age Group:
Part of a Series? Yes.
Place In Series: Book 1
Other Books In Series: Listen for the Singing (#2)
Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
This book.....Wow. Just wow.
The story was poignant, relatable, and so touching. It's a story of growing up, and it details some of the unique challenges Anna Solden (main character) faces as she matures.
Anna Solden is the youngest in a family of seven. Anna cannot do the same things as her siblings. She can't play the same as them, and she is hopeless in school. Her siblings make fun of her for it, and their comments sting.
No one really understands Anna, except for Papa, it seems. Not until her family moves from Germany to Canada. There, her family visits a doctor, where each of the children have medical exams done for school. Doctor Schumacher discovers that Anna is unable to see well, so he helps arrange for her to get glasses.
Anna is excited at how much she can now see through her new glasses. But then one of her siblings makes a mean remark about them, and her happiness is somewhat spoilt.
Soon after Anna gets her glasses, Doctor Schumacher takes her to a special class for students with eyesight challenges. Her lovely teacher begins to help her feel seen, to help her feel valued. Slowly, Anna begins to come out of the shell she has withdrawn into her whole young life. "Awkward Anna" is turning into a whole new girl. She makes good friends who understand her well, she progresses well in school, and she begins to enjoy life more.
From Anna reminds me of another book I have read. Baby, by Patricia MacLachlan. Although they are extremely different in many ways, both books feature main characters who struggle to be seen for reasons unique to their story.
This book was so good that I am seriously considering buying my own copy. I don't usually do star ratings because I haven't come up with a good system, but From Anna would be 100% a five-star book.
Oh goodness. I just love sharing about my favourite reads. It's like I just can't resist! From Anna is definitely worth your time. It drew me in and held my attention the whole way through. I am a bit biased towards quiet stories (of which From Anna is one), and read quite a few of them. Many of the other books I've shared about on my blog are also quiet stories. Check them out via the links below.
Thanks for sticking around to the end. :) I like sharing about some of my favourite reads throughout the year, and I hope you like hearing about them. For a very few number of reviews that I have not posted on the blog, you can follow this link to my Goodreads page.
P.S. Looking for something with a bit more action? Try Two Times a Traitor by Karen Bass.
Until next week,
God bless!