CAUTION: MINOR SPOILERS IN THIS REVEIW, READ WITH CAUTION

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Seeing as this book was written by Jerry Spinelli, I was curios about this book. Stargirl, and, Love, Stargirl, were among two of the most beautifully written books I've read. So, I started this book with pretty high expectations. I knew nothing about it, just the title, time period, and author.

This book wasn't as good as I thought it would be. First of all, I thought that Cammie, our narrator, was a bit stuck up. Sure, she never has known what it is like to have a mother, and sure, I really truly want to give her a hug and say "I'm Sorry". But I felt like whenever she got angry or sad, she'd use having no mother as an excuse. I also thought that throughout the book, she was a really horrible person towards Elode, even though she wanted her to be her mother of sorts. When Elode tried to stick up for Cammie , Cammie just screamed at her. Elode clearly felt pity for the poor girl, but she just gets a response full of anger and disgust. Reggie, Cammies "BFF" is also being treated poorly. Heck, cammie actually has the guts to throw her friend to the ground. I understood why Cammie was enraged, and I too, was also shocked and enraged by the action Reggie wanted Cammie to do for her. But that certinly does not mean she should hit her and rip up something she payed for with her own money, which is a mere sign of disrespect towards someone else's property. But enough about Cammies flaws, lets talk about the parts I liked.

Jerry Spinelli sure does have a knack for giving vivid colors to black and white pages. In fact, the best parts of mine weren't because of somethng that happened in the plot, but the word choice and the beautiful imagery (I think I spelled that wrong) throughout those parts.

As for how I liked the book, I think a 3.5 is more of a better rating, just because I thought some of the character traits and just some of the characters in general need a bit of tweaking.

Historical Fiction; best suited for grades 4-8

Just having finished this book, I'm writing this review with tissues and lots of sniffles. I'd like to just start by pointing out that there are some really tough and potentially triggering topics in this book: great loss, suicide, etc. There are some mature aspects that may not be suitable for some readers (especially younger readers).

But wow. What an incredible read from Jerry Spinelli. He truly does not disappoint in this wonderful piece of historical fiction. The main character, Cammie, is a 12 year old tomboy who is very rough around the edges. She is the warden's daughter - and her childhood is very different than many of her peers'. She faces a lot of very difficult traumas in her life and has to find her way through grief. This is much easier said than done and it is not an easy road for Cammie.

For adult readers - definitely read this book. It's a quick read and it's very engaging. For younger readers - perhaps consider the maturity level in this book and if the reader is able to process some really difficult topics in a healthy way. This is a hard read emotionally, but overall a really wonderful book that I would highly recommend.

I wanted to like this a lot more than I did because I love Jerry Spinelli, but several aspects just didn't work for me. I didn't connect with Cammie at all and I felt a lot of her actions were irresponsible with no consequences. Boo Boo was a caricature of stereotypes and really made me uncomfortable to see here. And I found it completely unrealistic and inauthentic to have a story taking place in this time period with these characters that didn't deal with racism/racial tensions, particularly in the instance when Cammie and Andrew (? I think that's his name - the little boy) go riding. That sort of thing would have had many more implications than this novel suggests and it felt wrong. I also found the ending to be too convenient and unlikely.

Thanks to the publisher for a digital advance reader's copy, provided via Edelweiss.

http://www.foldedpagesdistillery.com/2017/01/the-wardens-daughter-review.html

A niiiiiice coming of age story - with barely any plot!

As usual, Jerry Spinelli never fails to create quirky characters, some adventures and friendships across boundaries. I fell in love with Camie, the warden's daughter who is tomboyish and looking for love in the wrong places. Some scenes of her and her Jailbirds gank were so cheery and lovely, I blushed while I was reading it.
I sometimes wish Spinelli will leave out the last chapter. It feels like a bit in a rush and too much explanation. It does feel like Hollywood ending when everything turns out fine. But perhaps, targeting younger young-adults, he felt the need to put up a closure. I prefer the open ending.

Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli tells the story of a girl who lost her mother as an infant and grew up as the daughter of a prison warden. Cammie isn’t a girl who is silly and lots of fun. In fact, she is fast moving and fast talking, exactly why she has the nickname Cannonball Cammie. Cammie is actually angry most of the time. Her best friend has developed faster and seems to be 17 instead of 13 sometimes. She wants to get on Bandstand and be famous. Cammie though is more interested in riding her bike around town and playing baseball. Cammie thinks that her life would be better with a motherly figure, so she begins to try to get the prisoner assigned as their housekeeper to be more like a mother to her. Then there’s Boo Boo, the prisoner who acts motherly towards Cammie but hides a dark secret. Her father too is a mystery, both present and not there, sometimes at the same time. It’s all a confusing mix of emotions for Cammie, who will need to deal with her own grief both past and present before she can do anything but be angry at the world.

Spinelli has written a completely captivating story in this middle grade novel. The setting is richly created with the prison, a full city and community, and one moment after another where Cammie sets it all ablaze with her anger and acting out. Throughout though, Cammie is far more than just as angry person, she is humanity personified, a girl in search of herself even as she spends her time looking for solutions in others. It’s a compelling story, one that is filled with moments of joy and despair.

Spinelli writes like a wizard, unveiling truths slowly and beautifully. As Cammie storms through her life, she also reveals the truths of others around her. And without revealing the entirely riveting and humbling ending, she creates opportunities where others become more than they have ever been before. It is a staggeringly rich novel that is written with such skill that it manages to read in an accessible way.

A masterful book about loss, childhood and recovery by a master of books for children, this is a must-read and a must-buy for libraries. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

It's always very refreshing to read a coming-of-age type story focused on a girl. Cammie is a wonderful main character in that I think I would hate her in real life, but her story is compelling and well-told. The plot was very realistic and filled with just enough historical markers to make you feel like you were living in the late 50s, but not too many that it felt shoved in your face.

Loved this one. Review to come.