Run Away from Home Day - 2 reviews from Atlas

Apologies for the missed days, our typist had the creeping crud, and we still aren't very good at hitting the right keys with these webbed feet. It did give us time to work through our Fall Into Reading list, though, and we found two we enjoyed with a similar theme.

What child hasn't wanted to run away from home occasionally? What adult, for that matter? In both these books, the kids have good reason to. Our first:



Snyder touched on abusive families in Libby on Wednesdays, but it becomes the more central focus in this book. It seemed at times that she wasn't quite sure how to handle the topic with her readers. It was both more light-hearted and more serious than some of her other books, with some of the situations and the ending being a little too far-fetched and pat. Not one of her better books, but still a good read.



This one is also light-hearted, but between the title, the cover, and the jacket description:

Curiosity killed the cat, or so Liberty's evil dad, Mal, tells her. They've never had a cat, though, and Liberty is very curious. She's curious about why her mom needs to eat pounds of fried hot dogs and clams, why mal only bathes in months with the letter Z in them, and why she has not been allowed to go outside, not once.

you expect that from the get-go. I have heard this one compared to works by Roald Dahl, Eva Ibbotson, Lemony Snicket, and J.K. Rowling. It certainly has elements of all those, which I think will make it a popular read. The situations are fantastical, the heroine has spunk, and things are wrapped up neatly at the end. ***SPOILER ALERT*** I like the fact that the mother was given a second chance, but I do not get why Liberty would still want to attend the boarding school after her experience there. While the characters are interesting, they are a also one-dimensional and stereotyped...but, in a Roald Dahl fashion, which many readers enjoy. Not a life-changing book, but enjoyable light reading.