Summer Reading #22

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

Earlier this week, right after I finished #21, I started another book. I couldn't get into it, so I gave up, which is not something I normally do. I also had professional development this week, and on the second day of that, the facilitator did a read aloud of this book. Three paragraphs were all she read, but I wanted to know more, so I ordered it. It came in yesterday, and I put the other book I am reading aside to read this one.

Hollis Gray, named for the woods she was found in when she was an hour old, is an orphan. She wants to find a place where she belongs, but always seems to sabotage the situation. She runs away, and ends up with another foster family.  Two things changed Hollis.

The first is the summer she stayed with the Regans. Her foster family at the time sent her away for the summer so that they could have time with their biological kids. Hollis fits right in with the Regans, so much so that they want to adopt her. But then something happens, and Hollis runs away.

The second is her time with Josie. Josie is an older woman, whose mind is not what it used to be. Despite this, Hollis wants to be with Josie. Josie has shown her what it is like to be loved, and it is a feeling that Hollis likes very much. However, because Josie's mind is increasingly diminishing, Hollis is not going to be able to stay with her much longer. Hollis runs away again, but this time takes Josie with her.

This is told in alternating time frames. The chapters with Josie are in the present, and the chapters with the Regans are told in flashback. I liked this aspect of the book. The book references pictures because Hollis is an artist, but there are no actual pictures in the book. The reader has to use the author's descriptions to see the pictures Hollis wants you to see, and the author does an excellent job of painting those pictures.