School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-Fifth-grader Frances, who prefers to be known as Figgrotten, likes to observe nature and delight in her only friend, Alvin, the ancient school bus driver. Stevens makes clear that Figgrotten's solitude brings her joy and allows her to pursue her science investigations and other passions. As far as Figgrotten is concerned, she is just fine. Her school role as the smart one with the answers is mitigated by her observation that this is not always appreciated by her classmates, and she carefully cuts back on the hand-raising. But things do not stay the same. Various problems emerge-most significantly, Alvin suffers a heart attack and Figgrotten's older sister makes some really mean comments. To top it off, a new boy at school seems to have charmed their teacher Mr. Stanley, so Figgrotten has competition. Coping requires Frances to come out of her shell and modify her routine, but she remains true to herself by appreciating solitude while finding companions. The plot is not the point here, although it serves to make the characters' growth gradual and believable. VERDICT Introverts who are comfortable in their skin and want to see themselves portrayed with respect will appreciate Frances.-Carol A. Edwards, formerly at Denver Public Library © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Fifth grader and budding anthropologist Frances prefers being outdoors and renames herself Figgrotten. The loss of a beloved school bus driver is difficult for Figgrotten since she has so few other friends, but this event pushes her to step outside her comfort zone. This introspective novel treats differences in temperament matter-of-factly, and though the protagonist's quirks are particular to her, many will understand her introverted nature and difficulty relating to others. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Frances, a white fifth-grader who calls herself Figgrotten, carries a heavy burden of isolation and loneliness that she is unwilling to recognize.Deeply involved in nature, Figgrotten likes nothing better than spending a day on the rocky hill behind her house, immersed in the outside world. She sleeps with her window open, and her bedroom is packed with her finds: tree branches, birds' nests, and assorted other reminders of nature. Her deep friendship with Alvin, the richly intuitive, elderly driver of her school bus, provides just enough emotional support to sustain her. But she's found effective ways to isolate herself: she dresses oddly, interacts hardly at all with her classmates, and keeps herself tightly reined in from saying too much in school, although her teacher endeavors to ease her way. Like a couple of others in her class, quiet Fiona, with a voice "like a papery whisper," and new boy James, who hides by burying his face in books, Figgrotten remains safe but alone in a sharply circumscribed orbit. With her relationship with her older sister, Christinia, crumbling, followed by the death of Alvin, Figgrotten's world falls apart. It's only after she begins to bridge the gap between herself and the affectingly evoked Fiona, Christinia, and eventually even James, that she finds solace.A moving depiction of unique characters, grief, and the benevolent power of forgiveness. (Fiction. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Figgrotten (or Frances to just about everyone else) is perfectly fine being alone, wearing the same wool hat and coat every day, idolizing anthropologist Margaret Mead, and spending every afternoon on a rocky ledge behind her house. But changes, some big and some small, upend the 11-year-old's routine: First, her sister is being unusually cruel. Then, a new boy comes to class who doesn't seem to recognize how his know-it-all behavior alienates their classmates. And finally, her wise, kind old bus driver ends up in the hospital. In a lively, distinctive voice, Stevens movingly narrates Figgrotten's emotional growth, as she gradually becomes less satisfied with being by herself and more invested in her friends and family. The changes are fairly subtle, but Stevens gracefully emphasizes that those small transformations signify something much more profound. Stevens' deft handling of her characters everyone of them vividly multidimensional is a particular high point, especially Figgrotten, who is at turns grumpy, stubborn, jealous, grief-stricken, and compassionate. This is classic middle-grade coming-of-age territory, but it has surprising, pithy depth.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2017 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
TIME PIECES: A Dublin Memoir, by John Banville. (Knopf, $26.95.) The Booker Prize-winning novelist wanders Ireland's capital city, recalling people and places that still live in his memory. Scattered throughout are suitably atmospheric photographs by Paul Joyce. THE REAL LIFE OF THE PARTHENON, by Patricia Vigderman. (Mad Creek/Ohio State University Press, paper, $21.95.) An American scholar visits classic sites of the ancient world in a book that's part travelogue, part memoir and part musing on our complex, contested cultural heritage. SMOKETOWN: The Untold Story of the Other Great Black Renaissance, by Mark Whitaker. (Simon & Schuster, $30.) Whitaker recounts the untold history of Pittsburgh's role as a mecca for African-Americans in the mid-20th century - from figures like Billy Strayhorn and August Wilson to the local newspaper, The Courier, which covered it all. FEEL FREE: Essays, byZadie Smith. (Penguin, $28.) Deftly roving from literature and philosophy to art, pop music and film, Smith's incisive new collection showcases her exuberance and range while making a cohesive argument for social and aesthetic freedom. A GIRL IN EXILE: Requiem for Linda B., by Ismail Kadare. Translated by John Hodgson. (Counterpoint, $25.) The famed Albanian writer, and perpetual Nobel Prize contender, produces a novel that grapples with the supernatural in a story set against a backdrop of interrogation, exile and thwarted lives. AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE, by Tayari Jones. (Algonquin, $26.95.) Roy and Celestial are a young black couple in Atlanta "on the come up," as he puts it, when he's convicted of a rape he did not commit and sentenced to 12 years in prison. The unfairness of the years stolen from this couple by a great cosmic error forms the novel's slow burn. MONSTER PORTRAITS, by Del and Sofia Samatar. (Rose Metal, paper, $14.95.) Del and Sofia Samatar are brother and sister, and their beautiful new book, which braids Del's art and Sofia's text, explores monstrosity and evil while inviting a discussion about race and diaspora. THE NIGHT DIARY, by Veera Hiranandani. (Dial, $16.99; ages 8 to 12.) A 12-year-old refugee and her family make their way to India's border during the bloody events of Partition in 1947. THE HEART AND MIND OF FRANCES PAULEY, by April Stevens. (Schwartz & Wade, $16.99; ages 8 to 12.) This understated middle grade debut features a dreamy 11-year-old who spends hours among the rocks in her backyard. What the book lacks in plot, it more than makes up in observation, mood and full-on feeling. The full reviews of these and other recent books are on the web: nytimes.com/books
