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By Jacqueline Woodson
Reviewed by TFK Kid Reporter Jair Massie
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Number of pages: 144
What's the basic story line?Jacqueline Woodson's Peace, Locomotion is a book about the love between Lonnie, or Locomotion, and his little sister Lili. Their parents die in a house fire. When the siblings are adopted, Lili's foster mother refuses to adopt a boy, so they are separated. During the time they are apart, Lonnie takes on the responsibility of being the "rememberer" and writing everything that happens to them in letters, which he plans to give to Lili when they live together again. The story is told through these letters from Lonnie to Lili. Lonnie also includes his great poems in the letters. They have a common topic: peace. In this book, Lonnie struggles to find answers regarding the true meaning of peace, love, loss, family and who he really is.
Were the characters believable?The characters were most definitely believable. Lonnie, Lili and their foster families come across as regular American people. They each seem to represent someone you have met in your lifetime. This is a great effect and calls for the reader to think deeply about the topics in the story. What are those topics? You will have to read Peace, Locomotion to find out!
On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being best), how would you rate this book?I would rate this book a 5. It was a nice story that really made me think about family, love, peace and loss. However, the book did not succeed in holding my attention. I love fantasy novels and books with action or espionage, so this book was somewhat tedious and lackluster for me. Readers who love stories about family and everyday fictional characters, this is the book for you. If you were intrigued by the interpersonal story line described above, I suggest you read the book and develop your own opinion. You may consider reading Locomotion first. I didn't, and I understood Peace, Locomotion. But reading the first book may make the message more powerful.
