I get annoyed when authors create completely flat villains.ĥ. The villains in this story (Molly and Claire, the bad teachers, and the stupid psychologist that gives Melody her initial intelligence test) are totally one-dimensional. If she's a perfect speller, couldn't she spell out 'I love you' to her parents? Wouldn't they take the time to allow her to do that? Better yet, wouldn't her parents seek out adaptive technology so they could communicate better with their child?Ĥ. It strikes me as unrealistic that Melody, with her super intelligence, couldn't communicate better using her low-tech talking board. (I've re-read sections of the book and I think it's Draper's overuse of exclamation points that makes her characters sound inauthentic and corny to me.)ģ. Other things that I think will date this book: MySpace, TiVo, and Nintendo Wii. Now, I still say things are 'the bomb,' but I'm a lot older than the kids in this book. I've never heard anyone say, 'She is tripping,' without droppin' the g.

an adult's version of what she thinks modern kids sound like). In fact, a lot of dialogue struck me as unrealistic (i.e. Do kids in the year 2010 say 'tight' anymore? I think Draper is trying to make Melody sound like an average kid, but to me she sounds like an adult trying to sound like a kid. This line was probably meant to sound poetic but comes off as a failed metaphor to me.Ģ. If a snowflake is melting in your hands, you've touched it. The phrase 'untouched in my hands' really bothers me. Washington steps in to help Gerald and Angel rid their lives of abuse.Many people love love love this book, so I'm going to skip the praise for now (you can read plenty of it elsewhere) and go straight to criticism:ġ. Gerald calls her presence a power source, Aunt Queen serves as a loving mother figure to Gerald when his mom is in jail. He gets her drugs and has her wash them down with beer so he won't have to deal with her.

She even calls the kids liars for years,Ĭhecking in on them regularly and having them in his home whenever they needed a safe haven., When Monique is recovering from her accident,īut she turns a blind eye to her husband's abuses.

He helps his family in times of illness but only when he feels like it. Jordan physically abuses the whole family and sexually abuses Angel. She stops doing drugs after serving jail time,Īngry that they sent her beloved husband to prison. Monique is a heavy drinker and drug addict.

Out of my heart sharon m draper