Book Review of Book:   'Queenie Peavy'   by Robert Burch

Juvenile fiction:  Ages 10 and up.

This book is great for teaching children to empathize with those who are a little raw around the edges, and the main character is definitely that.  In a story set in rural depression era Georgia, thirteen year old Queenie struggles with poverty, peer abuse, loneliness, and the stigma of having a father who is in prison, as well as the temptation to go a delinquent way herself.  The story is told from Queenie's point of view.

Queenie herself is a classic case of soft on the inside, hard on the outside.  The book is also a tale of   triumph.  Queenie manages, against all odds, to steer her life on the correct path, as she learns to express her softer side.  Neither of these two tasks is easy for a girl who has as much going against her as Queenie does. 

The only drawback to this story (for me at least) is that there is no mention of the Lord in this book.  Queenie manages to turn her life around without Jesus.  At the time I read the book, though, I was being raised in a heathen home, so I probably wouldn't have seen the value of it if Queenie had found the Lord and gotten turned around that way. 

Parents will appreciate that Queenie learns the value of following rules, as she learns the rules are a benefit to everyone.  She starts the book as such a rascal, so her transformation is heartening. 

A secular book, but a great, enriching story nevertheless.