Speak
Penguin Group (USA)
January 2010
$7.99 US
102p pb
ISBN:
978-0142415528
fp January 2003
followed by Peace, Locomotion
Locomotion
Jacqueline Woodson
from the book...
Not a lot of people
want boys.
Not foster boys
that ain't babies...
Lonnie's life changed forever when his parents died. Now it's changing again. Suddenly there's a new way to tell the world about his life. But he has to hold on.
A
moving, lyrical novel from award-winning Jacqueline Woodson.
If you have read this verse novel and would like to share your opinion of it with other readers please send your review or comments to YARR-A
Locomotion
by Jacqueline Wilson is a poignant and lyrical verse novel about a
young boy who
has lost his family and is now living as a foster child with Miss Edna
and
separated from his younger sister Lili. The young boy, Lonnie C Motion
(‘Locomotion’) writes poetry as a way to hold on to his life, remember
his
past and move forward. He writes using a range of poetry forms which
detail his
feelings, his home and school life, the advent of a new country boy to
his poor
inner city school and his relationship with his sister whom he sees on
occasion.
This is a short and affecting novel which cannot but touch the reader. Lonnie’s young and innocent voice is sure to move you. Much recommended.
Bea,
Locomotion is
an ingenious lyrical novel by Jacqueline Woodson, delving into the mind
(and
writing style) of an 11-year old orphaned boy named Lonnie Collins
Motion, whose
parents were killed in a fire. Lonnie (nicknamed ‘Locomotion’ by his
late
parents) is then taken in by a foster ‘parent’, Miss Edna, although she
seems more like a dormitory keeper. Lonnie is confused by her actions
(telling
him to be quiet, then to make noise once he finally obeyed the first
command),
as well as the world around him (being in denial of his parents’ death,
dealing with English class, and the like.)
This confusion is brought forth ever so
subtly in the
way the book is written. The writing style evolves as Lonnie learns
stuff on a
day-to-day basis – what starts off as normal paragraph-style writing
soon
turns into something with bad punctuation, rhythm and grammar, and
excessive
line breaks then into something more coherent, and finally into a firm,
sometimes rhyming, well-written poem. This is easily the best attempt
at
‘delving into the characters’ minds’ I’ve ever seen, as while other
perspective novels include slang usage and the like, Locomotion
uses a realistic writing style rather than making some street punk kid
able to
write perfectly.
Locomotion
is the story of a young African-American boy named Lonnie. His life is
forever
changed after the death of his parents in a fire, and the resulting
separation
of him and his sister to different foster homes. It follows every
aspect of his
life, from the relationship with his foster mother, his love for his
sister, and
his progress in school; where his love and ability for poetry is shown.
This
book has a varied format, covering every aspect of verse, from Haiku to
free
verse, and this makes the book more interesting to read; seeing how a
story can
be expressed in so many different ways is what makes this book a class
above
most verse novels. This novel is not a long read, yet it says all it
really
needs to. The amount of detail is enough to leave you satisfied with
the plot,
yet you still want to turn the page. This is a great book for a 13 or
so year
old, yet it can be enjoyable for anyone older than this. I definitely
recommend
this book to fans of the genre, as it is a fantastic example of the
versatility
possible.
Locomotion
by Jacqueline Woods is a moving story of a young boy and how he comes
to terms
with the changes that take place in his life.
As
the result of a terrible house fire, Lonnie C Motion (nicknamed
Locomotion)
loses his parents, and both he and his younger sister Lilie are left
alone.
Lonnie’s relatives refuse to take care of him and Lillie, so the two of
them
have no choice but to be placed into a foster home. Unfortunately, they
are
placed under the care of different foster parents and once again,
Lonnie is
separated from a loved one. Even though Lonnie visits his sister
occasionally,
he cannot move on from the unfortunate changes that have taken place in
his
life, and describes his seemingly dull life - with very few exciting
events -
through poetry in the form of verse and prose.
Set
in the suburbs of America, Locomotion mainly revolves
around a young boy’s understanding of
life, changes, not fitting in, and life finally getting better. I liked
this
novel mainly because it was very realistic and although it did not end
with
everything being perfect for Lonnie, it did end on a happy note.
I
think this novel was well-written and would be enjoyed by anyone who
likes a
quick and easy read.
Laraib, Year 10, Canberra, Australia
Locomotion is a poetic verse novel set in the present time. It’s about a young African-American boy named Lonnie who loses his parents in a house fire at the age of seven. His life changes forever after he is placed in a foster home separated from his little sister Lily. Ms Edna takes Lonnie in as a foster child and Lonnie struggles to live through his days, until he meets a teacher named Ms Marcus who introduced poetry to him. He found a new way of expressing his feelings towards the world. Meanwhile his sister Lily is placed in another foster home. Both of them have hardly any opportunities to see each other and they believe that maybe one day God will reunite them together. Will they end up living together again as a happy family?
The book Locomotion is full of feelings and it shows you how it would feel if you lost all your family members through tragic accidents or you’re forced to move away from them. I thought the book was fairly interesting and simple to understand. If I had to rate it, I’d give it a 6/10 and I think that people who like simple and imaginative books would enjoy reading this book.
Sherman, Year 8, Canberra, Australia