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Georgia visits her guidance counselor once a week now that she has been put on the “at risk” list with students who are into drugs, drinking, truancy or other troubled behaviors. Georgia’s only behavior problem is that she doesn’t have a mother, and she often stops listening in class because she is busy doodling. Ms. Yokum, the counselor, understands that Georgia is a motherless child living with a father who does not like to talk and doesn’t know much about raising girls. Now that Georgia is a thirteen-year-old, her father seems more uncomfortable than ever.
To escape these afternoon guidance sessions, Ms. Yokum has offered Georgia an opportunity to write letters to her dead mother. Ms. Yokum believes that by letting Georgia tell her mother what her daily life is like, she will also be able to say things to her mother that she cannot say aloud. Thus begins Georgia’s venture into journaling. As Georgia begins to write to her mother, she begins to understand how strong a person she is and how her talent for drawing comes from her mother.
When an anonymous donor sends Georgia a membership to the local art museum, a whole new world is opened to the teen. Georgia begins spending her days learning about the N.C. Wyeth family of artists and their different forms of creative expression. Through this exploration, she finds her own voice.
Pieces of Georgia is a delightful novel for early teens about discovering your talents and building character. The journal style writing is different but allows the text to flow easily. This is a winner for teen girls and will present some historical background to the Wyeth family that will prove captivating for even those pesky teen boys.
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Pieces of Georgia
