THE HOMESCHOOL LIBERATION LEAGUE: My Review

Ah, another great read! I thoroughly enjoyed this book: an honest look at the educational options available to children today, wrapped up in teenage drama, as it ought to be.

We've all read fiction with an agenda before, and I was prepared for this to be just that, based on the title. But I was wrong. Happily wrong.

The narrator's view of homeschooling is definitely biased, but the experiences the author throws at her make for a very well-rounded view of several different schooling options. THE HOMESCHOOL LIBERATION LEAGUE is the most honest fiction I have read in years. Enjoying a story without an agenda, as you all know, is a rare thing.

Katya's voice is delightful, and sometimes delightfully absurd. She's a teenager after my own heart, who loves to use her creativity. Whether it's planning a foraged-food feast of weed-salad and barberry wine, or just convincing her parents to let her stay home from school for the next year--she is up for the challenge!

There's adventure and angst and drama in this YA book, but there's also romance. It isn't Katya's first kiss that we're experiencing, but it is her first love. And who knew violin lessons could be so steamy?

Katya is thirteen, and Lucy Frank did a fabulous job making her voice match this volatile stage of life. She's emotional and excitable, but she's also more thoughtful than her parents or teachers give her credit for. Doesn't every teenager feel misunderstood this way?

I also enjoyed the catalog of changing friendships that often happens during middle school as teenagers discover who they naturally are and who they want to be. One of Katya's friends seems especially torn between playing "the game" and being herself, a question I think most adults can still relate to their lives.

But this is a book seeping with young adult spirit. I recommend it with five stars.

NEXT READ: Aprilynne Pike's WINGS
Join me next week to discuss this YA fantasy recommended by Stephenie Meyer, author of the TWILIGHT saga.

Next Read: The HOMESCHOOL LIBERATION LEAGUE by lucy frank

Next on my reading list/nightstand is The Homeschool Liberation League by Lucy Frank. This book came out last year, and I've been wanting to read it ever since I saw it in the window at Barnes and Noble.

"TO: Everyone I know
FROM: Nature Girl
------------------------
guess what??? i wanted you to hear it from me first. do not look 4 me at school 2moro or anymore. im homeschooling. i will miss you all, but NOT the place.


details l8r.


LYL, K"
-from the back cover

"KATYA just cannot go back to school, not after her summer at Wilderness Camp. There's no way her teachers would let her go on foraged-food-finding missions or eradicate invasive alien plants. Not to mention that she's been wondering about the mysterious violin-playing boy, Milo, who lives in her neighborhood but doesn't go to junior high. That's it, Katya needs to be homeschooled! 


Her parents are willing to give it a try, but Katya has to stick to their (just-like-school!) assignments. This isn't what she had in mind. She needs the help of Milo and new friend Francesca to come up with a plan to save her homeschooling experience. The three become the founding members of the Homeschool Liberation League--but will it be enough to convince Katya's parents that her ideas about learning might be just right for her?" -from cover flap

I've always been a homeschooler at heart (even though I went to a pretty decent public high school). I think it was junior high that convinced me school was inherently evil. I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one who thought so, either. I'm looking forward to seeing the principles of homeschooling immortalized in fiction. I just hope this book is not riddled with homeschool cliches and stereotypes.

If you're in between books yourself, please feel free to JOIN me, and when I post my review, we can have a delightful discussion.

Blissful Reading!