1378 Oak Street

1378 Oak Street by Lovely Whitmore

(Summary taken from www.amazon.com)

Kid's today don't know how to play... Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia in the 80's was filled with fun, friendship and lots of adventure. Especially for me and my siblings, on Oak Street!

We weren't rich, but we learned to take what we had and have fun with it. We played restaurant, made mud pies and had barbecue chicken made out of sticks and dirt. There was never a dull moment as we fought monsters, played chase and took turns riding one bike. It was a time when imagination reigned supreme and dreams were the stuff of life.

Take a walk down my memory lane. Take off your shoes, grab a cup of lemonade and stay awhile...you'll enjoy your visit to Oak Street. A heartwarming story the whole family will enjoy.

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This is a short novelette and it is a fun story.  I went the entire story thinking it was autobiographic, and then on the last page she says that it is fiction, and that it is loosely based on her experiences. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed, but that's ok. It  was still fun to read. I agree with her that children do not play enough these days. I'm always kicking my kids outside. I

 

I like the tone and voice of this story. Ms. Whitmore's writing definitely makes you feel like you are standing right there on Oak Street watching the story unfold. I related to some of her experiences, but not all of them. I shared a room with my sister, as did she, and we had some fun times together. My siblings and I also made plenty of mud pies out in the sandbox, so that was a fun memory to remember. The experiences she had with the neighbor kids were interesting. They were not very nice. Thankfully I didn't have neighbors like that.

 

I didn't love the ending of the story, but it was ok. It just seemed out of place, I thought, but it did have a purpose. It was fun to read about life in another part of the country.

 

Overall I enjoyed the story. I would recommend it.

 

Rating: PG (It's clean!)

 

Recommendation: 13 and up. It is clean, but some of the subject matter might disturb some of the younger readers (They eat goat at a bbq and there is a church scene with them getting baptized at the end. Also at the end a thief runs into their house and there is a police standoff.)

 

Disclosure: I received a free book in exchange for my honest review.