Twelve-year-old Taylor McNamara has been uprooted from a city of 400,000 to a small town of 7,000 which means she has a lot to navigate. First there is making new friends, then figuring out what to do with these friends when there is no mall to hang out at, getting used to living in a home miles away from anyone else, and most of all taking care of farm animals. It is her parent’s dream to raise animals on their farm, but to make it work financially her father commutes back to his job in the big city every day, putting strain on the family relationships. Taylor and her friends decide to start a club to raise awareness about the social isolation of rural kids and the hardships to children living on farms; yet in the process of her research, and meeting friends of all ages the rural lifestyle comes to suit Taylor just fine after all. Barn Boot Blues is a coming of age story filled with the dynamics of family relationships as well as self-discovery and growing up. Appropriate for 10-14 year-olds, this book can be used to spark discussions about empathy for new students who come mid-year or for those who have experienced drastic changes in their living situations. A writing project related to this book can involve students comparing themselves and their experiences to that of Taylor’s life thus far. Cute, predictable, nothing mind-blowing, but enjoyable. The writing style was fine. Possibly the best part was- no weird, stupid names!! I'm so sick of weird names in j fic. Anyway, I did think about Bonnie the whole time they were doing the lamb birth scenes. Appropriate for a younger audience of stronger readers. She is making poor choices, but ends up turning it around. Like I said- enjoyable, a nice sweet read about a girl learning to coop with what life's handed her.
What do You think about Barn Boot Blues (2011)?
It is about this girl that bad things keep on happening until things are about to change.
—Rach
A cute, non-threatening book that I could easily hand a fourth or fifth grade girl.
—Savannah
I really liked this mark twain book. I really like how it is interesting.
—mich
