Long Titles, Short Books: I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl by Joyce Hansen

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Written By Rebecca Grabill
I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl by Joyce Hansen

I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl by Joyce Hansen

I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl by Joyce Hansen. Scholastic, 1997.

Delightful voice and vivid research. The research shows and adds layers to the text. The diary form is highly personal, sort of like a verse novel. I found the premise compelling but the setting just seemed a little claustrophobic. I guess that’s the downfall of a diary novel—you’re stuck in one person’s head, and if that person is a girl who stutters and limps and doesn’t leave the plantation, well, you’re limited to her experience. For a book in a series, however, this one was far and away beyond what I expected. Not formulaic, and with a fabulous historical note at the end with photos and tons of detail.

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Rebecca Grabill

Rebecca has been writing since childhood, her first book about a kitten published between homemade cardboard covers in second grade. Although she studied religion and philosophy in university, she continued writing, earning an MFA from Hamline University and publishing multiple picture books (no longer with homemade covers) and a collection of poetry with a variety of New York and independent publishers. She has also published a wide array of fiction, essays, and poetry in magazines and journals and photographs for Getty Images. She balances writing with homeschooling the younger of her six children, launching her young adults, church activities, and overseeing a small flock of chickens in rural West Michigan.

www.rebeccagrabill.com
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