The Loud Silence of Francine Green

Don't get me wrong: I enjoyed it. But I couldn't help feeling that Karen Cushman's latest was written not with a pen, but with a hammer.

• It's Newbery material! WHACK!
• It's about intolerance! WHACK!
• It has timely relevance for our government today! WHACK!
• Jews and liberals have long been persecuted! WHACK!
• Hey, Nina Lindsay -- see what a great writer I am! WHACK!

Again, I liked it: Francine is frustratingly likable, and the contemporary references added some fun. But man -- leave a few things for the reader to figure out, eh?

The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman. Clarion, 2006, 225 pages.