Rating: 
Summary: Very Interesting
Review: Despite what many other people may think, my friends, and other people around my age, may not appreciate this book. Sure, it seems like an odd and boring book, but maybe thats because some of the symbolism and situations that occur in it might not appeal to other readers. I actually thought it was very interesting. This book was required for summer reading and out of the books, Anne Frank and The House on Mango Street, i found this one most enjoyable. Annie finds herself growing up too fast because of her excellent learning ability. She is a bright girl with lots of potential. She begins her life admiring and adoring her mother, when , as she grows up, she becomes more matureand views the world in a whole other way and progresses a hate relationship with her mother. I honestly thought this book was worth my time reading, and also taking in consideration that its a kinda thin book to read. :)
Rating: 
Summary: Annie John, one of my school reading books
Review: Annie John was one of the worst and most twisted books I've ever read in my life. It's basically a story about a Gay girl in Antigua. Who realizes she is different. Unfortunately she doesn't stop her wrong doings.
Rating:
Summary: A Student Who Uses This Book In Antigua
Review: This book was awful. In my 8th grade class all the kids were wondering, where is the plot, where is the use of literary skill. I happen to come from the island of Antigua and I think this book was a disgrace on the writers behalf.
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Summary: It's more complex than all that
Review: I'm actually teaching this book to a group of rising ninth graders. I can see that they are sometimes frustrated with the subtlety of Kincaid's writing and the fact that sometimes big, huge events seem to come out of nowhere. Reading closely, however, I really appreciate the complexity of the book and the depth of the texture. It is not a perfect book, but, with enough effort on the part of the reader, can be very insightful about the process of asserting one's independence as a person. I think adults might appreciate this more than kids being forced to read it - don't be fooled by the apparant simplicity of Kincaid's work, and take it slow.
Rating: 
Summary: maybe only adults can bear to look back
Review: Annie John is about a daughter in the throes of conflict with her mother. She is finding out about mortality and sexuality and that her mother regards her as rival for her father's attention. When a group of high school students read this book in my class eight years ago, the boys in the back row all whined about reading "girl stuff." Presumedly they're older now and would have some interest in the struggles of their mothers, daughters, sisters, and lovers... not to mention themselves. After all, don't we all go through a period of gaining vision and resenting it simultaneously? I was caught with the opening scene, Annie John sees people dressed in black and some in white bobbing in the distance. What is it? she asks her mother, who tells her it must be the funeral of a child since such burials are always held in the morning. "Until then, I had not known that children could die."
Rating: 
Summary: Regreted Reading
Review: I had to read this book for 9th grade summer reading. It was the one book that everyone in the Freshman class agrees was horrible. It was pointless and boring. I enjoy a book that reaches you in the heart and Annie John comes no where close. With a little class discussion, we were able to find some meaning to the book but mostly reasons as to why we didn't enjoy reading. Nevertheless, this book has been taken off of the curriculum for summer reading at my school for 9th graders. Wish they would have done it a year ago!
Rating:
Summary: Typical Ninth Grade Required Reading Tripe
Review: I really can't recommend this book. I have *never* been so annoyed with the slow pace, lack of plot, unmeaningful imagery, and symbols that makes William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" look good. I think those that shared the experience of being forced to read this book from my highschool will all look back at this in fear.
Rating:
Summary: A book of wonder
Review: A book of wonder. Brilliantly written. I was not able to put it down. A devine creature must have guided Kincaid's hand.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I have ever read
Review: For those who think this book is boring, well hey I guess you had to be there. As a west indian-american I completly related to this book so much so that I got lost in it. The symbolism, the sadness of relationships lost are all apart of growing up in the Caribbean where you see one thing, and are encouraged to live a next. I truly enjoyed this book as I have enjoyed everything Kincaid has ever written, for those of you who haven't read Mr. Potter, please do!
Rating:
Summary: Coming of Age in Antigua
Review: We are lucky enough to be able to read a large number of autobiographies or semi-autobiographical novels in the world today. Both types of book impart the flavor of what it felt like to grow up in a certain place at a certain time. I can think of many such volumes from North America and Western Europe: outside that sphere, George Lamming (Barbados), Wole Soyinka (Nigeria), R.K. Narayan (India), Ismail Kadare (Albania), and Fadhma Amrouche (Algeria) have written beautiful examples of the genre as well. Most of these were written in colonial societies. So, to be fair, I think we have to place ANNIE JOHN among all these----to compare it to all the others.
Despite the raves of ten reviewers on the cover of the book---nine of whom are women---I felt only a moderate attraction to Kincaid's work. I often liked the flavor that she gives of what it felt like growing up on a West Indian island in the colonial era. Such flavors are a main part of why anyone would want to read ANNIE JOHN. The author develops a definite style, not exactly like other writers', constantly splitting from the direction you perceive she's heading. She sees positive and negative, pro and con, truth and pure wishful thinking. Her dream sequences are impressively written. The main character, Annie John, growing up with adequate clothing, food, and shelter with loving lower middle class parents, has a great stock of unpleasant memories, twisted desires, and in general, the `can of worms' view of childhood, yet there is almost nothing in her life to warrant it. This overall put me off because while it's true that we are rather ambivalent or mixed up in childhood/youth, and we nearly always rebel against our over-protective parents, we seldom sort it all out till later. To write as if Annie knew what was going on, and could afterwards put it all down on paper, seemed to me unrealistic. Naivete is the mark of childhood, not such all-knowingness. The characters of her parents and grandparents are more appealing than her own. Of course, some readers may empathize with Annie John, if they went through traumatic conflicts with their parents, but I did not. My greatest criticism is that a lot of explanation is missing. Certain clues just don't appear. What made Annie change from love to hate of her mother ? Was it just because she entered puberty ? From good girl to bad girl ? Why did she go crazy for a long time ? These occur very abruptly. Why did she want to leave her island forever ? It's not at all clear that she had such a bad time. OK, she wanted something different. What made her opt for that choice?
By the end of the book, I felt that the rave reviews were something like a chick lit cheering section. They were entirely uncritical and unhesitating. I found Annie's character rather unpleasant and the novel or autobiography---not boring or poorly written---still missing some vital connections and leaving too many questions unanswered.
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