Rating: 
Summary: She Knows She Can, Be What She Wants To Be
Review: This book takes place in a southern city where people are very segragated. Life is everything but easy for 13-year-old Maggie Pugh. Her neighbors, the Boggs' are disgusting people who only care about themselves. Maggie's parents dont help either, her mother beats her. Maggie trys to get a job to help out her family and one day, she runs into her neighbor, Virgil Boggs. She has had bad experiences with him before but this time was by far the worst! He does something terrible to her but to find out you have to read the book. This book isn't the best but if you are looking for a fun but serious book to read this is it!*Laryssa, Emily and Meagan*
Rating:
Summary: Spite Fences By: Trudy Krisher
Review: When the novel is first seen Spite Fences might look like a story that is just about the way life was back then, when colors were separated. Actually it isn't, the book deals with drama, friendships, and family problems. The main character, Maggie Pugh, is caught between arguments with her parents. The only way she gets space from her parents is by sitting alone and thinking. One major problem is, Maggie is distrubed by the neighbors she thinks of a way to solve the problem. Maggie is a very strong person. She doesn't let any problem bother her in any way. When it comes to her parents she just leaves the room and doesn't think about it. Her friends are important to her, because hse needs them to talk to. To play with, when she needs to get things off her mind. Also, even though Maggie does not like to be there when her parents fight she takes care of her sister, listens to her mother and respects her father. Some challenging things about reading the novel is that, paying attention is very important. In the novel, the author jumps around from one point to andother and then goes back to the other point. Also, pay close attention to location and where which color lives where. The author doesn't talk too much about location. Even with those challenges, Spite Fences is a good book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, truly depicts time period
Review: When trying to appeal to a reader, an author must design characters that are full of life but at the same time touching. In order to fully appreciate a great work of literature, the reader must identify with the main character. In Trudy Krisher's Spite Fences, characters such as Maggie Pugh, Pert Wilson and Zeke leave lasting memories and help to demonstrate the bigger themes in the novel, prejudice and maturity. Through Maggie's strength and Pert's spunk the reader is led down an emotional path, all ending with the maturation of the narrator. While peering through the lens of her camera and the cracks in the fence, Maggie develops as she witnesses the stark realities of prejudice socially, personally and racially. The social prejudices in the ironically named town of Kinship are less apparent to the naked eye, but to Maggie's mom, social status is everything. Whether it is religious affiliation or economic rank, Mama's anxiety forces her to forsake one of her children in the face of prejudice. Pert, Maggie's best friend, is snubbed by almost everyone in Kinship because she is one of three Roman Catholics in the town. "Although people in Kinship snubbed the Pughs indirectly, people in Kinship snubbed the Wilsons straight out," states Maggie when describing the unfair treatment of minorities. Even though she is "crossing the line" when associating with Pert, she chooses to do so anyways despite the retribution Mama would deal her if caught. The emotional suffering that comes with befriending a Roman Catholic is not the extent of Maggie's problems, but the problem goes as far as her monetary status. When searching for a fence to surround the Pugh's house, Mama is heartbroken after realizing they can only afford pine fencing. The castle like fence surrounding the Pugh's house not only keeps out the vicious neighbors but isolates Maggie from the outside world. This blockade forces Maggie to take advantage of her opportunities outside the fence and she does so by savoring each moment with a camera. Her photos expose the untold truth in Kinship, from Zeke being arrested to people from the other side of the tracks having a good time. Maggie's knowledge and compassion stretches far beyond that of many people in Kinship, but her photos of the social minorities will come back to haunt her in the form of Virgil and his detestable family. In order to appease Mama's every request, Maggie goes through more pain, both emotionally and physically, than would be thought humanly possible. Mama is so eager to have Gardenia, Maggie's younger sister, win a beauty contest, she virtually forgets about Maggie. She is ordered around and practically treated as a second-class citizen in her own house. At one point, Mama says to her, "You ain't much to look at, Maggie. It's a good thing you can work." This lack of appreciation towards Maggie is emotionally taxing and is best shown after her close encounter with Virgil. She returns to her house after almost being raped by Virgil and the first thing that Mama utters, despite the obvious torn clothing and scratches on her, is, "Where's the laundry?" This is the point in the novel where the usually timid father takes a stand against Mama and treats Maggie like a "kitten, wiping...tears with his red bandana." His actions are truly touching and help to show how Maggie's life could be with out her terribly self-absorbed mother. It is through the words of her friend Pert that Maggie realizes that the treatment she suffers from her mother is wrong. Even if it does take someone else's words for her to realize the error in Mama's ways, eventually she recognizes this and through her strong will learns the truth about her personal mistreatment. The most obvious of the prejudices exposed in Kinship is that of race, with the labels colored and white stamped on every bathroom, water fountain, even park, around town. The segregation is most apparent to Maggie when Zeke, her black merchant friend, is arrested and beaten for using the designated white bathroom. Although ignorant to the fact that Zeke could in fact tell the difference between the words colored and white, Maggie gives him one of the greatest gifts possible, the ability to read. It is through this simple gesture that Maggie first blatantly disregards the boundaries separating white and black. The pictures Maggie takes while listening to a speech by George Hardy, her brilliant black employer, give life to the most poignant truth in Kinship. Virgil's malicious display of the pictures and racist phrases on Maggie's fence both shock and hurt her but she realizes that it is not she that is ignorant to the relationship between blacks and whites, but the rest of the community that still believes in segregation. Although she witnesses pain and hatred, Maggie is a true leader of her time, going where no one else had been, no longer recognizing color. In a conversation with her mother, Maggie brazenly states, "There's no shame in friendship." Although simple, this message single-handedly solves any racial differences because with friendship, there would be no race, nor shame. A true visionary of her time, Maggie, though innocent and young, sees far more through her through her camera than any adult in Kinship could see. Along with Maggie's evolution into adulthood and knowledge come bumps and bruises but it is Zeke's words that sum up her journey the best. In referring to the flower she was named after, Magnolia, he thoughtfully says, "They take forever to mature. Sometimes as long as twenty years. But once they do, there's not anything you can do to destroy them." Despite the fences surrounding Kinship and her house, Maggie learns to see beyond the fence, letting neither color nor label stand in the way of friendship. Her camera is a bearer of truth, both pleasant and appalling. Maggie's "gift" to Kinship and is much more than what's on the surface, it is the manifestation of truth and love brought to the small southern town by a young girl.
Rating:
Summary: Great book, truly depicts time period
Review: When trying to appeal to a reader, an author must design characters that are full of life but at the same time touching. In order to fully appreciate a great work of literature, the reader must identify with the main character. In Trudy Krisher's Spite Fences, characters such as Maggie Pugh, Pert Wilson and Zeke leave lasting memories and help to demonstrate the bigger themes in the novel, prejudice and maturity. Through Maggie's strength and Pert's spunk the reader is led down an emotional path, all ending with the maturation of the narrator. While peering through the lens of her camera and the cracks in the fence, Maggie develops as she witnesses the stark realities of prejudice socially, personally and racially. The social prejudices in the ironically named town of Kinship are less apparent to the naked eye, but to Maggie's mom, social status is everything. Whether it is religious affiliation or economic rank, Mama's anxiety forces her to forsake one of her children in the face of prejudice. Pert, Maggie's best friend, is snubbed by almost everyone in Kinship because she is one of three Roman Catholics in the town. "Although people in Kinship snubbed the Pughs indirectly, people in Kinship snubbed the Wilsons straight out," states Maggie when describing the unfair treatment of minorities. Even though she is "crossing the line" when associating with Pert, she chooses to do so anyways despite the retribution Mama would deal her if caught. The emotional suffering that comes with befriending a Roman Catholic is not the extent of Maggie's problems, but the problem goes as far as her monetary status. When searching for a fence to surround the Pugh's house, Mama is heartbroken after realizing they can only afford pine fencing. The castle like fence surrounding the Pugh's house not only keeps out the vicious neighbors but isolates Maggie from the outside world. This blockade forces Maggie to take advantage of her opportunities outside the fence and she does so by savoring each moment with a camera. Her photos expose the untold truth in Kinship, from Zeke being arrested to people from the other side of the tracks having a good time. Maggie's knowledge and compassion stretches far beyond that of many people in Kinship, but her photos of the social minorities will come back to haunt her in the form of Virgil and his detestable family. In order to appease Mama's every request, Maggie goes through more pain, both emotionally and physically, than would be thought humanly possible. Mama is so eager to have Gardenia, Maggie's younger sister, win a beauty contest, she virtually forgets about Maggie. She is ordered around and practically treated as a second-class citizen in her own house. At one point, Mama says to her, "You ain't much to look at, Maggie. It's a good thing you can work." This lack of appreciation towards Maggie is emotionally taxing and is best shown after her close encounter with Virgil. She returns to her house after almost being raped by Virgil and the first thing that Mama utters, despite the obvious torn clothing and scratches on her, is, "Where's the laundry?" This is the point in the novel where the usually timid father takes a stand against Mama and treats Maggie like a "kitten, wiping...tears with his red bandana." His actions are truly touching and help to show how Maggie's life could be with out her terribly self-absorbed mother. It is through the words of her friend Pert that Maggie realizes that the treatment she suffers from her mother is wrong. Even if it does take someone else's words for her to realize the error in Mama's ways, eventually she recognizes this and through her strong will learns the truth about her personal mistreatment. The most obvious of the prejudices exposed in Kinship is that of race, with the labels colored and white stamped on every bathroom, water fountain, even park, around town. The segregation is most apparent to Maggie when Zeke, her black merchant friend, is arrested and beaten for using the designated white bathroom. Although ignorant to the fact that Zeke could in fact tell the difference between the words colored and white, Maggie gives him one of the greatest gifts possible, the ability to read. It is through this simple gesture that Maggie first blatantly disregards the boundaries separating white and black. The pictures Maggie takes while listening to a speech by George Hardy, her brilliant black employer, give life to the most poignant truth in Kinship. Virgil's malicious display of the pictures and racist phrases on Maggie's fence both shock and hurt her but she realizes that it is not she that is ignorant to the relationship between blacks and whites, but the rest of the community that still believes in segregation. Although she witnesses pain and hatred, Maggie is a true leader of her time, going where no one else had been, no longer recognizing color. In a conversation with her mother, Maggie brazenly states, "There's no shame in friendship." Although simple, this message single-handedly solves any racial differences because with friendship, there would be no race, nor shame. A true visionary of her time, Maggie, though innocent and young, sees far more through her through her camera than any adult in Kinship could see. Along with Maggie's evolution into adulthood and knowledge come bumps and bruises but it is Zeke's words that sum up her journey the best. In referring to the flower she was named after, Magnolia, he thoughtfully says, "They take forever to mature. Sometimes as long as twenty years. But once they do, there's not anything you can do to destroy them." Despite the fences surrounding Kinship and her house, Maggie learns to see beyond the fence, letting neither color nor label stand in the way of friendship. Her camera is a bearer of truth, both pleasant and appalling. Maggie's "gift" to Kinship and is much more than what's on the surface, it is the manifestation of truth and love brought to the small southern town by a young girl.
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