Amy Moves In

Rating:
Summary: WHY is this out of print??
Review: In my opinion, this book (along with Laura's Luck and Amy and Laura) is a children's classic, so why it is no longer in print is a mystery to me. I read this when I was in grade school in the 1970s and I found it wonderfully exotic. Imagine going to the convenience store to get penny candy and long pretzels out of a barrel! Imagine having a mother who looks like Joan Crawford (and this is considered a compliment!). The depiction of the Bronx during wartime is absolutely charming-- it's not the rough, slighlty seedy Bronx that one thinks of today.

I think publishers have a tendency to remove books from print if they feel that the subject matter is dated. (I notice that the All of a Kind Family series is out of print, too!). This is a huge mistake. I grew up with a tremendous respect for and interest in the past as a result of reading "old" books as a kid-- I was always much more interested in reading about "yesterday," and I think I had better manners as a result of my reading! I'm sorry to think that today's kids might not be able to take the same joy in the bygone days as I did.

Rating:
Summary: Insightful
Review: Marilyn Sachs was pretty daring to write about life as it really was (and still is) in lower-middle-class New York. The heroine, Amy, is a realistically unpleasant little girl whose behavior is not justified or explained even by her dad's irresponsibility which impoverishes the family.. it's just laid out for you to see. Amy ingratiates herself with people she admires even after she sees they're racist bullies. She has to find her own answers; there weren't any kindly "counselors" back then. As for the idea that the boys seem "superior" to girls, face it; physically, at that age, they are. What Amy goes through with the boys in the park is an everyday reality that can't be changed by all the politically correct girls-can-do-anything wishful thinking in the world. There's more to identify with in the Amy stories than with all the unrelentingly cheerful Sweet Valley books in the world. Besides, I just love Rosa and I'd like to have a ball like that, too.

Rating:
Summary: WHY is this out of print??
Review: This was my favorite book of all time in fourth grade and still it remains #1 on my favorite books list after some years after fourth grade. It was the first book that I read by Marilyn Sachs, and that might explain why it is so good. As a nine-year-old kid way after Mrs. Sachs first wrote this, I could sympathize with Amy. Amy was a scrawny nothing (I was pretty skinny myself at nine) who was nine years old and had an older sister who she adored, and loved to imagine things. But that was where our similarites ended. I was more of a Laura fan, who spent her time reading books and sometimes had to go and save her sister from prospective bullies. But Amy still remains my favorite. Forty years after her publication, Amy Moves In will remain a great book despite its out-of-print. She might be a "goner" now, since there's some kids who will never read her, but those who did - they know she's an absolute joy.

Rating:
Summary: An absolute joy - Amy Moves In
Review: This was my favorite book of all time in fourth grade and still it remains #1 on my favorite books list after some years after fourth grade. It was the first book that I read by Marilyn Sachs, and that might explain why it is so good. As a nine-year-old kid way after Mrs. Sachs first wrote this, I could sympathize with Amy. Amy was a scrawny nothing (I was pretty skinny myself at nine) who was nine years old and had an older sister who she adored, and loved to imagine things. But that was where our similarites ended. I was more of a Laura fan, who spent her time reading books and sometimes had to go and save her sister from prospective bullies. But Amy still remains my favorite. Forty years after her publication, Amy Moves In will remain a great book despite its out-of-print. She might be a "goner" now, since there's some kids who will never read her, but those who did - they know she's an absolute joy.

Rating:
Summary: Real Life People
Review: When I read this book as a child in the late 1960s, I didn't even know it took place in the 40s. You can't help but feel for Amy-- the new kid on the block. She's sweet, but flawed-- so anxious for cool friends that she doesn't seem to stand up for any principles-- unlike her older sister, Laura-- the "smart one." The book is full of warmth, adventure, good humor, and realistic family situations-- it remains one of the most memorable books of my childhood. The "spinoff" books were equally engaging-- "Laura," "Amy and Laura," and "Veronica Ganz" especially.