Jacob Have I Loved

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for children who feel misunderstood
Review: Jacob Have I Loved is an excellent children's story that is loosley based on the biblical account of Jacob and Esau. It is about the turbulent relationship between a pair of twin sisters. Louise, who is the narrator and the character of Esau, is unable to recognize her own talents because she is constantly comparing herself to her beautiful and gifted sister Caroline. Katherine Paterson's book is well written and very understandable. One of its main strengths is that it is written from Louise's perspective. Because Louise is the narrator, the reader is better able to understand why she is so jealous of Caroline. Another strength is that Paterson explores other relationships in Louise's life besides just the one between her and Caroline. The story focuses on how the sisters' parents, grandmother, friends, and neighbors react to Caroline and her sister. These other relationships affect the way Louise views herself and her sister as much as what Caroline says and does.

Every child should read Jacob Have I Loved, especially those who resent their siblings because they think their sisters or brothers are smarter, more attractive or more talented then they are. The story will allow children in that situation to empathize with Louise and better understand that they have talents that they may have not yet recognized. Paterson's book was intended for children, but it would be a good book for parents and teachers to read also. It will help adults to understand children who may have not yet reached their full potential and are jealous of those who have.

Rating:
Summary: An Isolating Story About Sibling Rivalry/Jealousy
Review: "Jacob Have I Loved" takes place in the 1940s on a tiny island in the Chesapeake Bay called Rass Island. Sara Louise "Wheeze" Bradshaw is the young teen who narrates the story. She's forever feeling inferior next to her beautiful, talented twin sister, Caroline. And she's conflicted by her "sinful" feelings for the 70+ year-old stranger, Hiram "the Captain" Wallace, who's returned to his hometown half a century later. Without anyone to confide in (even her one and only friend, McCall "Call" Purnell, doesn't understand her), Louise feels as isolated as the island she lives on. Her fate seems to be filled with misery and loneliness compared to her sister's, especially after her religious grandmother spitefully recites a passage from the Bible: "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated". (Jacob and Esau were twins like Louise and Caroline--and like Esau, Louise was the least favorite twin.)

I had a hard time starting this book. The beginning was a little rough, but once I started it, I couldn't put it down. I read half the book in one sitting, until I reached the part where Louise, Cal, and the Captain were preparing to drown more than a dozen cats--which were pets, by the way, not just strays. I was totally turned off by this, but when I read further, the cats were spared and adopted by various families on the island. (Ironically, a storm later wiped a lot of them out.)

The book won the Newbery Medal in 1981 and was later made into a TV movie in 1989. I never saw the movie, but I would definitely recommend this book to 13+ year-old girls who can relate to Louise and/or love the East Coast, particularly the Chesapeake Bay area.

Rating:
Summary: Jacob Have I Loved
Review: I hate this book because its a horrible book and it has terrible and annoying characters. I hope someone never reads this book because it really stinks. Read with caution.

Rating:
Summary: An Isolating Story About Sibling Rivalry/Jealousy
Review: "Jacob Have I Loved" takes place in the 1940s on a tiny island in the Chesapeake Bay called Rass Island. Sara Louise "Wheeze" Bradshaw is the young teen who narrates the story. She's forever feeling inferior next to her beautiful, talented twin sister, Caroline. And she's conflicted by her "sinful" feelings for the 70+ year-old stranger, Hiram "the Captain" Wallace, who's returned to his hometown half a century later. Without anyone to confide in (even her one and only friend, McCall "Call" Purnell, doesn't understand her), Louise feels as isolated as the island she lives on. Her fate seems to be filled with misery and loneliness compared to her sister's, especially after her religious grandmother spitefully recites a passage from the Bible: "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated". (Jacob and Esau were twins like Louise and Caroline--and like Esau, Louise was the least favorite twin.)

I had a hard time starting this book. The beginning was a little rough, but once I started it, I couldn't put it down. I read half the book in one sitting, until I reached the part where Louise, Cal, and the Captain were preparing to drown more than a dozen cats--which were pets, by the way, not just strays. I was totally turned off by this, but when I read further, the cats were spared and adopted by various families on the island. (Ironically, a storm later wiped a lot of them out.)

The book won the Newbery Medal in 1981 and was later made into a TV movie in 1989. I never saw the movie, but I would definitely recommend this book to 13+ year-old girls who can relate to Louise and/or love the East Coast, particularly the Chesapeake Bay area.

Rating:
Summary: disturbing, haunting, flawlessly structured
Review: This is a novel for young adults I keep returning to, because it is one of those books that has something new to say to me every time I read it. Although I personally think "The Great Gilly Hopkins" is Katherine Paterson's masterpiece (it was a Newbery Honor book) Louise's story tugs at the heart of the reader.

Not only are family relationships explored delicately, but the use of religion to manipulate people is explored with sensitivity and depth.

It is important to note that Paterson never suggests that religion in itself is the problem; it is what people do to religion that causes trouble.

Overall, a young adult novel to provoke some interesting thought and discussion, well written and developed.

Rating:
Summary: A Lovely Novel
Review: Louise has never known a time when she didn't feel like the detested elder twin. Everyone has always adored her beautiful and selfish younger sister, Caroline. Everything has always been about Caroline and for once, Louise wants that to change. So, Louise sets out on a mission to find herself and to discover how to make a new life for herself.

This novel, though heart-breaking at parts, is very good and worth reading. Though normally I don't like books that are sad, this one I couldn't put down. It is well written and I highly recommend this book

Rating:
Summary: "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated."
Review: In this Newbery Award winning novel Paterson takes the reader along on Sara Louise's journey to find her place in life. The story begins in 1941, in a small, very religious community on a shrinking island in the Chesapeake Bay. Though fictional Rass Island is part of the state of Maryland, Sara Louise's world is only the island. The only way on or off the island is by ferryboat.

Sara Louise has a younger twin sister, Caroline, who is charming and sweet and talented. Most of all, Caroline is important and treasured. Sara Louise struggles with intense feelings of jealousy and resentment, terrified that her negative feelings will damn her to Hell. The story is told by Sara Louise, allowing the reader a close view of all the feelings Sara Louise keeps locked inside herself.

Equally trying to Sara Louise's patience is her Bible verse-quoting grandmother. As her grandmother ages, the old woman's mind deteriorates, leaving her confused about who people are. Unfortunately, the less she grasps of reality, the more vicious her tongue gets, culminating in the hurtful scene where she quotes the verse from Romans that gives this novel its name.

Through the details of Sara Louise's life, Paterson shows the reader the life of a waterman's family. Sara Louise's father is a crab and oyster fisherman, selling what he catches to another islander who takes the catch to the mainland to be sold. Even though Sara Louise is not a son, she is strong and capable of assisting her father, and thus contributing some to the family's income. Despite this, Sara Louise feels inadequate.

Sara Louise is an akward, confused young woman, and it can be painful to watch her stumble and act foolishly. It is unclear if her feeling that everyone prefers Caroline is real, or merely Sara's perception. Her loneliness, however, is very much a reality - and very much of her own making. Can she ever feel that she is no longer in Caroline's shadow?

Rating:
Summary: Differences Between Siblings
Review: Jacob, Have I Loved is a story of twins born on a small island of Rass. Sara Louise and Caroline are like many twins searching for their personal identity. The Bradshaw twins are very competitive. Sara Louise better known as "Wheeze" feels like her sister, Caroline, is praised by the people of Rass and her family. Wheeze is different from Caroline because she loves the water. Wheeze is considered tom-boyish because she likes to crab with her father. Caroline on the other hand has many talents such as singing and playing the piano. Caroline wins over the people of Rass and her family with her charm.
The book has a strong plot. Jacob, Have I Loved is a Newbery Medal book written by Katherine Paterson. The author also describes the small island with little opportunity.
The reader empathizes with Wheeze when the family decides to send Caroline off the island to a great school that is very expensive. Katherine Paterson convinces the reader that the Bradshaw family favors Caroline through descriptive language. Soon Wheeze figures out that she is strong enough to do things on her own. Her family knew all along she was the strongest twin. Paterson wants the reader to feel the emotions that Wheeze goes through by describing the character of Wheeze so vividly. I would recommend this book to anyone but especially twins. The reader can relate to Wheeze and the family issues faced in this book.

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!
Review: This is a touching story about a girl named Sarah Louise who grows up on an island. She learns the way of the sea, and is often looked down upon by girls because to go crab fishing is mostly known as a man's job. She is also a twin of the most adored girl on the island. Oh how she hates her sister! In the end, she leaves to go live in the mountains and be a nurse. This is a great story!

Rating:
Summary: A Good Book, Strange Plot, Some What Believable
Review: Hi. This book was very good. I read it in the 7th Grade. It is about a girl named Sara Louise "Wheeze" Bradshaw. Her twin, Caroline, is practically perfect; she is liked by everyone, can play the piano amazingly and she can sing like an angel. It seems like Louise always gets the short end of the stick and she comes to resent her twin. Caroline can sometimes be stuck up also. Her grandma who is going senial, never fails to show Louise how unloved she is compared to Caroline. When she gets older, Caroline gets the chance of a lifetime to go to the boarding school that Louise always wanted to go to. Caroline goes ro Juiliard and marries Call, Louise's geeky-turned-hunk best friend. Louise is still on the island, crabbing for her father. What ends up happening is, Louise gets married to a wonderful guy with children and has a little boy of her own. She moves to the mountainside where she becomes a very important doctor and for the first time in her life she feels special.