LitPick Review
In a small town, two family's lives overlap. Bean and Henry, both fifteen years of age, are each others only friends. They live an isolated existence. Both of their mothers are odd; Henry's mother never leaves the house and Bean's mother is rarely present in her daughters life. Beans grandfather, Gus, deeply cares and loves her, so when he dies, Beans world is unsettled. The supportive friendship of Henry helps Bean in the sudden dark times.
Opinion:
The writing style of Pearl is simple but effective; I could easily feel the heat and see the dirty water of the river. It wouldn't be a challenging read for teens. But I felt that the mood was ever so depressing. It was a droopy, sad book. The last few chapters were brighter but it wasnt a book someone would read to feel happy about. Even though I disliked Lexie and desired her to have a change of heart and to begin to care about her own daughter, I still appreciated the way the story unfolded. I had to keep reminding myself that Bean was actually fifteen, not twelve. The way Bean acted and spoke didn't seem to fit her stated age.
Bean's mother (Lexie) purposefully annoyed Gus by dating a much older man. Lexie accidently became pregnant at age fifteen. Lexie and Claire (Lexie's lover) openly live out their homosexuality after Gus dies. Parents and teachers should be aware of these thematic elements so they can make educated decisions as to their recommendations.
