Is there a genre called coming of age tomboy books set in the south? If not, there should be. Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning by Danette Haworth is a prime example of the genre.When a new girl moves to her sleepy Florida town, Violet's life gets shaken up. Suddenly things she's always taken for granted--Friday night fish fries, looking for Brain Freeze cups to turn in for a free Brain Freeze, hanging out with her friends Eddie and Lottie--don't seem quite so easy and natural. Melissa is ready to grow up in a way that Violet isn't and seeing her own life through Melissa's eyes makes Violet uncomfortable.
The sense of place in this book is incredible--I could feel the humidity, the mud under the Cypress trees, the crackle of lightning in the air. And Violet herself is really real--smart, prickly, a word collector, able to see when she's in the wrong even if she doesn't want to apologize.
I'm putting this book on my "contender for a Newbery honor" list.
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