True Confessions of Hannah Faith

The Bowditchers - Margaret A. Giordano

Posted on January 31st, 2007 by hanfaith.
Categories: Book Reviews, General.

In a previous post, I mentioned a book that my aunt had written several years ago that was very dear to my heart. Recently she revised the book and I was thrilled to receive a copy in the mail. That night, I dove in and enjoyed it every bit as much as the first version.

The Bowditchers (written by Margaret Giordano) follows the Graham family through a year in their life as the five children commit to work hard and improve at something, inspired by the real-life Nathaniel Bowditch.

What I especially enjoyed about the updated version was the realness I felt for the characters, particularly the boys. I wrestled with Ted as he wrestled through his teenage moodiness. And I cried when he gave his grandmother a Christmas corsage – carrying on the tradition his grandfather had started. Out of all five siblings, Ted was the most complex, showing the struggles many boys go through as they fight their way into manhood.

I did miss a few things from the first version, but that makes me all the happier to have both books to be able to share with my children! I think all of the cuts were wise, though, and the book flowed well. I felt like many of the changes modernized the book a bit while retaining its charm, thus hopefully making it more appealing to today’s children. I highly recommend this book and think that both genders would enjoy it. A great family read-aloud.

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