Leaving Gee's Bend by Irene Latham

Publication Date: January 7, 2010
POC Challenge #1
Summary:
A young girl sets out to save her sick mother and records her adventures in quilt pieces.

Ludelphia Bennett may be blind in one eye, but she can still put in a good stitch. Ludelphia sews all the time, especially when things go wrong.

But when Mama goes into labor early and gets deathly ill, it seems like even quilting won’t help. That’s when Ludelphia decides to do something drastic—leave Gee’s Bend for the very first time. Mama needs medicine that can only be found miles away in Camden. But that doesn’t stop Ludelphia. She just puts one foot in front of the other. What ensues is a wonderful, riveting and sometimes dangerous adventure. Ludelphia weathers each challenge in a way that would make her mother proud, and ends up saving the day for her entire town.

Set in 1932 and inspired by the rich quilting history of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, Leaving Gee’s Bend is a delightful, satisfying story of a young girl facing a brave new world.

My Two Cents:

I haven't read any Middle Grade books in years because I figured that at my age I would find them silly. Well I'm really glad I took a chance on this one. I enjoy reading books set in the South. There's something so realistic about them even when it's fiction.

Ludelphia is one of my favorite main characters. She's only ten but she's smart, and extremely courageous. At times she's a little naive but what ten-year-olds aren't? I'm glad the author captured the fact that even though she wasn't afraid of much, she still made mistakes that most kids make.

This novel is pretty much about Ludelphia's journey to get her sick mom some medicine. Some of the people she meets along the way are very helpful and kind. Other people she encounter appear to be helpful but may have other motives. She learns at her young age that not everyone can be trusted and that looks are sometimes deceiving. In the end, Ludelphia proved that no matter how young, sometimes you can still make a difference. I would definitely recommend this book to ages 9 and up.

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