Azalea Unschooled

Reviewed by: Jeri Fitzpatrick - GNGMS, Gray, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: August 9, 2015

Review

Illustrations are simple line drawings. Azalea moves to Portland, Maine when her dad buys a tour bus. The family has moved so many time Azalea can't remember all of them. She's 11 and her older sister Zenith is 13. The teenager's emotions and facial expressions are what help to make this story very strong in characterization. This move is different from the others because Azalea makes a best friend Gabby. Gabby is an unschooler which is different from a homeschooler. Homeschoolers have a parent who is overseeing their learning, unschoolers are free to explore the world as they wish. Azalea's mom want to stay because she has become life coach and has her own clients. Zenith really likes Portland and is afraid they will just move again, so she tries to expedite the process ... The people in the story are very believable... they fight, they make mistakes, the love, and they learn.

Overall Book Score: excellent