BOOK: The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

I read this book for the Banned Book Challenge, and it was a great read. The summary says " An eleven year old foster child tries to cope with her longings and fears as she schemes against everyone who tries to be friendly." The book plays out exactly as you would expect, and that seems somewhat cliche, but it is a children's book, and it is only cliche if you have read many books like this. It was well written, and I ached for poor Gilly. As a teacher, I wonder sometimes why some kids will sabotage themselves, and this gives an insight into the mind of a child who is just wanting acceptance, but has learned the hard way that if she puts herself in a position to care, she will be hurt.
I assume this has been challenged due to Gilly's prejudices against African-Americans, but she grows and becomes accepting of her teacher and her neighbour.