My Louisiana Sky
Author(s): Kimberly Willis Holt
Tiger Ann Parker wants nothing more than to get out of the rural town of Saitter, Louisiana--far away from her mentally disabled mother, her "slow" father who can't read an electric bill, and her classmates who taunt her. So when Aunt Dorie Kay asks Tiger to sp the summer with her in Baton Rouge, Tiger can't wait to go. But before she leaves, the sudden revelation of a dark family secret prompts Tiger to make a decision that will ultimately change her life.
Set in the South in the late 1950s, this coming-of-age novel explores a twelve-year-old girl's struggle to accept her grandmother's death, her mentally deficient parents, and the changing world around her. It is a novel filled with beautiful language and unforgettable characters, and the importance of family and home.
My Louisiana Sky is a 1998 Boston Globe - Horn Book Award Honor Book for Fiction.
Review(s):
“This lyrical first novel brings fresh perspective to the guilt and anger and caring that surround the mentally disabled. All the characters . . . are drawn with warmth but no patronizing reverence.” —Booklist, Starred Review
“So honest is Holt's portrayal of Tiger, Momma, Daddy, Granny, and the rest that one wonders if she wrote their story while sitting in a rocker on a Saitter front porch, under the vast promises of a Louisiana Sky.” —The Horn Book, Starred Review
“An unusually auspicious debut.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
Boston Globe – Horn Book Award, Honor Books (1998), Winner Golden Kite Award Winner, American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults, Long-listed ALA Best Books for Young Adults (1999), Texas Lone Star Reading List, Winner New Mexico Land of Enchantment, Boston Globe - Horn Book Award, IRA Young Adult Choices, Long-listed Texas Lone Star Reading List (1999), Louisiana Literary Award, Long-listed Boston Globe-Horn Bk Award, Honor Bk (1998), Winner Louisiana Literary Award (1999), Long-listed IRA Young Adult Choices (2000), Catholic Library Association Award, St. Katherine Drexel Award (2013), American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults (1999), Golden Kite Award
ISBN: 9780312660956