I apologise in advance for how long this is.
This book captured me within the first two pages, and kept me engaged all the way to the end. It took me almost six hours to read, (I read the 7th HP in seven hours, to give you a better idea of how long it is) and through that time I didn't so much as move.
I've reread it multiple times, over the course of three years, and I have yet to outgrow it, find it dull, find it lacking, or get mad at it because it left me empty. Each time, I find I relate a little more to the main characters, can understand them, and each reread I've found even more to love. Basically, it's a poignant and evocative description of Francie Nolan's first seventeen years on Earth, a bit about her mother, aunts, and grandmother, and a tale about how even deepest poverty can be beautiful.
Francie wants to be a writer or a playwrite, she loves to read, and she's imperfect- making her perhaps one of the best MCs for young writers to relate to.
It's hard to relate the style to anything most people have read (the book was written in the 40's, although it feels modern enough), but if you like reading novels that bring you into someone's life, you'll love it. It's more for girls than boys, though, definitely.
