Banned Books Review #16
Written by Poison_Ivy.
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson is actually a book I read in either the fourth or fifth grade and just re-read for this review. The book is about an eleven-year-old girl in the foster care system. After her first let-down, Galadriel Hopkins (Gilly) kept her heart very guarded to keep herself from further let-down; until, that is, she moves in with a new foster mother, Trotter, and Trotter’s other foster child, William Ernest. Gilly Hopkins has learned to manipulate all those around her to not only get what she wants, but to keep them a safe distance away. The young girl would definitely be classified as a smart-mouthed problem child and she uses this as her shield.
The book seems to be geared toward pre-teens. After much consideration, I can figure the only issue in the book that may have contributed to its “banned” status in the past would be Gilly’s racism, evident in her comments and thoughts about Trotter’s blind, black neighbor, Mr. Randolph. However, by the end of the book, Gilly came to view Mr. Randolph as her “family,” just as she has Trotter and William Ernest despite her numerous efforts to keep them all as far away from her heart as possible. Bouncing around from foster home to foster home no doubt played an enormous role on Gilly’s fear of accepting and returning love.
The book fails to offer a true “happily ever after” ending, but does illustrate an important life lesson. Gilly ends up falsifying a letter to her mother in San Francisco, making Trotter’s home look like a death camp rather than a loving and caring home. Gilly’s mother, Courtney, sends Gilly’s grandmother to “save” her from the allegedly abusive Maime
Trotter’s not long after Gilly had come to realize that Trotter’s home was the best place for her.
After Gilly moves to her grandmother’s, she meets her mother and realizes that her mother is a selfish woman who simply does not want to be a mother to her own daughter. Although Gilly is heartbroken, she comes to accept her life. A phone call to Trotter clarifies that life is full of difficult times; often lacking fairness, but that should not bring her down.
Gilly’s biological grandmother, alone with the death of her husband and son and abandoned by her only daughter, needs Gilly as much as Gilly needs the safety and security of a permanent and stable home. Gilly also learns to abandon her selfish behaviors and think of others.
The book depicts the foster care system in quite a different light than most stereotypes about foster care. Gilly was blessed with placement with a genuine and loving person, not subjected to the abuse often depicted in stories of children in foster care.
The book was definitely an easy read, as it is geared for children. I may be quite different than other readers since I am significantly older than the intended audience, but I did not feel that the racist remarks in the book makes it something that children should avoid reason. The protagonist is a self-centered, mean, and manipulative girl when these remarks are made and I do not believe that many children would actually consider her a role model to be mimicked. For this reason, I would recommend this book to illustrate the moral, which is that all should look past the end of their nose, giving all people a chance and working to put their needs and feeling ahead of their own, as Gilly learns to do in her life. I would give this book three out of five stars.
The Great Gilly Hopkins
