Also Known as Harper by Ann Haywood Leal

Title: Also Known as Harper
Author: Ann Haywood Leal
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
Publisher: Henry Holt
Publication Date: May 26, 2009
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Harper Lee Morgan is an aspiring poet, which isn’t surprising, seeing as how she’s named after her mama’s favorite writer, Harper Lee. And life is giving her a lot to write about just now. Daddy up and walked out, leaving them broke. Then Harper’s family gets evicted.

With Mama scrambling to find work, Harper has to skip school to care for her little brother, Hemingway. Their lives have been turned upside down, which Harper could just about handle—if it wasn’t for the writing contest at school. If only she could get up on that stage and read her poems out loud . . .

Also Known as Harper was another one of those "cute, but not memorable" kind of books that seem to be making their way on to my bookshelf lately. It's just one of those things-- I've been in the mood for light and fluffy books, and I just can't help but pick ones that sound cute. But for some reason, I just haven't found a book that's fluff and substance lately, meaning that I have to write reviews like this.

I liked it. I truly did, but there are only so many ways that I can express that, because nothing really jumps out at me as a reader. Harper was an okay kind of character, but we didn't really click, because Harper was really young, and only concerned with poetry and her family. As a YA reader, I click better with older characters, and I really can't help that. But for what it's worth, Harper was a good MG character.

I did like the drama in the story, but in the long run it really wasn't all that terrific, because it doesn't show the actual problems-- they've lost their house, and they're living in a motel, but none of that was really capitalized on. The plot was mostly about Harper's poetry reading, which didn't honestly set well with me. They're in such a dire need of a house and such, but all Harper can focus on is her POETRY.

I think that my main issue was that. That's all that I can say. Because all in all, I liked it, and I don't want to just tear it apart.