Pictures of an Orphan Girl’s Life

Picture This

Hollis Woods is a troubled twelve-year-old orphan. She feels unloved, unwanted and unsettled. Her emotional issues began virtually the moment she was born. Just an hour old, she was discovered next to a patch of New York trees called Holliswood with a note that read “Call her Hollis Woods.” And so they did. And so she entered the foster care system.

The only constant in the life of young Hollis is her artwork. She loves to draw pictures. It’s how she records her life . . . as a series of drawings. The colors she chooses reflect not only the setting, but also the atmosphere. She even sees the houses she’s been in as nothing more than colors - tan, brick, green. They aren’t about the people inside, people she will run from anyway. They are just the exteriors, nothing more than what she gives others of herself.

Except for one. She thought she was done running that time.

The Regan family seemed different. They were loving toward her and provided what she had always dreamt of - a father, mother and brother. With her, the picture would have been complete. They thought so also. Izzy, Steven and the Old Man wanted to make Hollis a permanent part of their family, a fact that made her happier than she ever thought possible. Then one day, something horrible happened that would rip that picture of belonging out of Hollis’s mental sketchpad. And so she ran.

Now, she’s been temporarily placed with an elderly woman, a retired art teacher. Josie Cahill (pronounced “kale”) is classic movie star glamorous, and she needs Hollis. She is forgetful sometimes, but wonderful to be with. Hollis likes feeling needed. She may just stick around for a while. The woman from the agency has other plans, though. After a few months, she comes to tell Hollis she’s found a home for her. Hollis doesn’t want a new home, and so she’ll run yet again. This time, she’ll take Josie with her. Somewhere she can continue to take care of this woman who has come to mean so much to her. Somewhere that will change her life forever.

The Art of Writing

Pictures of Hollis Woods is presented in such an engaging fashion it keeps you turning pages right through to the end, an end that comes at only 166 pages. The story consists of seventeen chapters interspersed with fourteen “pictures.” The chapters are set in the present time, Hollis’s stay with Josie. The “pictures” are written in italics and are from the past, Josie’s time with the Regan family. The end of each is like a subtle cliffhanger. They have you always wondering what happened to have taught Hollis so much of love while at the same time causing her so much pain. I have seen similar chapter/between-chapter set-ups before. They did break things up nicely into quickly-readable sections, but they didn’t have the same effect as what they do here.

The characters in this book are people that you can care about without even giving it a second thought. Hollis is emotionally fractured, but it doesn’t come across in a “pity-me” sort of way. Also, she has caused some trouble with skipping school and running away from foster homes, but that’s not represented as being something she gloats over. It’s just matter-of-fact. I appreciate this type of handling since this book is aimed at an audience of 8 to 12-year-olds. It’s important to convey the events in the life of a child such as Hollis without glorifying them.

Hollis isn’t the only character that readers will feel connected to. Josie, with her eccentricities and good nature, is an easy person to feel affection for. She values and enjoys life and her part in it, and you can really feel her struggles--her fear, pain and sadness--when her Alzheimer's kicks in. It’s easy to share in Hollis’s need to be responsible for this wonderful woman.

And lastly, the Regan family. They are a part of the recent past, and yet they are portrayed in such a way that you realize how important they were, and still are, to Hollis. They are always there in the back of her mind, always a part of what has helped mold the person she has become. Maybe if she had never met them, spent time with them, she wouldn’t have had the capacity to care so much for this elderly woman that needed her now.

I only have one potential problem with this book, and it deals with the ending. However, due to the fact that the intended audience is a young one, I can accept it. I would expect something a little less pat were this book meant for an older group of readers.

Not surprisingly, Pictures of Hollis Woods is not Patricia Reilly Giff’s first Newbery Honor Book. I haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading her previous publications, but I will be sure to search them out in the future. Perhaps you’ve already come across some, or you desire to do so now. Either way, they are as follows:

For Middle-Grade Readers

All the Way Home

Nory Ryan’s Song

Lily’s Crossing (Newbery Honor Book)

The Gift of the Pirate Queen

The Casey, Tracy & Company books

For Younger Readers

The Kids of the Polk Street School books

The Friends and Amigos books

The Polka Dot Private Eye books