All the Way Home by Patricia Reilly Giff

Historical fiction again. The author does a great job with her historical fiction, much better than the school ones so far. This one takes place in the early 1940s. Polio is a reality. I remember hearing about it in the 50s when I was a kid and even had a friend who had had it. The consequences in her legs were real and the references to Franklin Roosevelt very poignant. The fact that the girl was teased and felt awkward about herself sounded right. The woman who was her "almost mother" was a valued respected adult. Again, something I have missed in the books with the modern setting. She not only reminded her that she could do anything, when she did, she accepted it. Meanwhile, the other character, Brick, is also well respected as a child and well loved. When they meet and become friends, each has a respect for each other that is obvious and appreciated by the limits they allow each other. For example, when he needs to go, she helps him and when she needs to go alone, he shows her and leaves her to do it. Because of her willingness to go beyond what she was expected to do, things change a lot. I think there are a lot of kids like that. Moreso, than the ones who are so alone in Jerry Spinelli's books. There is an ache of loss in the Spinelli books, loss for respect and for value, but a strength of character in the Giff books that warms and enhances. Is this a reflection of the times the books are set in? Is it true in Education Week that a "majority of youth found to lack a direction in life"? Reading one author, it certainly seems to be, yet reading another, there is hope. I'm for Patricia Reilly Giff's point of view here.