Billie Standish Was Her (Pat Larrow)

Billie Standish Was Here (Pat Larrow)
Nancy Crocker
Simon & Schuster
288

I found this book at the South Hadley Public Library.


--Billie Standish Was Here is set in Missouri in 1968. The story follows William Standish, Billie, who at the beginning is an 11-year-old girl. When her parents got pregnant, they desperately wanted a baby boy. That’s why her name is William. Her parents barely pay any attention to her and the only two girls in town her age want nothing to do with her. The river that is nearby is starting to rise and it looks like the levee might break. There’s a great possibility of a flood, and Billie’s family is one of the only one’s who decide to stay. Despite their difference in age, Billie becomes close friends with an old woman named Miss Lydia. Miss Lydia and her adult son, Curtis, are the only other people to stay in the town. The coming summer is extremely eventful for both Miss Lydia and Billie. The two form a very strong relationship and Miss Lydia helps Billie become a stronger, happier, stronger person. But one encounter with Miss Lydia’s son Curtis will leave her scarred for years to come. The book follows Billie through almost 4 years of her and Miss Lydia trying to keep that secret. --I would definitely say the audience of this book is at least 15 years or older because there is some extremely mature content involved.
--Style- the author’s style is very simple. I liked it because it’s easy to understand. There aren’t and overcomplicated words, and the language is just like we talk. It’s really easy to read. Kind of the opposite of Their Eyes Were Watching God. “I went back and locked the door, then started walking down the middle of the street so I’d see anything that started my way. I like scary movies now and then, but I always hate the jump-out-and-grab-somebody scenes.” Pg.6
--This represents Nancy Crocker’s style of writing very well. The book is relatively recent, so the language is quite easily understood. I love scary movies, so I have my friends watch them with me, they always hate me at the “jump-out-and-grab-somebody scenes.” So I think this is very relatable to young adults today. You can tell exactly what she is saying, without trying to interpret anything.

--Passages-
1) “My name is Billie Standish. William Marie Standish. It's pretty clear what my parents' expectations were. The "Marie" was a nod to Daddy's mother because she died two months before I was born. Otherwise who knows? I might have been William Edward.”
--I like this passage because it explains how she got her name. It also begins to explain why her parents ignore her most of her life.
2) “Curtis Jenkin’s funeral was the strangest I had ever seen- and I’d been hauled to the funeral more times in my eleven years than I could remember. Around here, when anybody dies, everybody goes.” Pg. 58
--I chose this passage because I like the way it sounds. And it shows how small of a town it is that they’re in, how everybody knows everybody. It reminds me of South Hadley in a way.
3) “We weren’t rich by anybody’s yard stick. I knew better than to ask for new clothes unless my shoes were absolutely too tight or the Queen of England was invited to our house for supper. But I always went back to school in the fall with new stuff. I had a few extras. I had enough.” Pg. 2
--I really like this paragraph because the first sentence is funny. I like how, instead of saying not by anyone’s measures or something, she says yardstick. And it also shows how some people weren’t as greedy as most people are today. She knew what she could and couldn’t have, and she accepted it. But I find it a little contradicting how throughout the entire book her parents are treating her terribly, her mom abuses her, and she is ignored close to 99% of the time.
--Well I can’t relate to this book in any way except one. Just that I met someone that showed me and is still showing me what I am capable of. Like Miss Lydia did for Billie, he teaches me how to look past the bad things to find the good things. This book reminds me of the quote “Weed your mind as you would weed your garden.” The whole thing about meeting Miss Lydia is that she pulls Billie out of this rut that she would have otherwise never gotten out of. It meant a lot to me, I felt really emotional when I was reading this.