The Lottery Rose

Book Title and Author: The Lottery Rose by Irene Hunt

Book Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Publishing Info. – Berkley Publishing Corp., 185 pages

Awards or honors received:

Summary:
The book is about a young boy who was abused both mentally and physically by his mother and her boyfriend. Growing up in an unstable home being raised by an alcoholic mother with no support or love, Georgie had few friends, did poorly in school and distrusted mostly everyone. He was able to hide his feelings and find comfort in a library book filled with beautiful gardens. He won a rosebush in a grocery store lottery given to him by a lady whom he trusted. He finally found his purpose in caring for and loving through the only thing he’d ever owned, his rosebush. After an abusive night when the rescue was called, Georgie was finally taken from his mom and sent to a home for boys where he learns for the first time to feel safe, trust in others and feel loved. He also learns to give and to receive love through his experiences, giving him hope for a future in society.

Personal rating and reason for rating:
It was a great book. You could witness the difference one can make in a person’s life by caring and giving of one’s time.

Reading level: 5th grade
Interest level: 5th grade – adult

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Reading/Comparison: the rosebush and Georgie’s life

Potential Problems or difficulties: subject content may be disturbing with child abuse and violence.