claricedaugherty's review against another edition
4.0
Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms is about a twelve year old’s world turning upside down when she is uprooted from her home. Wilhelmina, who likes to be called Will, is born and raised in Zimbabwe on the Two Tree Hill Farm; she lives with her father and the owner of the farm Captain Brown. Will is exuberantly wild, but all of her friends and family cherish her because she has such a compassionate and free soul. When Will’s father contracts malaria and dies, Captain Brown’s new gold digging wife decides that Will needs to be tamed, sending her to boarding school in London.
When Will arrives in London, no one shows her compassion. The popular girls are mean to her everyday. The teachers do not know what to do with her. Will feels so alone. Therefore she decides she will be better on her own in a foreign city. While she is trying to figure out what to do, she goes to the zoo and meets a boy named Daniel. He gives her something to eat and half of his comic. While Will is roaming London, the police are looking for her. She finds Daniel’s address on his comic and enlists his help to stay hidden for the night. Daniel’s grandmother finds her in the morning, fixes her breakfast, and listens to Will’s story. Daniel’s grandmother seems to know that Will is strong and resilient.. She helps Will to realize that going back to school and standing up for herself will be the hardest, but most rewarding action.
When Will arrives in London, no one shows her compassion. The popular girls are mean to her everyday. The teachers do not know what to do with her. Will feels so alone. Therefore she decides she will be better on her own in a foreign city. While she is trying to figure out what to do, she goes to the zoo and meets a boy named Daniel. He gives her something to eat and half of his comic. While Will is roaming London, the police are looking for her. She finds Daniel’s address on his comic and enlists his help to stay hidden for the night. Daniel’s grandmother finds her in the morning, fixes her breakfast, and listens to Will’s story. Daniel’s grandmother seems to know that Will is strong and resilient.. She helps Will to realize that going back to school and standing up for herself will be the hardest, but most rewarding action.
mcrews's review against another edition
5.0
This book is awesome. I absolutely loved it. I love the author's style, I love the characters, I even love the cover art.
brittneycloyd's review against another edition
4.0
This book wasn't what I expected in terms of plot, but it was beautifully written.
literarystrawberry's review against another edition
3.0
Not totally sure how to rate this-- 3.5?
I don't know. I liked it, I did, but I guess it just didn't have the same magic as Rooftoppers, and some of it felt a little underdeveloped. Still, I really enjoy this writer's voice, and I'm looking forward to seeing what she does in the future, so I'll err on the side of the positive and put up four stars.
I don't know. I liked it, I did, but I guess it just didn't have the same magic as Rooftoppers, and some of it felt a little underdeveloped. Still, I really enjoy this writer's voice, and I'm looking forward to seeing what she does in the future, so I'll err on the side of the positive and put up four stars.
sshenderson's review against another edition
5.0
This was the first book I have read by Katherine Rundell, and I was not let down by it in any way. I read the book non-stop until I finished it four hours after I started it. Others have said that it is a gloomy book, and I do agree with that statement. However, I feel that adds to the charm of the book. It truly depicts the confusion and despair of heartbreak and loneliness, but it also shows how a fierce, young wildcat of a girl can overcome it. The simple language of the story makes it seem as if it is coming directly from young Will, and I just love how it describes England as the land of sense and law.This is a beautiful, heat-wrenching story, so do yourself a favor and read it.
klnbennett's review against another edition
4.0
Will is a vibrant happy 8 year old girl, growing up on a remote farm in South Africa. She spends all her time out of doors, with animals, playing in all weather with local boys. Will loses her parents and then her home on the farm and is sent to a boarding school in London, where she can find nothing familiar or comfortable for her, and where none of the other girls can understand this wild african girl.
This story was excellent and I loved Will so much! She is utterly brave and fully herself. I couldn't put it down, wanting to know what would happen to her.
This story was excellent and I loved Will so much! She is utterly brave and fully herself. I couldn't put it down, wanting to know what would happen to her.
frederique's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
tcbueti's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED this, but I HATE the cover. And the title is barely taken from an exchange at the very end of the book; the German cover & [b:Zu Hause redet das Gras|13528931|Zu Hause redet das Gras|Katherine Rundell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333554255s/13528931.jpg|14804935]title--At Home, the Wind Speaks--is so much better. Even the original British title would probably sell the book better, but I can see why they wanted to avoid the word "savage" (even though the main character is called that by mean girls.) [b:The Girl Savage|9912400|The Girl Savage|Katherine Rundell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1353171405s/9912400.jpg|14804935] or [b:The Girl Savage|23621570|The Girl Savage|Katherine Rundell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476844760s/23621570.jpg|14804935]
Anyway, that aside, this was wonderful. There are sort of three distrinct parts: Growing up in Africa, her stint at a British boarding school and some time on the streets of London. The description of Will's life growing up in Zimbabwe is lyrical, funny, gross in bits, and then heartbreaking. Her subsequent time in England is "grizzly" and horrible. The girls at her boarding school are mostly awful, and she runs away. (Although it's hard to imagine a school doing so little to understand and ameliorate such an abrupt change in situation, weather, customs, etc., one could argue that the Captain's awful new bride rushed/botched the transition. However, the headmistress seems very fond of Will, very suddenly, so why didn't she do more from the get-go?)
I found her time on the streets/hiding at the zoo very suspenseful. She's naively trying to figure out how to raise enough money to fly back home, dealing with street punks and freezing/starving/stealing food from garbage cans. You could argue that the eventual resolution is too swift and /or not very satisfying, but I think its brevity adds to its appeal for more reluctant readers, and realistically there isn't much else that could happen... and it's not REALLY completely resolved--but it seems like it's heading in a positive direction.
I like the emphasis on courage, and that there isn't an easy, happy solution. In that way, it reminds me of the great Gilly Hopkins.[b:The Great Gilly Hopkins|163465|The Great Gilly Hopkins|Katherine Paterson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443418961s/163465.jpg|1258731]
Anyway, that aside, this was wonderful. There are sort of three distrinct parts: Growing up in Africa, her stint at a British boarding school and some time on the streets of London. The description of Will's life growing up in Zimbabwe is lyrical, funny, gross in bits, and then heartbreaking. Her subsequent time in England is "grizzly" and horrible. The girls at her boarding school are mostly awful, and she runs away. (Although it's hard to imagine a school doing so little to understand and ameliorate such an abrupt change in situation, weather, customs, etc., one could argue that the Captain's awful new bride rushed/botched the transition. However, the headmistress seems very fond of Will, very suddenly, so why didn't she do more from the get-go?)
I found her time on the streets/hiding at the zoo very suspenseful. She's naively trying to figure out how to raise enough money to fly back home, dealing with street punks and freezing/starving/stealing food from garbage cans. You could argue that the eventual resolution is too swift and /or not very satisfying, but I think its brevity adds to its appeal for more reluctant readers, and realistically there isn't much else that could happen... and it's not REALLY completely resolved--but it seems like it's heading in a positive direction.
I like the emphasis on courage, and that there isn't an easy, happy solution. In that way, it reminds me of the great Gilly Hopkins.[b:The Great Gilly Hopkins|163465|The Great Gilly Hopkins|Katherine Paterson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443418961s/163465.jpg|1258731]
just_a_touch_of_bibliomania's review against another edition
5.0
This was a wonderful, emotional, lovely gem of a book. It made me happy and angry and unbearably sad and hopeful and I loved all of it.