Me and My Name - Hardcover

The love of story is part of my heritage. One of my earliest memories is drinking tea with my Irish grandmother. When my brother and I would finish our tea, Grandmother read the tea leaves.My own stories like a quilt are woven piece by piece from an experience, a particular place, a feeling, a question, a memory.

Grade 5-7-- Sixth grade is a tough year for Erin Mitchell. Her stepfather, whom she loves, wants to adopt her and her real father has given his permission, but Erin can't decide if she really wants to change her last name to Zanin. There are also problems involving friendship, loyalty, and boyfriends. But her primary concern is about her name and in discovering just who she is. Miller has captured that terrible, wonderful time in the lives of adolescents, when they begin to realize who they are as individuals, not as extensions of their families. Erin's character is well developed, and to a lesser extent so are her mother and stepfather. It is refreshing to find a book in which the stepparent is loving and loved, and the divorced parents are civil to each other despite lingering bad feelings between them. Less than realistic are Erin's biological father's sudden invitation to visit after so many years, their remarkably quick adjustment to each other, and their subsequent good rapport. However, these are minor flaws in an otherwise well-written book. --Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SC
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