This book doesn't let you put it down from the very first sentence which is "We can't believe the house is on fire." In Zanesville is about a fourteen year old girl who is the main character and narrator. The author of this book is Jo Ann Beard, h She teaches nonfiction writing at Sarah Lawrence College.
The main character has a best friend whom she shares all of her daily adventures. This book takes place in the 1970's and the author does a great job of describing what living in that time period was like. IN Zanesville is rated 4/5 stars. I think the age range for this book should be 13 and up. I feel the people that will like this the most are people who like realistic fiction located in the past.
What others thought of this book:
"Starred Review. Beard is a faultless chronicler of the young and hopeful; readers couldn't ask for a better guide for a trip through the wilds of adolescence." - Publishers Weekly
"An engaging read for those who recall the 1970s and for anyone who remembers the borderlands between childhood and young adulthood." - Library Journal
"Moving.... Beard travels the well-worn road of budding young womanhood with surprising freshness." - Booklist
"Jo Ann Beard has written a mesmerizing account of a time in a girl's life when every moment, every action, is laden with enormous importance. It is so beautifully written, so perfect in its pitch, that I couldn't put it down." - Ann Patchett, author of Run
"In Zanesville is told by a narrator attuned to the humor and tragedy around her, battling it with her own desperate logics. This novel is an amazing demonstration of friendship, the most necessary and slippery thing we can possess." - Peter Rock, author of My Abandonment
"Beard is a writer of immense talents. In Zanesville is far more than a coming-of-age novel. Our offbeat narrator is spellbinding in her bold vivacity and honesty, an unforgettable character quickly embraced and beloved at the center of our lives." - Howard Norman, author of What Is Left the Daughter
"An engaging read for those who recall the 1970s and for anyone who remembers the borderlands between childhood and young adulthood." - Library Journal
"Moving.... Beard travels the well-worn road of budding young womanhood with surprising freshness." - Booklist
"Jo Ann Beard has written a mesmerizing account of a time in a girl's life when every moment, every action, is laden with enormous importance. It is so beautifully written, so perfect in its pitch, that I couldn't put it down." - Ann Patchett, author of Run
"In Zanesville is told by a narrator attuned to the humor and tragedy around her, battling it with her own desperate logics. This novel is an amazing demonstration of friendship, the most necessary and slippery thing we can possess." - Peter Rock, author of My Abandonment
"Beard is a writer of immense talents. In Zanesville is far more than a coming-of-age novel. Our offbeat narrator is spellbinding in her bold vivacity and honesty, an unforgettable character quickly embraced and beloved at the center of our lives." - Howard Norman, author of What Is Left the Daughter
