Irene Hunt is one of my favorite young adult historical fiction authors, and I looked forward to starting “The Lottery Rose.” It was completely different from what I expected, but I can honestly say it is one of the most impacting books I’ve ever read, and certainly the best so far this year.
Georgie Burgess is a seven-year-old boy who is being severely abused by his mother’s boyfriend, with his mother’s full knowledge and sometimes cooperation. She’s an alcoholic who depends on her boyfriend for whiskey, and neither of them care much to have Georgie around. His physical abuse partially manifests itself in his school performance – he can’t read, and his teacher is hard on him because of it. The only joy in his life comes from a book about flowers that he repeatedly checks out from the school library.
One day while at the grocery store, he is given a ticket to a lottery the store will be holding that weekend. He just knows he’s going to win something, and sure enough, he is presented with a half-dead rose bush. He’s never had anything so wonderful in his whole life. He is reluctant to go home, wondering what will happen to his prize, but he can’t wander around forever. When he does come home, he finds his mother’s boyfriend there, and this time the beating is so severe, Georgie is finally removed from the home and placed in the care of the state. He has a broken arm, numerous lashes all over his back, and his face is severely discolored.
The courts place him in a boys’ school run by Catholic nuns, right across the street from a mansion with a gorgeous garden. As soon as Georgie sees this garden, he knows that is the place where his bush should be planted. But the woman who owns it refuses to give him permission, and that sets off a new hatred in Georgie’s heart, when he already knows no love.
Slowly, as those around him overlook his outbursts and just love him for who he is, Georgie is able to open up as well, giving the book a marvelously satisfying ending that had me wiping my mascara all over my face and down my chin.
I would recommend this book for ages 14 and up; some of the abuse themes are a bit hard for a younger reader. I would whole-heartedly recommend this book for adults, despite the fact that it’s a young adult novel – your heart will be touched more than you thought possible. I’m already marking this book as my favorite read for the year, and it’s going to take something pretty incredible to knock it off its pedestal.
(This book was published in 1978 by Berkeley Jam Books.)
Fifty Books for the Eighth Grade