The Matrix: Readers' Advisory

WEEK TWELVE PROMPT

Readers' Advisory Matrix for She Got Up Off the Couch and Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana by Haven Kimmel.

• Where is the book on the narrative continuum?
• Highly narrative (reads like fiction)
• What is the subject of the book?
• This book is about Haven Kimmel's mother and her life in rural Indiana.  We first met Delonda in Kimmel's first book A Girl Named Zippy, and in this book, we see her mom get off the couch and change her life.
• What type of book is it?
• A memoir written in chapter vignettes
• Articulate Appeal
• What is the pacing of the book?
• The story is a narrative so it unfolds very quickly.  Each chapter reads separately but all together creates the picture of the family.
• Describe the characters of the book.
• Haven uses the family member descriptions to drive the story.  The main characters are Zippy (Haven), Delonda Jarvis (her mom), Bob Jarvis (her dad), Melinda (her sister), and Dan (her brother).  There are other characters that flavor the story, but the main part is about her family...especially her mom in this story.
• How does the story feel?
• Funny, touching, and reflective
• What is the intent of the story?
• Sharing her family's experience and telling her mother's story
• Does the language matter?
• Yes.  The language is unique to Haven's writing style.
• Is the setting important and well described?
• Very.  Her descriptions of growing up in small-town Indiana make her story different than others.
• Are there details and, if so, of what?
• The details are about the characters and setting.
• Are there sufficient charts and other graphic materials? Are they useful and clear?
• Doesn't apply, but there are great pictures for each chapter that showcase the subject of that particular chapter.
• Does the book stress moments of learning, understanding, or experience?
• We learn about what her mother goes through and her difficulties changing her life.
• Why would a reader enjoy this book?
• Humor
• Family Stories
• Tone