I’ve read most of Sharon Creech’s books, and each one has always revealed her excellent insight into the young mind, especially as it grapples with growing up, family, friends, and even heavier issues such as grief and abandonment.
Replay is another feather in Creech’s cap, a touching family story seen through the eyes of Leo, the middle child in a loud Italian family.
Leo often feels like a sardine, squashed in between his moody sister, two gregarious younger brothers, a pair of frazzled parents, and a wild assortment of Italian relatives. There is so much going on in their household that he fantasizes about doing extraordinary deeds to get his family’s attention.
As he prepares for a small role (old crone) in a school production, Leo can’t help but compare the play to his life, and in the process discovers more about himself and the good old family that he loves and loves him back.
While relatively lighter in subject matter than Creech’s other books (my favorites are
Walk Two Moons,
Absolutely Normal Chaos, and
Ruby Holler) Replay is a fresh addition to the collection as the structure of the book plays with the metaphor of the play: it presents the story in scenes and introduces the characters via a cast listing.
Leo makes a great lead: candid and engaging, observant and expressive — a real Sharon Creech trademark. Leo writes in a dramatic exercise in preparation for a play:
“It was like everyone else was in a play and I was the audience. I couldn’t see myself, but maybe everyone feels this way. You never see yourself (unless you look in the mirror). You only see everyone else. I still feel that way.”
The last section of the book also includes a special surprise, a script of the play they did in the book: “Rumpopo’s Porch,” for kids who might want to act it out. I was amused to find the script because I remember how I loved play scripts when I was younger — I would act them out, playing all the characters and giving them different voices while forcing my little brother to sit through all of my performances, haha.
I still have a couple of Sharon Creech books in my TBR — Granny Torelli Makes Soup, and Chasing Redbird; I look forward to reading them this year.
***
My copy: hardcover in dustjacket, from the NBS bargain bin, P50
My rating: 4/5 stars
