Kimberly J. Brown Books

Everyone thinks that Jaynell and Racine's Grandpa has gone crazy when they find out that his died, so Grandpa leaves the homeplace and moves in with his daughter which is Jaynell and Racine's mom. Jaynell and her grandpa are really close, but when grandma died she felt like grandpa had been yanked from her world. It was Christmas Break when Grandpa moved in so Jaynell wasn't in school, but both of her parents's had to work. Jaynell's dad told her to keep an eye on Grandpa to make sure he didn't get into any trouble, so Jaynell did. The next morning Jaynell did exactly what her dad told her to do. Grandpa got up and got cleaned up for the day, and then he left the house, so Jaynell followed. She felt bad about being so sneaky around her grandpa since they were so close. She ran up next to him and asked where he was going, but he did not answer. She followed him all the way when they finally arive at the cemetary. As they walked through the cemetary grandpa told stories of how the people had died. Everyday they walked to the cemetary together and looked at grandma's grave. They still didn't have a headstone for it. One morning grandpa got up and instead of walking to the cemetary he started heading to Longview, a town outside of Moon, Texas, when Mr. Bailey picked them up and gave them a ride to Longview. Mr. Bailey was heading there to bid on some old abandoned junk cars. Jaynell did not know where they were going in Longview, but she went along with it. When they approached a car deliership, grandpa said this will be fine, so Mr. Bailey dropped them off. The next thing Jaynell was riding in a cadillac with her grandpa, he woke up that morning and wanted to buy a cadillac. The next couple of weeks grandpa and Jaynell drove through town in the cadillac. Grandpa loved the cadillac. They made rounds everyday stopping at people's houses, including the Pickens. The Pickens were the poorest family in town, but everyday grandpa would stop by to get some cookies and coffee. One day when they arrived he didn't go in, instead Willie and Lily Belle Pickes got in the Cadillac. They asked grandpa if he would give them a ride in the cadillac. So he did, they drove around, and then arrived at the homeplace, and everyone got quite. Nobody had been to the homplace since grandma died. The house was bare, it looked like a ghost house. Lily Belle said she would love to live in a nice house like that. The next day Jaynell over slepted and didn't catch grandpa before he left in the cadillac. She went outside and couldn't help but notice that the Pickens were moving. They drove by in Grandpa's cadillac, he was driving and they were heading to the homplace. Come to find out Grandpa let them move in. That evening grandpa didn't come home, so Jaynell and her dad got in the pickup truck and drove down the road looking for him.......to find out what happened you can read the funny and exciting book, i loved it and i highly suggest that other teenagers read this book to!! Thank you for reading my book review over Dancing in Caillac Light!

My opinion of this book is that it would be better off in the hands of a nine year old. In a way this book was a bit too juvenile for me. The hardest word was "hernia".
The story took place in Moon, Texas, where the roads hadn't been paved yet. Grandpap becomes ill. He moves with the Jaynell's family. Gradpap buys an emerald greed Cadillac. He teaches Jaynell how to drive. Grandpap passes away. They sell the Cadillac. Not exactly my idea of an interesting book. This book was very vague. I couldn't even find the climax. I would not recommend this book if there were others.

I hated this book. This family has two girls, Racie and Jaynell. Rachie is a girly-girl and Jaynell is a tomboy. It seems like the only person who loves her is her grandpa. Her parents are just plain crazy. Mama repedily whipped Racie with a flyswatter because she ate a sugar cookie and the dad threatens to "tear up" their hides each time they do something he does not like. Once Jaynell said something out of turn and he grabed her shirt collar, nearly strangleing her, and pushed her rougly to her mama and forced her to apologize. Then Jaynell says that she will flench everytime she sees a flyswatter and she gets really scared when mama uses it on Racie. Her parents are just crazy. Then grandpa dies. Dad becomes even angrier and mama just looses it. I understand that sparking fear in a child's eye is a good thing. Children should be afraid of their parents-but this is crazy. Racie just ate one cookie and from that one mistake she recives a thrashing that is talked about in two paragraphs. Jaynell says that she could hear the repeted blows and it just sounded aweful. These people were crazy. This book is crazy.

Dancing In The Cadillac Lights was a very well written book. I like the way that Kimberly Willis Holt describes her characters. For example, she gives a very good description of Jaynell. She tells that Jaynell is a tom boy and she is "not a girlish girl." The story is about a family that lives in a small town, Antler, Texas, and everybody in the town always hears everybody's business. Everybody in this family of four are the same, except for there is one oddball and that is Jaynell. One day Jaynell's grandpap becomes sick and has to move in with Jaynell and her family, and over the time that grandpap has to stay with that family, grandpap and Jaynell get a better bond that takes them closer together. So overall Dancing In Cadillac Lights was a good, even though it was short, but you could read it anytime.

Kimberly Holt and Sharon Creech both write of strong young female protagonists living in rural settings with eccentric and endearing family members. Following Zach Beaver and Walk 2 Moons, when I compare Holt's LA Sky and Cadillac with Creech's Ruby Holler and Chasing Redbird, Holt wins--hands down. She simply has a better mastery of this genre.

Cadillac is just a delightful story; chock full of eccentric characters and humor in a quaint, rural setting in the year that Neil Armstrong walked the moon. Time after time, Jaynell, the protagonist, makes you smile and chuckle with her one line "zingers" that speak her opinions on everything from "white trash" to her coquetish sister, Racine. The humor is perfect for the primary audience of children as well as adults.

The best zinger of all occurs in the second paragraph of page 137. Jaynell's parents have just returned from a getaway weekend of reconciliation and romance at the lakeside trailer of Uncle Floyd. Jaynell tells the reader, "Mama seemed different...even Daddy seemed to have a lift in his walk...Uncle Floyd had been right...there was nothing catching a fine bass wouldn't cure." Children will laugh but adults will find the word play in the last line and howl!

There is much for children to experience and learn in this story. Don't miss sharing it with your students.