Patterson, K. (1978). The Great Gilly Hopkins. [New York]: Scholastic.

 Long time foster kid Gilly Hopkins is tough, even when others are trying to help her. She likes, steals, and scams to look out for herself, which ends up backfiring when she finally finds a home she loves. Gilly is an emotional roller coaster that has the reader feeling a wide range of emotions right along with her.

I was surprised by my strong emotional connection to Gilly, because she didn’t really remind me of anyone in particular I know personally. At times I wanted to take her over my knee and spank her, but what I was aching to do was just hug her. Although I hoped for the typical happy ending, I appreciated the lesson students could learn about their actions having consequences. It was a difficult moment, but I know that Gilly made her choices. I closed the book with a melancholy hope that children who read it will learn from her mistakes.