Love in a Time of Homeschooling

Starred review from March 29, 2010
Told by elementary school teachers that her daughter, Julia, "needs to spend more time in our world," author Brodie (Breaking Out, The Widow's Season) decided that her daughter's unique intellectual needs would best be served by a year of home-schooling: "The more I looked into it, the more I discovered that short-term homeschooling is a growing trend in America, for a vast array of reasons." Chronicling the entirety of her homeschooling experience, from the decision-making process to Julia's successful re-entry into 6th grade, Brodie takes pains to show how difficult homeschooling can be: "How foolish I had been, to have believed that Julia's complaints over the past two years... stemmed from an institutional cause" (as it turns out, Julia simply doesn't like to be told what to do). Having been frustrated by other homeschooling books' Pollyanna attitude toward the parent-child relationship, Brodie's contribution to the field is full of honest revelations that make it vital for anyone considering homeschooling; happily, her gift for good storytelling and keen observation (of herself and others) make this an absorbing read for everyone else.