Review of “Home, and Other Big, Fat Lies,” by Jill Wolfson

“Home, and Other Big, Fat Lies,” by Jill Wolfson is a novel about a young orphan named Whitney and her fight to save a giant redwood tree from the local loggers.

When Whitney’s social worker takes her to Foster Home #12, Whitney is certain that the experience will be short-lived. She will be living in Northern California, in a small town surrounded by redwood trees. Most of the men in town are unemployed because logging regulations have caused the town logging company to lay off its workers. As a result, many of the families in town have taken on foster children as a means of income.

As Whitney starts to adjust to her new surroundings she makes friends with the other foster children at her school, and she also starts to appreciate the mysteries and beauty of the forest around her new home. One of those beauties is the giant redwood that she has named Big Momma.

But disaster strikes when the logging is reopened. This is good for the town’s economy, but it means that Big Momma is in trouble. So Whitney and her foster children friends take on the loggers to try to save this special tree.

I felt that “Home and Other Big, Fat Lies” was an interesting book. The main character Whitney seemed a little overdone, reminding me of the book character Joey Pigza. But, as the book explains Whitney is supposed to be a “hyper, loudmouthed” kid. Jill Wolfson does a good job of explaining Whitney’s feelings, and the plot she has chosen is reasonable. “Home and Other Big, Fat Lies” is an entertaining book for junior audiences.

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