THE ROAD TO PARIS
by Nikki Grimes

Accelerated Reader: Level: 4.3. Pts. 4.
Number of Multiple Choice Questions on Quiz: 10.


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Book Description:

For eight-year-old Paris Richmond, home was such a funny word. Because she and her older brother had moved from one foster home to another so often, it had come to mean not a place but a person. Malcolm was the one constant in her life. When they run away from an abusive home, they seek refuge with their grandmother, who returns them to the foster-care system. It is then that the siblings are placed in separate homes.

Though Paris desperately misses Malcolm during her year with the Lincoln family, she gradually comes to trust them and even her own instincts. She gains coping skills through a newfound religious faith and the talent to share it through music. Her ability to keep God in her pocket allows her to overcome fears and difficulty. Her convictions allow her to endure inexcusable prejudice and malice as well as recognize the beauty and kindness around her.

A poignant and plausible story, Paris is well crafted and simply but elegantly told. Even secondary characters are well drawn and recognizable as they grow, mature, and propel readers to a satisfying, hopeful, though not pat conclusion. Readers will pull for a successful life for Paris and Malcolm as they reunite with their mother and her new husband. They are also confident that Paris now knows what and where home really is.