Audiobook Review:
Walking with Miss Millie by Tamara Bundy

Walking with Miss Millie by Tamara Bundy

Narrated by: Catherine Taber
Length: 4 hrs and 39 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Genre: Middle School Fiction
Release Date:07-04-17
Publisher: Listening Library

A poignant middle grade debut about the friendship between a white girl and an elderly black woman in the 1960s South.

Alice is angry at having to move to Rainbow, Georgia – a too small, too hot, dried-up place she’s sure will never feel like home. Then she gets put in charge of walking her elderly neighbor’s dog. But Clarence won’t budge without Miss Millie, so Alice and Miss Millie walk him together.

Strolling with Clarence and Miss Millie quickly becomes the highlight of Alice’s day and opens her eyes to all sorts of new things to marvel over. During their walks, they meet a mix of people, and Alice sees that although there are some bullies and phonies, there are plenty of kind folks, too. Miss Millie shares her family’s story with Alice, showing her the painful impact segregation has had on their town. And with Miss Millie, Alice is finally able to express her own heartache over why her family had to move there in the first place.

Tamara Bundy’s beautifully written debut celebrates the wonder and power of friendship: how it can be found when we least expect it and make any place a home.

Thoughts
Oh my goodness, how I loved this book! I fell in love with Alice, Millie, and Clarence. I loved how their friendship grew and how they ended up depending on each other’s company.

I felt for Alice, she really didn’t want to move from her home and friends, but Millie made that move turn into something wonderful and gave her memories she’ll never forget. There were some sad parts in the book, but mostly it was filled with kindness and love.

Millie also taught Alice some history and told her about her life in the past.  I loved listening to every minute of it.

Pam and her brother Jake were also characters I fell in love with. Pam was a kind girl and became friends with Alice and her brother Eddie. She wanted to learn sign language so she could communicate with Eddie, who was deaf. Jake was also a good kid, and he too became friends with them and learned some sign language. Pam and Jake’s other brothers were not so nice.

This is a feel good story about life in a small town where everyone knows everyone. It was short at just over 4 1/3 hours, but it’s really good and I’m sure I’ll listen to it again in the future.

It is narrated by Catherine Taber who did a great job with all the voices. I especially loved Pam’s voice. She made me laugh more than once.

I highly recommend this book to everyone.