When Janey asks to see the plate, he has no idea what she's talking about. She finds her way to the shack's owner's house.

Janey decides she has to see the plate one last time. This should be the last month's rent as the Larkins are planning on leaving as soon as Mrs. Later on, when the Larkins can't pay the rent, Janey offers the plate as rent instead. In fact, Janey tries to give the plate to a doctor so he'll save her sick mother. Lupe's not too impressed by the plate and I think I'm not either, though it's Janey's most valuable (or valued) possession. Anyway, the plate is one of those willow plates, you know the type, with a bridge and a house and stuff. They kind of make a big deal about this but it doesn't really change anything plot wise).

The willow plate belonged to some ancestor of Janey's (though not of her parents because she's adopted. The really important thing I forgot to mention is the willow plate which, really, gives the book its name. Oh, um, I think 'there' is California but don't quote me on that. Janey gets to go to school for awhile, but it's the camp school, not the real school where people who actually live around there go. They win and I think the prize is $1,000 which is a lot of money. Just a few plot points: Janey's father enters a cotton picking contest with the help of Lupe's father. They're Mexican and therefore Spanish speaking like practically every other migrant worker I've heard of in literature. The other important characters include Lupe Romero and her family they live across the street (I think?). Which would be well and good if it weren't for Bounce Reyburn (really his name) who, supposedly acting on behalf of the shack's owner, comes by to collect rent. At the beginning of the book, they're just settling down for what'll be a long stretch in an abandoned shack. Unlike most of the migrants, they never live in camps, preferring to fend for themselves wherever they can. They live the migrant life, moving around constantly. We have Janey Larkin who lives with her Larkin parents. In this case, the main characters are workers themselves and the book follows their lives. Like the last book I wrote about, Blue Willow is about migrant workers. I read this thing pretty recently and did not particularly enjoy it, and will therefore not be reading it again before posting this. Someone obviously thought it was good literature it's a Newbery Honor book.

Now, as a young 'un, I really liked this book. I said it would be next and damnit, I keep my promises (sometimes).

Blue willow gates