Woodson Experience

"Locomotion"
by Jacqueline Woodson



I was pleasantly surprised with this novel. Sitting down to read I was very skeptical about reading a book containing only poetry. When I was a young student, poetry and language arts were never made interesting which could very well be the source of my skepticism.


I loved that the entire novel was written from Lonnie's perspective and followed him through many settings in his life. We got a taste of what life was like with his family before the tragedy, his life at school and his life with Miss. Edna. Since I am currently enrolled in language arts and reading methods at the University of Iowa, I have come to realize the importance of writing in the classroom. This novel enforces this idea and also further supports the fact that writing can be an escape for most students.


The two prominent themes in this book are faith and belongingness. Lonnie's younger sister, Lili, believes that if Lonnie finds God and reads the bible they will be able to be together again. Lili lives with a new family not far from Lonnie and the family she is living with values faith and religion. Lonnie is skeptical of this plan but will do anything to be reunited with Lili. He begins to read the Bible and search for God anywhere he can think to look. I believe Lonnie also fed off of the innocence in Lili's statement. In her mind, this is simple. Lonnie plus God equals reunited and Lonnie knows that the real world does not work like that but he has faith in his younger sister and hopes that one day things will return to they way they once were.


Belongingness is also a theme in this novel. Lonnie feels that he does not belong, that he does not fit in anywhere. He is continually searching for his place in life. He does not have a set group of friends at school, he feels that at any moment Miss. Edna will abandon him and he has lost Lili, the only family he has left after his parents passing. He finds a shred of belonging when he is with Lili and when Miss. Edna's son comes to visit at refers to him as his little brother.


Towards the end of the novel, things were looking up for Lonnie which made me extremely happy. When I become immersed in a book I begin to feel like I am in the story (this is how I can tell it's a great book!). After hearing how much Lonnie struggles to come to terms with his parents tragic passing and being separated from Lili, I was hoping for a happy ending. The ending was very open ended but I choose to believe the best. I would give this novel a 5 out of 5 stars.


After reading separate novels, we were placed into discussion groups in class. After discussing our novels, our group came up with commonalities we thought were present in all of our novels.

Jacqueline Woodson

-Urban Settings
-Family Tragedy
-Separated Siblings
-African American Characters
-Similar Endings