Book titles can be meaningful to the story in ways that don’t even make sense until you read the book. This book is one of those. Today, we’ll be discussing a great read, Pictures of Hollis Woods.
Pictures of Hollis Woods is a book about a parentless girl named, as you can probably tell by the title, Hollis Woods. It definitely sounds like a weird name, but she is seen as a weird, trouble-making girl. Hollis sees the world differently from other people. This shows when, one time, she demonstrates a picture of a “W” word to her teacher. However, her teacher doesn’t think there are any “W” words. Hollis was thinking the picture represented “wish” or “want”. But, obviously, her perspective wasn’t noticed.
Hollis ran away from the Regans’ home and got caught a few days later. She stays with an old lady named Josie, who gives off an unsettling vibe when she’s carrying a knife in her hand. At first, Hollis is a bit frightened of the lady. However, by the end of the day, they’re laughing and joking together, as if they were best friends who recently reunited. Josie told Hollis she was going to make a picture of Hollis using natural elements.
Josie also has a cat named Henry, who doesn’t get along with Hollis for a while. However, as time flies by, the feline starts to get along with Hollis as well. Hollis even gets to meet Josie’s sister, Beatrice. Beatrice is an artist, like Josie, and even taught art classes. However, she tells Hollis none of them were like her. Their artwork was bland and missing some very deep meanings. When Beatrice takes a look at the pictures Hollis drew, she’s mesmerized by the elaborate details and connotations. Beatrice also gives tips and advice to Hollis about drawing her pictures with her viewpoint of the world.
One day, the lemon woman, who works with the agency who helps Hollis stay in different homes with different people who want her, comes to the house. She talks with Josie, and soon, Hollis, and tells them she’s considering moving Hollis to another home. With Josie losing her train of thought a bit more than usual, Hollis has to be moved to another home since Josie wouldn’t be able to take care of Hollis with her bad memory.
Hollis decides to run away with Josie and Henry the cat to the Regans’ summer house, which is where Hollis used to stay. Since the Regans’ aren’t in the house, it’s fine. They live there, but Hollis keeps getting reminded of the Regans’, their kindness and hospitality, and an alarming event that happened with them, specifically the boy, Steven. Meanwhile, there appears to be someone else stalking Hollis, Henry, and Josie since objects are being moved around when no one in the house misplaced them.
What happened with Hollis and the Regans? What was spending time with them like for Hollis? And who is the stalker moving objects around? I can’t answer those questions, for it will lead to spoiling the whole story. Only you can clarify those inquiries by reading the book. So go ahead and try the book that I rate five stars out: Pictures of Hollis Woods!
Written by Kruti Patel
