Going on Nine (Fitzpatrick) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
A child swipes her mother's ring, snatches her sister's nightgown, and runs outside to play "bride." She soon loses the ring, rips the gown, correctly assumes it's about to rain daggers, and runs away from home to find a better; family. What happens next is a summer-long journey in which Grace Mitchell rides shotgun in a Plymouth Belvedere, and hunkers in the back of a rattletrap vegetable truck, crawls into a crumbling tunnel, dresses up with a prom queen, and keeps vigil in the bedroom of a molestation victim. There are reasons why Grace remembers the summer of 1956 for the rest of her life. Through the eyes of a child and the mature woman she becomes, we make the journey with Grace and discover important truths about life, equality, family, and the soul-searching quest for belonging.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel


Going on Nine....is set in Underhill Fitzpatrick's native St. Louis. Alternating between the childhood voice of 8-year-old heroine Grace Mitchell and the character's adult self, it follows Grace through an idyllic summer in 1956.... The theme that runs through the whole book and is absolutely from my childhood is how unstructured and unfettered we were as children in the '50s," Underhill Fitzpatrick said. Through the novel, Grace finds humor and danger as she lives with other families in an effort to escape her own. "Grace learns families and friendships are nuanced," Underhill Fitzpatrick said. "They were likelier than not to be misjudged by those observing them at a distance."
Ft. Myers FL News Press


[B]eautifully-written tale of a young girl coming of age in the summer of 1956. Reminiscent of Ray Bradbury’s classic, Dandelion Wine, Going on Nine takes readers on an unforgettable journey back in time to an era of drinking from garden hoses, catching fireflies in jars, licking cake batter from wooden spoons and enjoying the unbridled freedom to explore the world and all its wonders.”
Island Reporter (Florida)


Fitzpatrick… attended summer camp regularly as a child and as a teen in Missouri, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, culminating her summer camp career as a counselor, where she taught archery. Later, she sent her two daughters to Camp Minnikani on Amy Belle Lake, and has recently written a novel, Going on Nine.... The book written for adult readers, recounts the adventures of Grace Mitchell during the summer of 1956, including a stint at summer camp.
M Milwaukee Magazine