"GLENNIS, BEFORE AND AFTER"

by Patricia Calvert ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1996

Her father is in prison and the family has broken up, but Glennis is convinced that things will soon go back to the way they were in this introspective problem novel. Convinced of her father's innocence, Glennis moves in with black-sheep Aunt Wanda so she can visit him every Saturday at the nearby Federal Detention Center. The crisis comes when her father, convicted of fraud, tells her he's guilty. Glennis angrily breaks off her visits and launches a series of projects: wresting her attention-starved cousin, Skipper, away from the TV; persuading Wanda to quilt again; and organizing a picnic for her scattered family. She realizes that her brother, sisters, and mother--who is recuperating from a nervous breakdown--have new lives and won't be getting back together. While an unlikely scene in which Glennis suddenly confesses her secret to her whole class may torpedo the author's credibility, Calvert (Writing To Richie, 1994, etc.) creates a compulsively self-analytical character ""older than twelve, not quite thirteen."" Glennis, with some prodding from an older, wiser supporting cast, learns that she has built a prison for herself out of naive hopes but has the ability to change and, ultimately, to forgive.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1996

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 150

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories: CHILDREN'S