PICKLES AND PRUNES

by Barbara Moe ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 15, 1976

Prunes, because Anne, the head nurse's daughter, is on a faddish prune diet, and pickles are just about the only food Laurie, dying from a blood disease that sounds like leukemia, can tolerate. That explained, one can extrapolate some of the problems of tone Moe has in trying to treat a fourteen-year-old's death in the context of another adolescent's ordinary growing pains. However, this is a good attempt, far better than Feil's Ghost Garden which shoves the dying Christina discreetly out of sight. Moe makes Laurie a lively, spontaneous girl in contrast to balky Anne, who studiously plans out her ""new personality."" And Anne's familiarity with the hospital prepares her, and us, to accept Laurie's distressing symptoms (she is bald and wears a wig from the beginning) as well as to help Laurie in her immediate problem, fear of discussing her death with adults, including her Mother, because it will ""depress"" them. Some stock characters and extraneous scenes, but Anne and Laurie do engage your sympathies.

Pub Date: March 15, 1976

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 122

Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1976

Categories: FICTION