A powerful novel explores the toll that abduction by a non-custodial parent takes on one girl's identity. Elsie McPhee's narration quickly cues the reader to the oddness of her life. She lives in an anonymous apartment with her brother Tommy, forbidden by her mother to leave the building or to form relationships with anyone. When Elsie disobeys to play with the new neighbors, her mother yanks the family away to yet another anonymous apartment in yet another town. Flashbacks flesh out the story: Elsie is really L.C. (Linda Clay) McGee, and her parents divorced when they disagreed about the appropriateness of seeking help for her slow, unusually withdrawn little brother. For the past four years, since their mother snatched them from a playground, the little family has been on the move, and Elsie/L.C. has suppressed memory of her earlier life. A crisis in Tommy's health and her growing understanding of their mother's fundamental instability prompt Elsie to seek help and turn her mother in. Rodowsky (Spindrift, 2000) avoids an easy ending, continuing the novel past the children's reunion with their father and tackling the difficulties the girl—she renames herself Clay—faces in returning to her former life and coming to grips with her brother's autism. The novel has many of the characteristics of a movie-of-the-week and secondary characters tend toward one-dimensionality, but strong storytelling and the convincing exploration of Clay's confusion as she confronts her tremendous fear of and simultaneous intense love for her mother save it from triteness. (Fiction. 9-13)
Pub Date: March 13, 2001
ISBN: 0-374-31338-5
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fans of Cameron’s Huey and Julian stories (More Stories Huey Tells, 1997, etc.) are in for a treat as Gloria, their friend from those tales, gets a book of her own and graciously allows the two brothers to share it . In the first tale, Gloria makes a wonderful card for her mother, but the wind blows it away and it ends up in the cage of a cantankerous parrot. Thanks to Mr. Bates, Huey and Julian’s dad, the day is saved, as is the burgeoning friendship that Gloria and the boys have struck up with new neighbor Latisha in the story, “The Promise.” In another story, Gloria has to deal with a huge problem—fractions—and this time it’s her dad who helps her through it. Mr. Bates proves helpful again when the group trains an “obsessed” puppy, while Gloria’s mother is supportive when Gloria is unintentionally hurt by her three best friends. The stories are warm and funny, as Gloria, a spunky kid who gets into some strange predicaments, finds out that her friends and wise, loving adults are good to have around when trouble beckons. Great fun, with subtly placed, positive messages that never take center stage. (b&w illustrations) (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: March 9, 2000
ISBN: 0-374-32670-3
Page Count: 93
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
Ramona returns (Ramona Forever, 1988, etc.), and she’s as feisty as ever, now nine-going-on-ten (or “zeroteen,” as she calls it). Her older sister Beezus is in high school, baby-sitting, getting her ears pierced, and going to her first dance, and now they have a younger baby sister, Roberta. Cleary picks up on all the details of fourth grade, from comparing hand calluses to the distribution of little plastic combs by the school photographer. This year Ramona is trying to improve her spelling, and Cleary is especially deft at limning the emotional nuances as Ramona fails and succeeds, goes from sad to happy, and from hurt to proud. The grand finale is Ramona’s birthday party in the park, complete with a cake frosted in whipped cream. Despite a brief mention of nose piercing, Cleary’s writing still reflects a secure middle-class family and untroubled school life, untouched by the classroom violence or the broken families of the 1990s. While her book doesn’t match what’s in the newspapers, it’s a timeless, serene alternative for children, especially those with less than happy realities. (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 25, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-16816-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
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