In this exceptional novel about the grief process, Sophie comes through as a unique but very real character. She begins with the immediate revelation that her brother, Erhart, died three years earlier of leukemia and her father ousted from the house for infidelity. Highly intelligent, with a dry wit and aspirations of going to medical school, Sophie gets anxious around other people. She slowly begins to allow herself to have spontaneous feelings and not just her carefully monitored “on-purpose memories.” The impetus for this change is her mother’s boyfriend’s son, Francis. Francis is a kind, worldly guy who has also suffered a loss: his mother has died. Sophie is first drawn to him by the tiny tear tattoo on his face, the outward expression of his grief. Through hours of conversation over many weeks they become increasingly good friends. Sophie, though, has a rule against dating, as she doesn’t want to get sidetracked from her educational goals. When the kiss finally comes, Sophie and Francis have built a deep, respectful friendship. Sophie is also able to make some emotional reparations with her father and finally visit the gravesite of her brother. The recurring theme throughout is that of time and its relation to forgiveness, memories, and growth. Freymann-Weyr has crafted a smartly written story that honors both intellect and love while remaining blessedly free of cliché or sugar-coating. (Fiction. 10-15)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-618-05545-2
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2000
It’s 1949, and 13-year-old Francine Green lives in “the land of ‘Sit down, Francine’ and ‘Be quiet, Francine’ ” at All Saints School for Girls in Los Angeles. When she meets Sophie Bowman and her father, she’s encouraged to think about issues in the news: the atomic bomb, peace, communism and blacklisting. This is not a story about the McCarthy era so much as one about how one girl—who has been trained to be quiet and obedient by her school, family, church and culture—learns to speak up for herself. Cushman offers a fine sense of the times with such cultural references as President Truman, Hopalong Cassidy, Montgomery Clift, Lucky Strike, “duck and cover” and the Iron Curtain. The dialogue is sharp, carrying a good part of this story of friends and foes, guilt and courage—a story that ought to send readers off to find out more about McCarthy, his witch-hunt and the First Amendment. Though not a happily-ever-after tale, it dramatizes how one person can stand up to unfairness, be it in front of Senate hearings or in the classroom. (author’s note) (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2006
ISBN: 0-618-50455-9
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2006
An intimate novel that beautifully confronts grief and loss.
It’s 1983, and 13-year-old Indian American Reha feels caught between two worlds.
Monday through Friday, she goes to a school where she stands out for not being White but where she has a weekday best friend, Rachel, and does English projects with potential crush Pete. On the weekends, she’s with her other best friend, Sunita (Sunny for short), at gatherings hosted by her Indian community. Reha feels frustrated that her parents refuse to acknowledge her Americanness and insist on raising her with Indian values and habits. Then, on the night of the middle school dance, her mother is admitted to the hospital, and Reha’s world is split in two again: this time, between hospital and home. Suddenly she must learn not just how to be both Indian and American, but also how to live with her mother’s leukemia diagnosis. The sections dealing with Reha’s immigrant identity rely on oft-told themes about the overprotectiveness of immigrant parents and lack the nuance found in later pages. Reha’s story of her evolving relationships with her parents, however, feels layered and real, and the scenes in which Reha must grapple with the possible loss of a parent are beautifully and sensitively rendered. The sophistication of the text makes it a valuable and thought-provoking read even for those older than the protagonist.
An intimate novel that beautifully confronts grief and loss. (Verse novel. 11-15)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-304742-6
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
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