Review by Booklist Review
Eleven-year-old Tess doesn't want to leave her island home, but her family will have to move to the mainland if the state of Maine closes their small schoolhouse for lack of students. To increase their numbers, several families take in foster children, and so 13-year-old musician Aaron, who has bounced around since his grandmother's death because his mother is an alcoholic, comes to stay with Tess' family. Tess pins all her hopes on Aaron, but he is not at all what she expected: he doesn't like reading, he throws up on her dad's lobster boat, and he'd rather stay in his room than play Monopoly. Each chapter title is a folk saying that superstitious Tess follows as she wishes and schemes a way for Aaron to love island life. Aaron's relationship with his foster family, particularly with impulsive Tess, develops believably. The tight-knit community and lobster-catching details make for a warm, colorful environment. This is a feel-good story about letting go of your expectations and accepting the good things already in front of you.--Hutley, Krista Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
As she did in the Newbery Honor-winning Rules, Lord introduces a plucky, articulate girl from coastal Maine. When Tess's best friend's family moves away and there are no longer enough students to keep her island school open, her family is among those that offer to take in foster children to boost enrollment. Awaiting the arrival of Aaron, her teenage foster brother, Tess-an avid collector of good-luck talismans-is thrilled to find a piece of blue sea glass, since blue is especially lucky: "Touch blue and your wish will come true." Lord interlaces themes of loss, luck, superstition, family, and belonging, but at the heart of this tightly woven story is Tess's longing to help Aaron overcome his hurt and anger at having been taken from his alcoholic mother (years before) and shuffled among foster homes, and to make him feel like he's part of her close-knit family. His mother's unannounced appearance (at Tess's bold, clandestine invitation) at a talent show in which Aaron plays the trumpet adds tension and pathos to the finale of this stirring novel. Ages 9-12. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-Eleven-year-old Tess is dismayed when she finds out her Bethsaida Island, Maine, school might close due to lack of students. When Reverend Beal comes up with a plan to revive the school population by having some townspeople take in foster children. Tess's family takes in Aaron, 13. The girl's steps and missteps as she tries to connect with him and make him feel welcome pull at the heartstrings. All Aaron wants is to go back to live with his alcoholic mother again. All Tess wants is for him to want to stay. Each chapter is headed with a folk saying which helps develop the story. Cynthia Lord's moving story (Scholastic, 2010) about the meaning of home is told by Erin Moon with heartwarming clarity and feeling. For fans of Megan McDonald's Sisters Club series.-Terry Ann Lawler, Phoenix Public Library, AZ (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
When Tess's best friend and her family moved away, their small island school lost five students, and now the state of Maine has threatened to close it. Her lobsterman dad and schoolteacher mom talk about moving to the mainland -- but then the islanders decide to take in foster kids to make up the loss, with Tess's family agreeing to foster thirteen-year-old Aaron. This second novel from the author of the Newbery Honor book Rules features a thoughtful first-person narration by Tess that gives readers a real feeling for island life, with vivid descriptions of the sights and sounds and smells of the place Tess loves and desperately doesn't want to leave. Her sense of humor keeps things light: Tess's only knowledge of foster kids comes from books, and she's hoping Aaron is like Anne of Green Gables, "full of stories and eager to meet us. Of course, he won't be exactly like Anne, because he's not eleven years old. Or a girl. Or Canadian." It turns out Aaron is also not exactly eager to meet them -- his childhood has been the opposite of Tess's secure, stable, live-in-one-place existence. Tess is well versed in sayings about luck, and each chapter opens with a different one; by the end, Tess has learned to trust in life not luck, while Aaron has learned how to trust, period. Both see that even if they're not where they think they belong, they have the strength -- and family support -- to make themselves at home. jennifer m. brabander (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
