S.J. Parris
S.J. Parris writes about her inspiration for Heresy, which masterfully blends true events with fiction into a page-turning murder mystery set on the sixteenth-century Oxford University campus.
Adam Haslett
A conversation with Adam Haslett, author of Union Atlantic, a deeply affecting portrait of the modern gilded age, the first decade of the twenty-first century.
Ida B: Summary and book reviews of Ida B by Katherine Hannigan, plus links to an excerpt from Ida B and a biography of Katherine Hannigan.
Ida B and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World
by
Katherine Hannigan
Hardcover: Aug 2004,
256 pages.
Paperback: Jan 2007,
256 pages.
What do you do when your life goes from righter than right to a million miles
beyond wrong?
Try to scare away the new neighbors with signs and posters that warn
things like "Typhoons Known to Occur Here -- Water Rats Abound."
Avoid eye contact and word contact, with Mama and Daddy in particular.
Stay away from the orchard and the brook and the old tree and anything
else that reminds you of how good things used to be.
Put together the best plan you've ever created to get things back to
just-about-perfect again.
Book Reviews
BookBrowse
The story did not resonate with the adults or children (aged 10 & 12) in our family. Full Review (members only, 637 words).
Booklist - Illene Cooper
Starred Review. Sometimes Ida's fourth-grade, first-person
voice sounds like Junie B. Jones with a linguistic bent gone wild, but it's
definitely unique, and Ida's ability to articulate her feelings will warm
children, who will understand just what she's talking about. Gr. 4-6.
Kirkus Reviews
If the ending is a predictable reconciliation, this preternaturally sensitive and precocious child reaches it, not through the intervention of supportive adults, but through the puzzling out of her own difficulties - even
after many false starts. A poignant, affirming, and often funny debut from a
promising new author. (Fiction. 9-12).
Publishers Weekly
This insightful, seemingly intuitive first novel digs deep inside the soul of
9-year-old narrator Ida B Applewood....Hannigan shows a remarkable understanding of a stubborn
child's perspective in her honest, poignant portrayal of loss and rebirth. Ages
9-up.
Children's Literature - Joan Kindig, Ph.D.
Beautifully told, this first
novel is filled with remarkable characters and the story is one of growth and
adaptation. Seeing how Ida B deals with all of this is worth the price of
admission. Ages 7 to 10.
School Library Journal - Faith Brautigam
Gr 4-6-With just the right amount of tension in the plot, a spot-on grasp of human emotions, and Ida B's delightful turns of phrase, this book begs to be read aloud. Regardless of how tight the budget, don't pass
it up.
When his daughter, Amy, died suddenly of a heart condition, Roger Rosenblatt and his wife moved in with their son-in-law and their three young grandchildren. His story tells how a family makes the possible out of the impossible.
You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family.
The Postmistress is an unforgettable tale of the secrets we must bear, or bury. It is about what happens to love during wartime, when those we cherish leave. And how every story-of love or war-is about looking left when we should have been looking right.
Masterfully blending true events with fiction, this blockbuster historical thriller delivers a page-turning murder mystery set on the sixteenth-century Oxford University campus.
Kostova's masterful new novel travels from American cities to the coast of Normandy, from the late 19th century to the late 20th, from young love to last love. The Swan Thieves is a story of obsession, history's losses, and the power of art to preserve human hope.
I read this book in two days and found it so refreshing. Although you will learn a great deal about barn owls by reading it, the book is not just ...
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I enjoyed reading this book, however, feel that this is not completely her own ideas. This books remembers me of a cross between 'ghost','Sixth ...
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Lisa See has written a great book! This story is satisfying on many levels, some scenes horrifying, but seemingly truthful, and her handling of the ...
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