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The Vagrant
The Wild Things

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Interviews
Ingrid Law
Ingrid Law talks about the inspiration for Savvy
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.
John Hart
In a letter to his readers, John Hart talks about becoming a writer and the challenges he faced in writing The Last Child.
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.
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   Summary and Book Reviews

Gossamer: Summary and book reviews of Gossamer by Lois Lowry, plus links to an excerpt from Gossamer and a biography of Lois Lowry.

Gossamer Gossamer
by Lois Lowry
Hardcover: Apr 2006,
144 pages.
Paperback: Jan 2008,
160 pages.

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Critics' Opinion:   very good
Readers' Rating:  4.5 Stars
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Book Summary

Where do dreams come from? What stealthy nighttime messengers are the guardians of our most deeply hidden hopes and our half-forgotten fears? Drawing on her rich imagination, two-time Newbery winner Lois Lowry confronts these questions and explores the conflicts between the gentle bits and pieces of the past that come to life in dream, and the darker horrors that find their form in nightmare. In a haunting story that tiptoes between reality and imagination, two people—a lonely, sensitive woman and a damaged, angry boy—face their own histories and discover what they can be to one another, renewed by the strength that comes from a tiny, caring creature they will never see.

Book Reviews

Very Good BookBrowse
In poetically simple words Lowry draws the reader into her story about Littlest One, a trainee dream-giver, assigned to the house of an elderly woman who agrees to foster an "angry boy". Lowry shows us that it's possible to take on big issues such as child abuse without having to resort to gritty detail; instead she paints her story, not with a sugar-coating, but with a gossamer touch so that young children can empathize with the central characters, including the boy and his mother, without being overwhelmed by harsh details.
Full Review Members Only (members only, 422 words).


Good  Publisher's Weekly
Lyrical, richly descriptive prose ushers readers into a fascinating parallel world.

Good  Children's Literature - Joan Kindig
The novel is elegantly and sparingly written. The pacing is taut and the characterization surprisingly full given the length of the book. (Ages 10-14).

Good  Kirkus Reviews
The prose is light as gossamer; the story as haunting as a dream.

Very Good  Booklist
Lowry's plain, poetic words speak directly to children

Very Good  School Library Journal
Starred Review. A beautiful novel with an intriguing premise.

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