Long Story Short: Summary and book reviews of Long Story Short by Siobhan Parkinson, plus links to an excerpt from Long Story Short and a biography of Siobhan Parkinson.
Long Story Short
by Siobhan Parkinson
Hardcover: Jun 2011,
160 pages.
From Ireland's first laureate for children's literature comes a story of abuse and neglect told with sincerity, heart, and a healthy dose of humor.
Jono has always been able to cope with his mother's drinking, but when she hits his little sister Julie, he decides it's time for them to run away. Told in Jono's funny, self-conscious voice, the layers of his past and the events of his escape are gradually revealed. Amusing and touching but never sentimental, Siobhan Parkinson is a well reviewed middle-grade author who now turns her considerable skill as a writer to a young adult audience.
Siobhán Parkinson has written a tight, funny, and heartbreaking story of one boy's determination to keep his ever-dwindling family - which ultimately consists of his sister and himself - together. This is at the heart of Jono's voice. This is what makes his story so believable: his unwavering love for Julie. Long Story Short is a perfect middle grade and young adult read. Clearly told from within an Irish landscape, it is universal both in its humor and drama. (Reviewed by Tamara Smith).
Horn Book
The brief, tightly structured novel is suffused with Jono’s desire for a Happy Family, but Parkinson is too good a writer to settle for an easy, happily-ever-after ending. She does, however, allow readers a credible hope in Julie and Jono’s future.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Unassumingly slender, Long Story Short packs a serious wallop... [the] story is wrenching, but whose manner of telling it is disarming, honest, and often hilarious.... Don’t miss this one.
Booklist
If the story - filled with flashbacks - is occasionally a bit slow paced, Jono's realistic first-person voice holds the reader's interest, and the setting is as vivid as the boy's briskly vernacular language.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Jono's voice is lively and individual... an engaging narrator and a stand-up guy in a tough situation.
Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. [A] deeply affecting story about what can go wrong when adults fail children and the choices available to them are all bad.
On May 11, 2010, Siobhán Parkinson (pronounced sh-vawn) became the first Irish Children's Literature Laureate (aka Laureate Na nÓg) ever. (Na nÓg is an Irish term meaning "the young" or "young people"). Held for two years, the main purpose of the position is to expose youths to good, high quality children's literature and to weave it into Ireland's culture. Siobhán said of what she hopes to achieve:
"[That] every child in the country has access to a nice, bright, warm, cheerful, comfortable library, where they can go and find the books that will open their minds and bring them into wonderful imaginary places. That sense of excitement and joy about books I want every child to have... I believe that children's literature lays the foundations of the imaginative life of a people, and that every child deserves to have access to a reading haven."
This hilarious and heartwarming novel reminds us that nothing is stronger than the bonds of family (ages approx 9+).
These are 2 of the 6 readalike suggestions for Long Story Short. Members have full access to all readalikes. If you are a member, please login. To find out more about membership, click here.
The first biography of Clarence Birdseye, the eccentric genius inventor whose fast-freezing process revolutionized the food industry and American agriculture.
BookExpo America will broadcast live author appearances for the first time(May 24 2012) For the first time, BookExpo America is making author appearances at the show available for viewing online live or on demand, via Livestream. It is...
Full Story
(1007 words).
Horn Book
On May 11, 2010, Siobhán Parkinson (pronounced sh-vawn) became the first Irish Children's Literature Laureate (aka Laureate Na nÓg) ever. (Na nÓg is an Irish term meaning "the young" or "young people"). Held for two years, the main purpose of the position is to expose youths to good, high quality children's literature and to weave it into Ireland's culture. Siobhán said of what she hopes to achieve:
BookBrowse
