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| 33607001997496 | Young Adult | SPINELL | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Nine-year-old David has recently lost his mother to a freak accident, his salesman father is constantly on the road, and he is letting his anger out on his grandmother. Sarcastic and bossy 13-year-old Primrose lives with her childlike, fortuneteller mother, and a framed picture is the only evidence of the father she never knew. Despite their differences, David and Primrose forge a tight yet tumultuous friendship, eventually helping each other deal with what is missing in their lives. This powerful, quirky novel about two very complicated, damaged children has much to say about friendship, loss, and recovery.
Author Notes
Jerry Spinelli was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania on February 1, 1941. He received a bachelor's degree from Gettysburg College and a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University. He worked as an editor with Chilton from 1966 to 1989. He launched his career in children's literature with Space Station 7th Grade in 1982. He has written over 30 books including The Bathwater Gang, Picklemania, Stargirl, Milkweed, and Mama Seeton's Whistle. In 1991, he won the Newbery Award for Maniac Magee. In 1998, Wringer was named a Newbery Honor book.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-Since David's mother died in a freak accident, the boy and his father have lived with David's grandmother in Pennsylvania. His father, who works in Connecticut, is gone all week, causing the nine-year-old to turn his grief and loneliness into anger directed at his grandmother. The symbolism of the title is apparent throughout the story, beginning when David sarcastically and rudely refuses to go to the annual Easter egg hunt in the park. Yet it is here that he meets Primrose Dufee, a quirky, equally lonely, and sarcastic 13-year-old girl whose glittery purple eyelids remind him of tiny birds' eggs. Primrose has defiantly moved into an abandoned van to separate herself from her childlike, eccentric fortune-teller mother. The two form a combative yet necessary relationship played out late at night when David sneaks out to help Primrose gather "junk" to sell at a flea market. Refrigerator John, Primrose's neighbor, serves as a safe, responsible, unassuming father figure, helping the youngsters understand themselves and sort through their losses. Spinelli's offbeat characters, wit, and unlikely circumstances are engaging yet the banter between David and Primrose and his rejection of his grandmother are at times extreme. Visual metaphors figure prominently in the multilayered plot while cracking the defensive shells built by these wounded young people.-D. Maria LaRocco, Cuyahoga Public Library, Strongsville, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Spinelli's (Maniac Magee) latest novel, the Newbery Medalist falls slightly short of the high standard he's set in some of his previous books. The conceptually appealing story starts out with a bang as readers are introduced to David, a vulnerable nine-year-old boy whose mother died by slipping on wet pavement and falling down the stairs. He lives with his grandmother, whom he finds nagging and annoying, and his absent father, who is only around on weekends. One day while begrudgingly participating in a neighborhood Easter egg hunt with his grandmother, David stumbles upon 13-year-old Primrose under a pile of leaves-she is pretending to be dead. Coincidentally, her father is out of the picture as well, and she lives alone with her kooky, fortune-telling mother. David and Primrose become fast friends, sneaking out at night and generally ignoring their guardians. Whatever potential this "kids against the world" setup has quickly dissipates, unfortunately. The two befriend a crafty mechanic down the street named Refrigerator John, call each other names and run away from home a few times, but they don't do much else. While readers will likely get a kick out of David and Primrose's quirky behavior, they might also want to move beyond the kids' bickering into deeper, meatier territory, such as death, fear and healing-issues that clearly affect them both. While Spinelli does touch on these themes throughout, the attention given them seems only to scratch the surface. Ages 8-12. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved