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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33607003087213 | Juvenile Fiction | HAYDU | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
"A well-crafted blend of realism and fantasy." --School Library Journal (starred review)
"A lyrical story of love and loss. The way the sisters fight and love in equal measure, as well as their basic need for one another, rings poignantly true in this touching and heartwarming story, which contains a 'tiny bit of magic, right here in the real world.'" --Booklist (starred review)
In the tradition of Sharon Creech and Wendy Mass, Corey Ann Haydu's sparkling middle grade debut is a sister story with a twist of magic, a swirl of darkness, and a whole lot of hope.
Silly is used to feeling left out. Her three older sisters think she's too little for most things--especially when it comes to dealing with their mother's unpredictable moods and outbursts. This summer, Silly feels more alone than ever when her sisters keep whispering and sneaking away to their rooms together, returning with signs that something mysterious is afoot: sporting sunburned cheeks smudged with glitter and gold hair that looks like tinsel.
When Silly is brought into her sisters' world, the truth is more exciting than she ever imagined. The sisters have discovered a magical place that gives them what they truly need: an escape from the complications of their home life. But there are dark truths there, too. Silly hopes the magic will be the secret to saving their family, but she's soon forced to wonder if it could tear them apart.
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-Silly's family is in distress. Moving to their New Hampshire summer house, which was supposed to help, has only exacerbated her mother's drinking problem. Silly's father finds refuge in his academic study of fairy tales, leaving 11-year-old Silly and her three sisters to fend for themselves. Silly resents the fact that her siblings view her as the baby, and exclude her from the secrets they hide behind their bedroom doors. But the day their mother finally turns her wrath on Silly, the bedroom door cracks open and Astrid pulls Silly into the room to share their secret: the bedroom closet is a magic portal that allows the girls to escape to worlds of their creating. "We let the closet take care of us" Astrid explains, "and it always does." Silly soon discovers other closets are magical as well, feeding what each girl needs. Not all the girls' desires are benevolent, however, and as the summer wears on, the seductive alternative worlds begin to separate the sisters. Silly realizes the siren call of the closets may soon cause irreparable damage. Haydu masterfully portrays the stress of living with an alcoholic parent. While narrator Silly is most fully voiced, all four sisters are well developed and readers share their pain as they search to fill the void left by their mother, creating a pattern of ever-shifting alliances as they seek balance. But when one of the sisters gets trapped in a closet, the sisters must find the strength to break down doors, both literal and metaphorical. VERDICT A well-crafted blend of realism and fantasy. Give to fans of Holly Goldberg Sloan's Counting By 7s (Dial, 2013) and Sarah Weeks's So B It (Harper, 2004).-Nancy Nadig, Penn Manor School District, Lancaster, PA © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Eleven-year-old Silly and her three older sisters have always tiptoed around their alcoholic mother and her unpredictable moods. Things are even worse this summer now that the family has moved into their mother's childhood home in New Hampshire, and Silly's sisters are acting especially distant. Soon, Silly comes to share in the secret her sisters have been keeping from her: the house's closets can transport them to a magical realm. It also turns out that Silly can manipulate this magic in a way that none of her sisters can. Like the dancing princesses of fairy-tale legend, the girls discover new wonders and gain much-needed escapes from their day-to-day lives whenever they go inside. Each closet is different, and while some bring delight or contain memories, others hold darker secrets. The siblings' relationships are complex and believable, and their pain at their fractured family life is raw and real. Haydu (Making Pretty) makes skilled use of her story's fantastical overlay to create a haunting narrative about the ways family members can fail-but also support-each other. Ages 8-12. Agent: Victoria Marini, Gelfman Schneider. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.