Broken Soup - Hardcover

Valentine, Jenny

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 006085071X ISBN 13: 9780060850715

Publisher: HarperTeen, 2009

Synopsis

Positive.

Negative.

It's how you look at it. . . .

Someone shoves a photo negative into Rowan's hands. She is distracted but, frankly, she has larger problems to worry about. Her brother is dead. Her father has left. Her mother won't get out of bed. She has to take care of her younger sister. And keep it all together . . .

But Rowan is curious about the mysterious boy and the negative. Who is he? Why did he give it to her? The mystery only deepens when the photo is developed and the inconceivable appears.

Everything is about to change for Rowan. . . . Finally, something positive is in her life.

Award-winning author Jenny Valentine delivers a powerful and life-affirming story of grief, friendship, and healing that will resonate long after the last page.

About this title

About the Author:

Jenny Valentine worked in a food shop for fifteen years, where she met many extraordinary people and sold more organic bread than there are words in her first book. She studied English literature at Goldsmith's College, which almost made her stop reading but not quite. Her debut novel, Me, the Missing, and the Dead, won the prestigious Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in the UK under the title Finding Violet Park. Jenny is married to a singer/songwriter and has two children. She lives in Hay on Wye, England.

From Booklist:

Fifteen-year-old Rowan is still adjusting to life following her older brother’s death. Her dad is only an occasional presence, and her mother lies in bed all day in a fog of grief, which leaves Rowan to take care of her little sister, Stroma. Rowan’s far too busy to mourn, until one day a strange boy hands her a photo negative he says fell out of her bag. With her new friend Bee (who’s a bit enigmatic herself), Rowan develops the negative and finds a candid photograph of her brother. The mystery Valentine sets in motion is quickly paced and packed with revelations that, while always plausible, sometimes tread too far into “gotcha” territory. The main appeal of the book, however, is her beautifully modulated tone; Valentine is the rare young-adult author who does not overuse dialogue. Insightful details abound, particularly concerning Rowan’s growing relationship with the boy and the resulting reintroduction to her London home, both elements that mirror Valentine’s theme of “developing.” An ideal book for those dealing with the crushing loneliness that follows a death. Grades 9-12. --Daniel Kraus

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 006085071X
• ISBN 13: 9780060850715
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224