Miss Ophelia (G K Hall Large Print Book Series) - Hardcover

Smith, Mary Burnett

4.04

147 ratings by Goodreads

9780783884028: Miss Ophelia (G K Hall Large Print Book Series)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0783884028 ISBN 13: 9780783884028

Publisher: G K Hall & Co, 1998

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A novel set in rural 1948 Virginia explores the powerful issues of abortion, illegitimacy, adultery, and racism in the story of an eleven-year-old girl who learns a terrible secret about her piano teacher

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From the Back Cover:

Part coming-of-age story and part slice of life, this is a literary novel about African-Americans in the rural South.

Set in rural Virginia during 1948, Miss Ophelia is a remarkable debut novel that explores the issues of abortion, illegitimacy, adultery, and skin color. Belly Anderson now in the autumn of her life, reminisces about the last summer of her childhood. A strong-willed and free-spirited eleven-year-old, she reluctantly leaves her home in rural Pharaoh and goes to Jamison to help her mean Aunt Rachel recover from surgery. Belly has two reasons for deciding to go to Jamison: She's left alone when her only friend becomes pregnant and is sent away, and she hopes that she'll be allowed to take piano lessons from her mother's childhood friend. While taking lessons from Miss Ophelia, she learns a terrible secret about her beloved teacher--a secret that forces Belly to grow up and learn what it really means to be an adult.

About the Author:

Mary Burnett Smith has a master's degree in education from Temple University. Before her retirement in 1992, she taught inner-city junior and senior high school students in Philadelphia. She now lives outside the city with her husband.

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