Last Left Standing - Softcover

Russell, Barbara Timberlake

3.62 out of 5 stars

8 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140386866 ISBN 13: 9780140386868

Publisher: Puffin, 1998

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Through his friendship with an elderly woman and her granddaughter, Josh comes to terms with his brother's death

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From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7?To avoid his parents and to escape from thinking about his older brother Toby's death, 13-year-old Josh often runs through the orange groves surrounding his Lakeland, FL, home. One day he runs farther than ever and discovers the isolated home of an elderly woman, Mattie, and her granddaughter Bess Ann. He learns that Toby had been building a fence in order to keep their chickens in the yard. Josh can't face up to telling them that Toby is dead, so he decides to complete the project himself. Through his daily visits, he develops a close relationship with Mattie and Bess Ann. When he discovers that Bess Ann can't read, the boy begins to teach her. Eventually, he tells Mattie that Toby was killed by a train, a fact that she had already known. By talking about his brother, Josh is finally able to work through his grief and, at the same time, realize that he is a different person from his brother. Fast-paced, this novel delves into the grieving process of a young boy. By not revealing the details of Toby's death until the very end, a parallel is drawn since Josh doesn't want to face them either. This skillfully developed novel will be as well received as Marion Dane Bauer's On My Honor (Clarion, 1986).?Bonnie L. Raasch, C. B. Vernon Middle School, Marion, IA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

In her first novel, Russell proves herself a graceful stylist but less assured at constructing a plot. Josh's older brother, Toby, has died three months ago, before summer vacation began, and Josh's unarticulated mourning has turned him into a loner. Wandering near his home, in Florida orange-grove territory, he finds a shack inhabited by an elderly artist, Mattie, and her "kin," a slow but cherubic girl named Bess Ann. The unlikeliness of this sudden discovery of neighbors is compounded by the revelation that the two knew Toby well; although Toby and Josh were best friends as well as brothers, Toby, for no discernible reason, never mentioned the shack. Over the course of the next month, Josh pretends, to himself as well to Mattie and Bess Ann, that Toby is simply away at summer camp. Mattie and Bess Ann seem more like types than like original characters, and their role in Josh's emotional recovery is predictable. On the other hand, Russell develops Josh's character subtly and insightfully, coloring her understated prose with brief, evocative descriptions. Josh's grief, for example, is said to be "hiding like some catfish underneath everything." Language like this makes Russell worth watching. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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