Holding Me Here - Hardcover

Pam Conrad

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0192715801 ISBN 13: 9780192715807

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1987

Synopsis

A life of secrets

Fourteen-year-old Robin is intrigued when a mysterious boarder named Mary Walker moves into her house. Unable to stop herself, she sneaks into Mary's room, reads her diary, and learns that Mary has a husband and two children in another town.

Robin can tell that Mary misses her kids desperately. In an effort to reunite Mary and her family, she befriends Mary's daughter and hatches a secret scheme to bring them together. Then her plan falls apart and the sad--and terrifying--truth behind Mary's story is finally exposed. Robin discovers that her reckless actions have put her in great danger. Now, instead of trying to fix Mary's life, she's got to find a way to save her own!What compels fourteen year-old Robin Lewis to snoop in the new boarder’s room and read her diary? Soon she’s hatching a well-intentioned yet misguided scheme to reunite Mary Walker’s broken family. When the scheme backfires Robin finds that her meddling has put her in grave danger—and she may not escape with her life! ‘A sad, powerful story of loves gone awry.’ —ALA Booklist. ‘A realistic look at the pain involved in the problems of divorce, alcoholism, and wife abuse.’—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.

About this title

About the Author

Pam Conrad wrote many award-winning books for children, including the immensely popular The Tub People and The Tub Grandfather, both illustrated by Richard Egielski. She is also the author of a number of critically acclaimed novels, including Prairie Songs, a 1986 ALA Best Children's Book of the Year and a 1985 ALA Golden Kite Honor Book, and Stonewords, winner of the 1991 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile Mystery.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10 This isn't just a gripping page-turner, although it includes mystery (14-year-old Robin discovers that Mary, the boarder in her mother's house, has left behind two children), intrigue (Robin secretly arranges an ill-advised reunion between Mary and her young daughter) and suspense (Mary's drunk and abusive husband breaks into the house while Robin is there alone). Nor is this merely a sensitive and original young adult problem novel, although readers (and Robin) learn that her obsession with bringing Mary's family back together stems from the hurt and confusion she feels over her own parents' divorce. Conrad gives readers all this, with fine writing besides. Robin's first-person narration achieves a blend of naturalness, poetry and humor that many similar efforts lack. The characters, especially those of Robin and her family, are complex, convincing and lovable for their human flaws. Robin's self-discovery evolves gradually, as a believable consequence of her experiences. There are no wasted sentences here, and yet this book is not predictable. The reader's revelation is just slightly ahead of Robin's. Only once does the novel strain our credibility: it seems unlikely that Mary could gain custody of her children only by establishing herself financially. But this minor flaw pales beside the novel's enormous strengths. Ruth Horowitz, Notre Dame Academy Girls High School Library, Los Angeles
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0192715801
• ISBN 13: 9780192715807
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192