Backwater (Novel) - Hardcover

Bauer, Joan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399231412 ISBN 13: 9780399231414

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile, 1999

Synopsis

Expected to continue her family's long history of becoming prominent lawyers, Ivy Breedlove finds a small handful of Breedlove women who had the courage to break the mold, including her reclusive Aunt Josephine, about whom no one speaks.

About this title

Review:

There are two things you can count on in a book by Joan Bauer. One, it will make you laugh. And two, the girl who is telling the story will be really good at something, but not something you'd expect. In Squashed, Ellie wins the Giant Pumpkin Weigh-In. In Rules of the Road, which won the Golden Kite Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Fiction, Jenna Boller is a whiz at selling shoes. In Backwater, Ivy Breedlove resists being good at the family tradition. For many generations the Breedloves have been successful lawyers. Among her loud and argumentative relatives, however, Ivy feels like "a goldfish swimming in a tank stocked with snapping turtles--it's hard to keep a lasting presence." Instead, Ivy is in love with history, especially the family history she is compiling. But a large piece is missing. Many years ago, her father's sister Josephine went away to be a hermit in the mountains, and ever since, the rest of the family has referred to her scornfully as "stuck in the backwater." Ivy, convinced that this "different" aunt holds the secret to her own differentness, sets out in a snowstorm to find Jo, with the help of backslapping, slogan-spouting wilderness guide Mountain Mama. Along the way she meets with a lot more adventure and understanding than she ever anticipated--not to mention snagging an excellent boyfriend. (Ages 12 to 16) --Patty Campbell

About the Author:

Joan Bauer is also the author of Rules of the Road and Hope Was Here.

About this edition

• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0399231412
• ISBN 13: 9780399231414
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192