Talking in Animal - Hardcover

Farish, Terry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688146716 ISBN 13: 9780688146719

Publisher: Greenwillow Books, 1996

Synopsis

"A wry, engaging study....Change is in the air, and Siobhan Hannah, 11, doesn't much like it; not only has a new family, the Graces, moved into the cottage she had earmarked as a future collie kennel, but Mr. Grace is about to marry her older friend, Maddy, and she finds herself really having to struggle to dislike Mr. Grace's daughter, Lester....In spare conversations and observations, Farish artfully captures the changeable weather of Siobhan's emotional landscape: denial and acceptance, anger and resignation, joy and despair."--Kirkus Reviews.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

Siobhan prefers dogs to people, that's what her mother says. All Siobhan knows is that communicating with animals seems easier than with humans. Her mother and Maddy, Siobhan's only human friend, are arguing on opposite sides of a school board issue on condoms. ...But Maddy, [her mom], and Siobhan can talk about cats, dogs, and wolves, and they talk in animal about love, loss, and courage in this rich heartfelt novel.

Reviews

Grade 5-7-The summer of Siobhan's 12th birthday is one of pain, confusion, and learning about loss and caring. The girl's beloved dog is suffering from a progressive neurological disease. Her best adult friend, Maddy Todd, a fellow animal lover, is getting married. A new girl in the neighborhood, insists on following Siobhan as if they were friends. And her New Hampshire town is torn into two camps-one led by Maddy and the other by her mother-over the issue of condom distribution in school. The elements for a good coming-of-age plot are all here. What detracts from their full realization is the disjointed narrative style. A cross between stream-of-consciousness and linear narrative, the story skips from thought to action to thought in a seemingly random way. What results are gaps in both, and readers are forced to either guess or simply not fully understand what is happening. Difficult as this makes following the plot, it makes understanding the feelings and development of the characters even harder. Readers gain only a surface glimpse at the turmoil within Siobhan's mind and heart, and therefore are unlikely to be moved by it. Likewise, Siobhan's relationships with her family, with the exception of her younger brother, are so sketchily drawn that readers are left with a vague feeling that they are empty ones. Despite the stylistic problems, Farish handles the questions of friendship, respect for a variety of opinions and beliefs, and coming to terms with change with sensitivity and objectivity.
Wendy D. Caldiero, New York Public Library
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Siobhan feels closer to her ailing dog, Tree, than to any of the hard-to-understand humans in her life. The New Hampshire girl spends her days fantasizing about the dog kennel she'll have one day, and also helps a neighbor, Maddy, take care of injured wildlife. Suddenly, Maddy throws two curve balls?she's getting married, and her born-again Christian beliefs put her drastically at odds with Siobhan's vocal mother over the issue of distributing condoms at the high school. After conflict escalates and Tree gets sicker, a desperate Siobhan takes the only action she knows to get people's attention and give her dog one last adventure. Farish (Shelter for a Seabird) has an idiosyncratic and sophisticated way of writing that takes some getting used to?the pauses, half-uttered phrases and confusing thoughts are closer to how people really communicate than the polished cadences more typically found in novels. The condom plot might offend some, but it is realistically dealt with?the 11-year-old Siobhan is more interested in whether a condom could be used as a balloon than in its political or anatomical implications. And the ending will leave not a dry eye in the house. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A wry, engaging study in mixed feelings from the author of Shelter For A Seabird (1990). Change is in the air, and Siobhan Hannah, 11, doesn't much like it; not only has a new family, the Graces, moved into the cottage she had earmarked as a future collie kennel, but Mr. Grace is about to marry her older friend, Maddy, and she finds herself really having to struggle to dislike Mr. Grace's daughter, Lester. Worse, her mother and Maddy have come down on different sides of the hot debate over condom dispensers in the high school. Most worrisome of all, Siobhan's beloved constant companion, Tree, a huge Lab/Newfoundland mix, is slowly losing the use of his back legs. In spare conversations and observations, Farish artfully captures the changeable weather of Siobhan's emotional landscape: denial and acceptance, anger and resignation, joy and despair, in shifting combinations. Subplots--including Siobhan's and Lester's efforts to find out what a condom is, and their encounters with Olivia, a barefoot children's librarian always in the midst of a crafts program--lighten the mood, as do the Hannahs' closeness and appealingly quirky family rituals. In the end, Siobhan does what needs to be done--with Lester, with Maddy, and, sadly, with Tree. As was true of Farish's Why I'm Already Blue (1989), readers sensitive to nuance will find this replete with small surprises and grace notes. (Fiction. 10-13) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Greenwillow Books
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0688146716
• ISBN 13: 9780688146719
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 148