Items related to Child of My Heart
On the cusp of fifteen, pretty Theresa is the town's most sought-after babysitter - cheerful, beloved, adored by children and animals, but also a solitary soul with an already complex understanding of human nature. She is Titania among her fairies, the one person to call on for help with a child in extreme distress. Theresa does not doubt her power over the fathers of her adoring charges either, whose potential lechery Theresa toys with like a kitten with yarn. Yet during this unforgettable summer, it is her cousin Daisy, a frail little creature with glittery shoes and worrying bruises that don't heal, in whom Theresa invests her greatest love. Infused with suppressed passion, disappointment, and enduring hope, Alice McDermott's wonderful new novel reveals a world seen afresh through the eyes of an utterly seductive girl.
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Review:
Fifteen is a year of clarity; you're still one of the kids, but you're finally beginning to unlock the mysteries of adult behavior. In her luminous novel Child of My Heart, Alice McDermott's narrator is a 15-year-old girl who has two qualities that give her access to the secret lives of adults: she's beautiful, and she looks after their children. Her beauty has already shaped her life. Her parents have moved the family to the east end of Long Island in hopes of finding her a wealthy husband, or at least a fancy crowd to run with. Here she babysits the children of the rich, whose fathers demonstrate their relative decency by making passes at her, or not. The novel spans a dreamy summer as our heroine spends her days with her various charges at the beach, happily leading her crew on home-grown, rather sweet adventures. Among the kids she looks after is a toddler whose father is a famous, aging artist. The narrator's preternatural acuity is apparent in this exchange with a new client: "Mrs. Richardson learned by direct inquiry that I lived in that sweet cottage with the dahlias (interested) and went to the academy (more interested) and babysat for this child of the famous artist (most interested) down the road." Child of My Heart is a pretty straightforward coming-of-age novel, but it's marked throughout by this beautifully honed, wry, knowing tone. McDermott's narrator reminds us that our lost innocence might not have been so innocent after all. --Claire Dederer
About the Author:
Alice McDermott is the author of four novels. She lives with her family outside Washington, D.C.
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- PublisherBloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Publication date2003
- ISBN 10 0747563225
- ISBN 13 9780747563228
- BindingPaperback
- Rating
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Child of My Heart
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Bloomsbury Pub
(2003)
ISBN 10: 0747563225
ISBN 13: 9780747563228
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Book Description Condition: Near Fine. Theresa is the town's most sought-after babysitter. She is the person to ca ll on for help with a child in distress. Theresa does not doubt her power o ver the fathers of her charges either. Yet during this unforgettable summer , it is her cousin Daisy in whom Theresa invests her greatest love. Seller Inventory # RWARE0000002492
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Child of My Heart
Published by
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, United Kingdom, London
(2003)
ISBN 10: 0747563225
ISBN 13: 9780747563228
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. 'I had in my care that summer four dogs, three cats, the Moran kids, Daisy, my eight-year-old cousin, and Flora, the toddler child of a local artist. There was also, for a little while, a litter of wild rabbits, three of them, that had been left under our back steps ' Alice McDermott's haunting and enchanting new work of fiction is narrated by a woman who was born beautiful. Her parents decided that her best chance in life was to marry a wealthy man, so she was raised on the east end of Long Island, among the country houses of the rich. On the cusp of fifteen, she is the town's most sought-after babysitter - cheerful, beloved, a wonder with children and animals, but also a solitary soul with an already complex understanding of human nature - when her favourite cousin, Daisy, comes to spend the summer. The narrator's witty, piquant, deeply etched evocation of all that was really transpiring under the surface during that seemingly idyllic season gives her wry tale - infused with suppressed passion, disappointment, and enduring hope - its remarkable vividness and impact. Once again, Alice McDermott explores the mysterious depths of what seems like everyday life with unforgettable insight and resonant emotional power. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR002507436
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Child Of My Heart
Published by
Bloomsbury
(2003)
ISBN 10: 0747563225
ISBN 13: 9780747563228
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Book Description Trade Paperback. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. First Edition. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" Tall. Seller Inventory # 004138
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