Objects In Mirror - Hardcover

Young, Ronder Thomas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0761315802 ISBN 13: 9780761315803

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press, 2002

Synopsis

When the dramatic Allison Anderson changes the way Grace views her best friend, Grace finds that not only objects in mirrors are distorted. You don't always know everything you think you do. And people aren't always who they appear to be. From the highly regarded author of Moving Mama to Town, this richly textured and rewarding novel brings to life a young woman exploring the boundaries of friendship poised between the past and possibility.

About this title

About the Author

Ronder Thomas Young received the International Reading Association's Award for Moving Mama to Town. Her novel Learning by Heart was named an ALA Notable Book. She lives in Norcross, Georgia

Reviews

Writing in a less distinctive voice than in her previous novels (Moving Mama to Town; Learning by Heart), Young delivers a mild-mannered slice-of-life tale. Grace, a high school sophomore, believes that people have a slightly distorted image of her; the statement on her car's rearview mirror, "objects in mirror are closer than they appear," feels to her like a metaphor for her life. Unlike her sisters, Sophie, a high-school dropout and runaway, and Angela, who got pregnant without being married, Grace doesn't cause problems. Nevertheless, she faces some turbulence. Her father, who recently suffered a stroke, can't work any more and the family has to sell his body shop; and 30-year-old Sophie moves back home. At school, Grace is bombarded by multiplying mishaps. A wealthy new girl wants Grace (who hates parties) to hostess a "surprise" birthday bash for her, as part of a plot to attract the interest of Grace's best friend's older brother. The narrative's continual shift of focus among the subplots is jarring, with the result that the stakes always seem low. The ironies arising from mix-ups and miscommunications provide intermittent amusement in an otherwise vague story. Ages 11-14.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 7-10. Is your future predestined by your past, or is your life what you make of it? That's the question 16-year-old Grace deals with as she copes with a father crippled by a stroke; an overburdened mother; two flighty, irresponsible older sisters; boring high-school classes; and Allison, a glamorous friend who demands things Grace doesn't feel prepared to give. As she stretches her discomfort boundaries to organize a party for Allison, she discovers the ulterior motives and lies underlying their friendship. Teens, especially those who enjoyed Norma Fox Mazer's Silver (1988), will relate to Grace's determination to overcome the preconceptions of the adults around her. Catherine Andronik
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0761315802
• ISBN 13: 9780761315803
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176