When the Bough Breaks - Hardcover

Myers, Anna

3.86

57 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802787258 ISBN 13: 9780802787255

Publisher: Walker Childrens, 2000

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Ophelia knows she has to make it work with this new foster family. She's been through too many homes since a terrible tragedy left her alone and emotionally isolated, and the state is not going to move her again no matter how unhappy she might become. So when her new foster mother asks her to take a job reading aloud to Portia McKay, an elderly neighbor, Ophelia grudgingly agrees.

At first Ophelia only goes because she gets paid. But as they get to know each other, Portia and Ophelia discover that they have much more in common than their Shakepearean names. They both have horrible secrets that they have never shared with another living soul. And it seems that this unlikely friendship may be just what they both need to break free of their emotional prisons.

Anna Myers seamlessly blends contemporary and historical narratives as Opehlia's and Portia's tales unfold.

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About the Author:

Anna Myers is the author of more than one dozen books for Walker & Company, including Tulsa Burning, a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, and Flying Blind, an Oklahoma Book Award finalist. Anna lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-8-A story about loss and grief. Ophelia is a new face in a small town, a foster child who takes a job reading aloud to an elderly neighbor, Portia McKay. Both of them have a dark secret. It's no coincidence that they also have Shakespearean names, as their stories reveal both of them to be tragedies of epic dimensions. Myers skillfully juggles three narratives, shifting among them to describe the present, Portia's long-ago story of her teenage sister's illegitimate baby and their insane father, and Ophelia's shattered life when her brother shot their parents and himself. Stories like these, while extreme, are as fresh as today's headlines and as timeless as Greek drama. Both Portia and Ophelia have felt a disproportionate amount of guilt, but by the end of the story there is hope for redemption, forgiveness, and healing. Myers is an expert at timing and building suspense. Especially considering its fairly complicated structure, this book is a real page-turner. The author focuses on action, strong emotion, and subjects that will grab kids' attention. She is not the most polished stylist, and her dialogue can strike a false note here and there, but overall this novel, with its melancholy dust jacket and exceedingly dramatic plot, will appeal to readers who like to be swept up in a book.
Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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