Pure Spring - Softcover

Doyle, Brian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0888997752 ISBN 13: 9780888997753

Publisher: Groundwood Books, 2008

Synopsis

Spring has arrived, and Martin O’Boy has finally found a true home with Grampa Rip and a job at the Pure Spring soft drink company, though he lied about his age to get it. However, not everything is perfect. Martin feels bad about lying to kindly Mr. Mirsky, Pure Spring's owner, and sometimes Grampa Rip’s brain goes very far away. There's the mysterious yet familiar man in the park. There are Martin’s memories. Igor Gouzenko, the famous Soviet defector, has unexpectedly reappeared. And Martin learns that his very peculiar, dirty-mouthed workmate and boss, Randy, is a blackmailing crook. When Martin falls in love with the beautiful Gerty McDowell, whose old grandfather is being robbed by Randy with Martin forced to act as an accomplice Martin’s happiness, his sense of duty, and his love for Gerty collide. It won't be easy, but he has to find a way through all of it and preserve the joy of spring. This sequel to Boy O’Boy is Brian Doyle at his brilliant best, deftly blending deeply serious, even tragic moments with great humor and pathos.

About this title

About the Author:

Brian Doyle is a four-time winner of the Canadian Library Association's Book of the Year for Children Award. His American honors include being selected for the Horn Book's Fanfare List, the ABA "Pick of the Lists" and the New York Public Library's Best Books for the Teen Age. He has also won the NSK Neustadt Prize, the Phoenix Honor Award, and he has been named a finalist for the Hans Christian Anderson Award. He lives in Chelsea, Quebec.

Review:

...a triumphant return...complete with a sparkling array of characters and a story bubbling with drama and tension...Pure Spring is a case of pure pleasure. (Books in Canada 2007-09-07)

...Doyle's writing is to be savoured....Pure Spring is superbly done. Highly Recommended. (CM Magazine 2007-04-27)

As always, Doyle rounds out the grimness with comedic scenes, balancing tragedy and pain with touching descriptions of the dizzying first love between Martin and Gerty McDowell...Doyle's gentle, affectionate touch makes for a story that ultimately goes down as sweet as a Pure Spring Honee Orange soft drink. (Horn Book, STARRED REVIEW 2007-06-01)

Doyle is a first-class writer in every sense of the word. For those who can think back to circa 1950, he's brought it all vividly to life again. For the in-betweens who can't, this book is better than a history lesson. It's highly recommended. (Guardian 2008-02-22)

It's a delightful story and a funny one, narrated by Martin, but other, darker story strands flow beneath and in and out of this narrative stream...Which is not to say that darkness prevails in Pure Spring. Rather, Martin does and, it must be said, so does Doyle, Brian. Once again, he's spun a marvelous tale, weaving light and dark into a multifaceted gem of a book, in which the eccentric cast of characters...is quite capable of inducing both tears and laughter. (Globe and Mail 2007-04-14)

Like [Boy O'Boy], it's invested with a sense of innocence, is rich in period detail, and is redolent of Doyle's nostalgia for the good old days...Martin and his Grandpa Rip are engaging characters, and Doyle fans will welcome his latest effort. (Booklist 2007-07-01)

Pure Spring is a remarkable interlace of tragedy, comedy, romance and even high adventure. It's a blend that only Doyle can mix - a story that's quick-paced and accessible, engages even reluctant readers, and has literary genius and human wisdom at its heart. (Toronto Star 2007-04-15)

The pace and the easy to read narrative, while challenging the reader, is also chatty, humourous, and comfortable. (Resource Links 2007-06-07)

This is Brian Doyle at his finest: compassionate and tough, in complete control of lucid prose that neither gets in the way nor gives away too much....tenderly hopeful yet also realistic. This is a marvelous read. (Quill & Quire, STARRED REVIEW 2007-03-01)

...timeless... (Reviewers of Young Adult Literature 2007-11-07)

About this edition

• Publisher: Groundwood Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0888997752
• ISBN 13: 9780888997753
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160