Best Friends through Eternity - Hardcover

McNicoll, Sylvia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1770497102 ISBN 13: 9781770497108

Publisher: Tundra Books, 2015

Synopsis

Inspired by the true story of a teen who was killed at a railway crossing, the author weaves the tale of fourteen-year-old Paige, who, taking a shortcut alongside the tracks to avoid the school bullies, is tragically hit by a train and transported to a surreal world where she encounters Kim, who died seven years before. Convinced she is only dreaming, Paige must discover a way to return to her former life. Poignant, gripping, and full of unexpected twists and turns, Best Friends through Eternity will resonate with readers who have struggled with cultural identity, a sense of belonging, and the real meaning of home.

About this title

About the Author:

Sylvia McNicoll is the author of over thirty books, many of which have garnered awards and honors. Her novel Bringing Up Beauty won the Ontario Library Association's Silver Birch Award, while crush.candy.corpse was shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis YA Crime Novel of the Year Award, the Red Maple Award, the Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award, and the Snow Willow Award, as well as being selected as one of OLA's Best Bets and Resource Links' Year's Best for 2012. Former editor of Today's Parent, Sylvia McNicoll travels extensively to teach and talk about writing. Follow her blog at sylviamcnicoll.com.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 7–10—At the moment of her sudden death, Canadian 14-year-old Paige meets a long-ago friend on a beach in the afterlife and gets the opportunity to relive/redo the last week of her life. An adopted child from China, she uses the time to research her adoption and that of the friend she encounters in death but also must take a different attitude toward the bullies at her school in the hopes of changing her fate. This is a nicely paced story with solid characters. American readers may wonder at some Canadian English words and phrases (for example, they wear tuques instead of hats), but most meanings can be derived from context. The narrative remains compelling despite minor inconsistencies in the characters' emotional voices and reactions. Paige, for instance, sometimes makes huge leaps in self-confidence that seem rather contrived. The anti-ethnocentric message feels very purposeful: the premise relies on well-behaved, smart Asian kids who are bullied by a group of white girl jocks who are stereotypically racist and ignorant. A Hindu family is depicted as close-minded about girls' liberation, and a Mandarin-speaking Chinese father surprises the protagonist by being accentless, tall, and adept at making great pizza. The title and jacket art are misleading; very little of the book revolves around the afterlife, which is decidedly irreligious in nature. VERDICT This is far less polished and mature than Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall (HarperCollins, 2010) and far less exciting than William Sleator's 1999 classic Rewind (Dutton), but will be a solidly satisfying read for many middle school girls.—Rhona Campbell, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC

About this edition

• Publisher: Tundra Books
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1770497102
• ISBN 13: 9781770497108
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192