Synopsis
Several days after their father leaves home, Twig is unable to sleep, her older brother stays in his room, and their mother sits motionless in front of the TV, leaving Twig to fear that they will never be a family again, until someone special suddenly enters the scene.
Reviews
Grade 4-6?Twig, 11, is desolate at the unforseen collapse of her parents' marriage. Her mother, normally intelligent, loving, and active, retreats into a silent depression, giving up everyday routines like laundry, shopping, and cooking. Twig's older brother retreats into his room and his music. Her father is simply absent, an occasional voice on the phone and eventually a car horn outside. Twig herself is bereft, furious about losing her father and frightened about losing her mother. Her adventurous grandmother begins to repair some of the damage, but soon takes off on her travels again. And then she sends along some gifts from the past that show that a future is still possible for this family. Twig's story is brief but intense, honest and effective. Through characters that are heartbreakingly real, Van Leeuwen offers compassion, acceptance, and hope to those who are suffering through the devastation of divorce. This book ranks with Judy Blume's It's Not the End of the World (S & S, 1982) and Beverly Cleary's Dear Mr. Henshaw (Dell, 1984).?Susan Oliver, Hillsborough County Science Library at MOSI, Tampa, FL
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Twig, 11, tries to remove any vestige of her father from her life after her parents separate. She's furious at him and refuses to see him--how could he leave without even saying good-bye? Meanwhile, Twig's mother has stopped functioning: Dust balls pile up under the piano and dirty laundry overflows the basket in the bathroom. Twig's older brother, Nathan, offers little support, retreating into his guitar music and staying away from home as much as possible. Twig tries valiantly to cope before admitting she's not up to the task. She calls upon her quirky, world-traveling grandmother for some pinch-hitting. Gradually, through the healing power of a garden, Twig's mother returns to the living and Twig begins to adjust to the changes in her family. Van Leeuwen (Across the Wide Dark Sea, 1995, etc.) is an accomplished writer, who creates a complex, multidimensional character in Twig, an entirely believable moody preteen facing a tough situation. Face it she does; the author never whitewashes any of this family's pain but leavens the story with touches of humor and rounds it out with a realistically upbeat ending. (Fiction. 9- 12) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Gr. 4^-7. With aching sharpness, Van Leeuwen evokes the desolate period immediately following parental breakup, as 11-year-old Twig tries to cope with her father's departure and her mother's withdrawal. The days go by in a blur of frozen dinners, dirty laundry, dust balls, and unanswered questions, until Twig, in desperation, sends for Grandma Ruthie. Twig is distressed when her grandmother's visit is brief, but she realizes that a thaw has begun when her previously ghostlike mother begins digging a garden. Twig's anger is painful, but her own work in the soil and sunshine helps her appreciate the small moments of happiness that make up a life. Readers who like thinking about people and the ways they behave will be the best audience for this sensitive portrayal of a likable young girl during a period of turmoil and growth. Susan Dove Lempke
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