Glory #2: Shadow Tree (Action Packs)

After struggling alone in the wilderness for weeks, Glory decides that she must get to Boston. But the world outside Dogwood is more overwhelming and terrifying than Glory could ever have imagined. Finally, with the help of a few kind and generous strangers, Glory takes her first tentative steps toward a life she never imagined for herself. A life without family or friends or a place to call home, but not without hope.

Grade 5-8-Glory's simple life in the austere religious community of Dogwood, WV, came to an end in Glory (Puffin, 2003), when she and her best friend got drunk and Katie fell through an icy lake and died. Glory, 13, was forced to drink a slow-working poison and then exiled into the unfamiliar modern world. Her only hope was to make it to Boston to live out the fantasies she shared with Katie before the poison claimed her life. Here, she comes to the town of Shadow Tree, where she gets a job in a jewelry shop. When her boss, Becky, offers to take her in, Glory hesitantly accepts. But while she appreciates the warmth, friendship, and security that Becky's family offers her, she can't help but be reminded of the loved ones she has lost. When she learns that Child Welfare is investigating her, she flees to Boston. The big city is even more of a jolt for her. The gravity of her situation sinks in even further when another homeless teen shows her the harsh realities of life on the streets. Readers unfamiliar with the first book are unlikely to pick up Glory's story here. Mediocre writing leaves the protagonist and the supporting characters somewhat bland and unconvincing. While the book holds potential for an interesting plot and character development, that potential is unrealized and Shadow Tree falls flat.
Heather Dieffenbach, Lexington Public Library, KY
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.