Synopsis
When she's not helping her father with his bee-keeping business, 11-year-old Maddie Pruitt is on the lookout for signs. Ever since she spied a falling star the night her mother died, Maddie has relied on signs and rituals to keep herself, her father, and her grandfather safe. When Maddie finds a popped balloon with an address attached, she thinks it might be some kind of sign. She begins a correspondence with 14-year-old Pearl Paradise, becoming increasingly intrigued by the aura of mystery surrounding her new friend. In her letters Pearl often uses strange words that Maddie's never heard of, and when Pearl sends a photograph of herself, it is decades old. As baffling as they are, Pearl's letters comfort Maddie, especially when her father starts dating a woman completely unlike her mother. When Maddie's father announces his engagement, Maddie retreats deeper into her emblematic world, shutting out everyone but Pearl. But when Pearl makes a startling revelation about herself, Maddie realizes the importance of accepting change rather than fearing it.
Reviews
Grade 3-6-When Maddie Pruitt, 11, finds a popped balloon with a mysterious note from "Pearl Paradise" and a return address inside, she knows it is the sign for which she's been looking. Ever since her mother died three years ago, she has believed that her rituals, such as always ending the staircase on her right foot, will protect her family from further harm. Maddie is content to cook and care for her beekeeper father and grandfather, until her dad begins dating Blanche, whose presence upsets the family's order and routines. In the meantime, the girl begins a correspondence with Pearl, who claims to be 14, though her old-fashioned words and experiences belie this fact. Not a ghost as the imaginative girl suspects, but actually an old woman in a rest home, Pearl eventually helps her young confidante come to terms with her fears and resentment toward Blanche as well as with her mother's death. Although the essence of the story revolves around a child dealing with loss, the tone, conveyed in simple and clear language, stays light. There is also a lot of extraneous information about bees and beekeeping. Many readers will be able to identify with the protagonist's feelings in this unusual mystery.
Trish Anderson, Pinkerton Elementary School, Coppell, TX
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Gr. 4-6. Many young people have pen pals, but Maddie Pruitt is probably the only 11-year-old who believes the person writing letters to her is a ghost. There's just too much about 14-year-old Pearl Paradise that Maddie finds difficult to explain. But the relationship with Pearl couldn't have come at a better time for Maddie, who is dealing with a variety of compulsive behaviors, her mother's death, and her father's new girlfriend. Then an urgent telephone call summons Maddie to a town 200 miles away, where she finally learns the truth about her mysterious correspondent: "teenage" Pearl is actually 90 years old and dying. Offering the lonely old woman companionship in her final hours gives Maddie new perspective on life and death--hard lessons for a child, even one like Maddie, who seems mature beyond her years. Maddie's father and grandfather are drawn with complexity, and thanks to Maddie's enthusiasm for her father's unusual occupation (beekeeping), readers will learn some fascinating bee lore. Give this to readers who want another book like Janet Taylor Lisle's Gold Dust Letters (1994). Catherine Andronik
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