Synopsis
Angry because her mother and brother disappeared and left her all alone, Morgan, who craves a sense of belonging, is visited by a vision of Lucy--a compassionate dog who offers Morgan the solace she needs until she can accept the fact that her mother and brother are never coming back--in a poignant novel of one girl's journey through the grieving process.
Reviews
In a tragically timely story, Van Leeuwen (Bound for Oregon) profiles the experience of a grade-schooler whose mother and five-year-old brother board a plane to Chicago and never return. Morgan asks herself why her mother would run away and never even call or write. "It is my fault," Morgan thinks. "It was me who drove her away." No one talks about Morgan's loss, neither at school nor at home, where her father hides behind his newspaper and her seemingly perfect older sister stays busy all the time. Readers will realize the psychological significance of Lucy, the "magic" dog who not only visits Morgan in her dreams but, just like Morgan's mother, sings lullabies and even plays cards; readers will also recognize the need that Morgan's fantasies about Lucy fill. When Morgan finally reveals that her mother and brother died aboard the plane, readers will not be surprised more likely they will be cheering on Morgan in her emotional growth. And as the heroine copes with the usual onslaught of preadolescent self-inflicted embarrassments (giving herself a disastrous haircut; applying so much makeup that her teacher thinks she has a black eye), fast pacing and insightful dialogue turn stock situations into a tender and honest portrait of grief. Ages 9-12.
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Gr. 4-6. Twelve-year-old Morgan knows she's stubborn and that she argues too much. She also believes it's her fault that her mother and younger brother never return from a plane trip. At first, it's easier for Morgan to think she drove her mother away than to accept the finality of their deaths. Since the plane crash, her father has withdrawn, and her sister has escaped in nonstop activity. Morgan feels isolated at home and at school, and her only comfort is Lucy, the magic dog, who appears whenever Morgan needs her and speaks in a voice that sounds like Morgan's mother's. With the help of a new friend and music, a talent she shared with her mother, Morgan is finally able to acknowledge her loss and begin healing. Van Leeuwen's portrayal of a child's grief is masterful. Morgan's anguish is palpable but never overwrought, and the short chapters, appealing heroine, and well-told story leavened with humor give this solid middle-grade appeal. Chris Sherman
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