Items related to Sharing Susan
Susan is upset by the strange atmosphere in her home until she discovers that, as a baby, she had been sent home from the hospital with the wrong set of parents and that her biological parents have come to reclaim her
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews:
Bunting explores what happens after two couples learn that their daughters were switched as babies in the hospital. Susan, 12, only child of a librarian and an art professor at Santa Cruz, is horrified when her parents tell her about the mix- up, discovered because Marlene Stobbel, recently dead in an accident, had the wrong blood type for a child of her supposed parents. Hoping to avoid publicity and do the best for Susan, the four parents, with their lawyers, draw up an agreement: after an introductory weekend with everyone there, Susan will alternate between the two couples, with the coming school year to be spent with the Stobbels. Rebelliously, Susan goes with her parents to Los Angeles, where the Stobbels run a swimming-pool business and live in a crowded suburb. Though her feelings remain mixed, she begins to accept her new role within a couple of days--her four- year-old brother is sweet; there's a nice boy next door; and she comes to share her mother's empathy for Mrs. Stobbel. Bunting's perceptively drawn characters and their initial conscientious but loving reactions to the situation are poignant and credible. But her story's development is less plausible: surely the wise, kind parents she depicts so skillfully would consult a 12-year-old concerning her own fate; surely taking her from the only parents she knows for a majority of the time, without her consent, is not in her best interests; and surely any transition would be more painful, and take longer, than is suggested here. A gripping but flawed story, then, to provoke vigorous discussion. (Fiction. 10-13) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal:
Grade 5-7-- When Susan learns that her parents believe she may have been accidentally exchanged with another baby at birth (who has since died) and are negotiating the equivalent of time-sharing for their daughter, her world shatters. Although sustained hysteria may be a credible reaction, it propels the text at a wearying, repetitive pitch. After recriminations, doubts, and denial, it's Jeremy, the little brother in Susan's other family, who is a catalyst to the plot. When he pretends to drown, Susan breaks through the figurative ice and begins the peace-making process. Only Jeremy and Susan emerge as more than one-dimensional characters. Nonetheless, cinematic use of images of hands--holding, stroking, knuckle-cracking--add interest to an otherwise conversational, mundane text. Readers may be intrigued by the trendy premise Sharing Susan has to offer, but will find only partial delivery on the promise.
-Carolyn Noah, Worcester Public Library, MA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
-Carolyn Noah, Worcester Public Library, MA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherDemco Media
- Publication date1994
- ISBN 10 0606059989
- ISBN 13 9780606059985
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages122
- Rating
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