Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1155021 in Books
• Published on: 1989-03-01
• Released on: 1989-03-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 8.50" h x .30" w x 5.50" l, .57 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The unstinting manner in which this generous author shares her mother's memories of rural Southern California will come as no surprise to readers familiar with her previous books (The Egypt Game, The Truth About Stone Hollow and others). Life on a ranch is full of fun and adventure for fearless and imaginative Carly, age 11. And while Carly's antics don't always impress her strict father and distant, ailing mother, Carly's loving Aunt Mehitabel and Mehitabel's Chinese servant Woo Ying provide a consistently appreciative and adoring audience. Carly stars in a Fourth of July parade; reads "unsuitable" novels (including The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes); and stands up to local bully Henry Babcockgrandson of her family's worst enemy. When Carly and her dog Tiger rescue Henry from a rabid coyote, the feuding families are reconciled, but at great cost to the girl: Tiger has contracted rabies and must be shot. Soon after, Carly's mother dies. In the days that follow, Carly must come to terms with both losses. This novel blends emotional insight and a joyous sense of play to create a lively, compelling tale. Ages 9-13.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-7 Eleven-year-old Carly's world is circumscribed by a stern, intolerant father and an oblivious, ailing mother. But Carly is filled with resourcefulness, and she knows who loves her: her older siblings, her friend Matt, and especially Great-aunt Mehitabel and her Chinese housekeeper, Woo Ying. It's 1907, and Carly's large family has settled in southern California's citrus-growing country. But an ancient feud and a water-rights dispute keep them from enjoying prosperity. Carly romanticizes, dramatizes, and fantasizes the events in her life, until two terrible things happen: her dog and her mother both die, and Carly's grief is more profoundly felt over the dog. This coming-of-age story, with its vividly realized historical California setting, will be enjoyed by readers of Hunt's Up a Road Slowly (Follett, 1966). The one jarring note: the characterization of Woo Ying as a ``crazy Chinaman'' who speaks in verbless sentences (reminiscent of Peter Sellers' nemesis in the ``Pink Panther'' movies) seems straight out of Central Casting. The story is an interesting one, though, moving along at a leisurely pace that should appeal to thoughtful readers. Susan H. Patron, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.