Anne of Green Gables
Lucy Maud Montgomery, 1908
Modern Library
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780812979039
Summary
Matthew had taken the scrawny little hand awkwardly in his; then and there he decided what to do. He could not tell this child with the glowing eyes that there had been a mistake. . . .
When eleven-year-old Anne Shirley arrives at Green Gables with nothing but a carpetbag and an overactive imagination, she knows that she has found her home.
But first she must convince the Cuthberts to let her stay, even though she isn’t the boy they’d hoped for. The loquacious Anne quickly finds her way into their hearts, as she has with generations of readers, and her charming, ingenious adventures in Avonlea, filled with colorful characters and tender escapades, linger forever in our memorie.
This Modern Library edition of the first of L. M. Montgomery’s beloved and immensely popular Avonlea novels features the restored original text and an Introduction by the noted children’s literature scholar Jack Zipes. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—November 30, 1874
• Where—Clifton, Prince Edward Island, Canada
• Death—April 24, 1942
• Where—Toronto, Ontario
• Education—Prince of Wales College; Dalhousie
University
• Honors—Order of the British Empire (OBE); Fellow
of the Royal Society of Arts, England; Person of
National Historic Significance, designated by the
Government of Canada
Lucy Maud Montgomery OBE, called "Maud" by family and friends and publicly known as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908. The book was an immediate success—its central character Anne, an orphaned girl, made Montgomery famous in her lifetime and gave her a large international following.
The first Green Gables novel was followed by a series of sequels with Anne as the central character. Montgomery went on to publish 20 novels, as well as 500 short stories and poems. Because many of the novels were set on Prince Edward Island, Canada and the Canadian province became literary landmarks. She was awarded Officer of the Order (OBE) of the British Empire in 1935. Her literary works, diaries and letters have been read and studied by scholars and readers worldwide.
Early life
Lucy Maud Montgomery was born in Clifton (now New London), Prince Edward Island on November 30, 1874. Her mother, Clara Woolner Macneill Montgomery, died of tuberculosis when Lucy was 21 months old. Stricken with grief over his wife’s death, Hugh John Montgomery gave custody over to Montgomery’s maternal grandparents. Later he moved to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan when Montgomery was seven years old. Lucy's grandparents, Alexander and Lucy Macneill, raised her in a strict and unforgiving manner. Her ’s early life in Cavendish was very lonely. Montgomery credits this time of her life, in which she created many imaginary friends and worlds to cope with her loneliness, as what developed her creative mind.
Montgomery completed her early education in Cavendish with the exception of one year (1890–1891) during which she was at Prince Albert with her father and step-mother. In November 1890, while at Prince Albert, the Charlottetown paper The Daily Patriot published her poem "On Cape LeForce"—it was her first published work.
Her return to Prince Edward Island in 1891 was a great relief to her (her relationship with her stepmother was an unhappy one). In 1893 Montgomery completed her grade school education in Cavendish and attended Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown, earning a teacher's license. In 1895 and 1896, she studied literature at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Adult life and writing
Montgomery worked as a teacher in various island schools, and although she did not enjoy teaching, it afforded her time to write. Beginning in 1897, she began to have her short stories published in various magazines and newspapers. Over the next 10 years she published more than 100 stories.
During her teaching years, Montgomery had numerous love interests. An aattractive and fashionable young woman, she enjoyed the attentions of several young men. After a lengthy period of flirtation and refusals of several marriage proposals, she eventually married Ewen Macdonald in 1911.
In the intervening years, however, Montgomery moved back to Cavendish to live with her widowed grandmother until her grandmother's death in 1911. She was inspired to write her first books during her time on Prince Edward Island and enjoyed considerable income from her publications, especially from Anne of Green Gables. Published in 1908, Anne, her first book, was an immediate success, establishing Montgomery's career. She would write and publish other works (including numerous sequels to Anne) for the rest of her life.
Although enjoying her income and the independence it allowed, Montgomery was aware that “marriage was a necessary choice for women in Canada.” Shortly after her grandmother's death in 1911, she married Ewen (spelled in her notes and letters as "Ewan") Macdonald (1870–1943), a Presbyterian Minister. The couple moved to Ontario where he had taken the position of minister of St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, Leaskdale, (present-day Uxbridge Township). Montgomery wrote her next eleven books from the Leaskdale manse. The structure was subsequently sold by the congregation and is now the Lucy Maud Montgomery Leaskdale Manse Museum.
The Macdonalds had three sons, the second of whom was stillborn. The great increase of Montgomery's writings in Leaskdale is the result of her need to escape the hardships of real life. Montgomery underwent several periods of depression while trying to cope with the duties of motherhood and church life and with her husband’s attacks of religious melancholia and deteriorating health. For much of her life, writing was her one great solace. It was also during this time that she was engaged in a series of difficult lawsuits with the publisher L.C. Page,. The suits dragged on until she finally won in 1929.
In 1920 Montgomery stopped writing about Anne, preferring to create books about other young, female characters. Other series written by Montgomery include the "Emily" and "Pat" books, which, while successful, never reached the same level of acclaim as the "Anne" volumes. She also wrote a number of stand-alone novels, which were also generally successful, if not as successful as her Anne books.
In 1926, the family moved in to the Norval Presbyterian Charge, in present-day Halton Hills, Ontario, where today the Lucy Maud Montgomery Memorial Garden can be seen from Highway 7.
In 1935, upon her husband's retirement, Montgomery moved to Swansea, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto, buying a house which she named Journey's End, situated on the Humber River. Montgomery continued to write, and returned to Anne after a 15-year hiatus with Anne of Windy Poplars in 1936, Jane of Lantern Hill in 1937, and Anne of Ingleside in 1939.
In the last year of her life, Montgomery completed what she intended to be a ninth book featuring Anne, titled The Blythes Are Quoted. It was republished as a collection of short stories, The Road to Yesterday, in 1974. A complete edition of The Blythes Are Quoted, edited by Benjamin Lefebvre, was published in its entirety by Viking Canada in October 2009.
Death
Montgomery died on April 24, 1942. A note was found beside her bed, read, in part, "I have lost my mind by spells and I do not dare think what I may do in those spells. May God forgive me and I hope everyone else will forgive me even if they cannot understand. My position is too awful to endure and nobody realizes it. What an end to a life in which I tried always to do my best."
While it was reported that Montgomery died from coronary thrombosis, in 2008 her granddaughter, Kate Macdonald Butler said that Montgomery suffered from depression—possibly as a result of caring for her mentally ill husband for decades—and may have taken her own life via a drug overdose. But Mary Rubio a biographer (Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings, 2008), believes the message was intended as a journal entry rather than a suicide note.
Montgomery was buried at the Cavendish Community Cemetery in Cavendish following her wake in the Green Gables farmhouse and funeral in the local Presbyterian church.
Legacy
All told, Montgomery published 20 novels, over 500 short stories, an autobiography, and a book of poetry. Aware of her fame, by 1920 Montgomery began editing and recopying her journals, presenting her life as she wanted it remembered. In doing so certain episodes were changed or omitted. Her major collections are archived at the University of Guelph, while the L.M. Montgomery Institute at the University of Prince Edward Island coordinates most of the research and conferences surrounding her work.
Despite the fact that Montgomery published over twenty books, "she never felt she achieved her one 'great' book." Her readership, however, has always found her characters and stories to be among the best in fiction. Mark Twain said Montgomery’s Anne was “the dearest and most moving and delightful child since the immortal Alice." Montgomery was honoured by being the first female in Canada to be named a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in England and by being invested in the Order of the British Empire in 1935.
A national park was established near Mongomery's home in Cavendish in honour of her works. Her home of Leaskdale Manse in Ontario and the area surrounding Green Gables and her Cavendish home in Prince Edward Island have both been designated National Historic Sites of Canada. Montgomery herself was designated a Person of National Historic Significance by the Government of Canada in 1943.
Her life's work does not only live on in print but in movies, television shows and cartoons that have become enduring favorites to fans who have never even read a word she has written.
In 1975 Canada Post issued "lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables" designed by Peter Swan and typographed by Bernard N.J. Reilander. The 8¢ stamps are perforated 13 and were printed by Ashton-Potter Limited. (From Wikipedia.)
Book Reviews
Who can resist another encounter with Anne Shirley? Is it possible to do justice to one of literature's most beloved girls? Since its publication in 1908, Anne of Green Gables has been recognized as a classic, as well as a hallmark of great Canadian literature. To celebrate the 100th year since it was first published, Deirdre Kessler has written a beautifully-crafted adaptation that takes this novel into the 21st century without losing any of its charm. Many famous episodes are included in this wonderful retelling, such as Anne's arrival at Green Gables, the tempest in the schoolroom, Anne's debut as Lady Elaine in a King Arthurian re-enactment, and the final scene, in which Anne and Gilbert Blythe finally reconcile their differences and become friends. Anne Shirley emerges from this adaptation just as lovable, imaginative, and impulsive as she is in L. M. Montgomery's original novel—and on her way toward winning the hearts of another generation of readers around the world. This book will inspire young readers to return to the classic novel, and the illustrations will appeal to anyone who has ever loved the original. Reviewer: Suzanna E. Henshon, Ph.D..
Children's Literature
Discussion Questions
1. In chapter 2, when Matthew is driving Anne back to Green Gables, she asks him: “Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive” (p. 16). Given her tragic childhood, how do you think Anne is able to maintain such a positive attitude?
2. From the moment she arrives in Avonlea, Anne is insistent on renaming places and inanimate things. Barry’s Pond, for example, becomes “The Lake of Shining Waters” and Marilla’s geranium becomes “Bonny.” Why do you think she does this?
3. Marilla gives several reasons for finally deciding to keep Anne. What reason do you think most changed her mind?
4. “Scope for imagination” is a characteristic that Anne treasures highly in others. Discuss the role of imagination in the novel. How does it shape Anne’s time at Green Gables? How does it evolve in other characters around her?
5. Good behavior is very important to Marilla and very difficult for Anne. From where do you think each derives her moral code? How do both characters change, when it comes to behavior? Think, in particular, of Anne’s confessions.
6. Anne is a remarkably compassionate child and is able to forgive even those who have judged her unfairly, such as Mrs. Rachel Lynde or Mrs. Barry. Why, then, do you think she holds such a grudge against Gilbert Blythe?
7. Why is it so important to Anne to have a dress with puffed sleeves? Why is it important to Matthew?
8. When Anne is at Queen’s College, she thinks: “All the Beyond was hers with its possibilities lurking rosily in the oncoming years—each year a rose of promise to be woven into an immortal chaplet” (p. 266). How is this message both hopeful and sad? How do you think Anne’s conceptions of the future change throughout the book?
9. Discuss Anne’s reaction to Matthew’s death. How do you think it shows her maturation? How, if at all, do you think she was prepared for it?
10. At the end of the book, Rachel Lynde tells Marilla, “There’s a good deal of the child about her yet in some ways,” and Marilla responds by saying, “There’s a good deal more of the woman about her in others” (p. 285). What do you make of her comment? How has Anne changed during her time at Green Gables? How has she stayed the same?
(Questions issued by publisher.)
Messenger (The Giver Quartet, 3)
Lois Lowry, 2004
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
192 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780547995670
Summary
Strange changes are taking place in Village. Once a utopian community that prided itself on its welcome to new strangers, Village will soon be closed to all outsiders. As one of the few people able to travel through the dangerous Forest, Matty must deliver the message of Village's closing and try to convince Seer's daughter to return with him before it's too late. But Forest has become hostile to Matty as well, and he must risk everything to fight his way through it, armed only with an emerging power he cannot yet explain or understand.
In this novel that unites characters from The Giver and Gathering Blue, Matty, a young member of a utopian community that values honesty, conceals an emerging healing power that he cannot explain or understand. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—March 20, 1937
• Where—Hawaii, USA
• Education—B.A., M.F.A., University of
Southern Maine
• Awards—Newbery Medal (2)
• Currently—lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Lois Lowry is an American author of children's literature. She began her career as a photographer and a freelance journalist during the early 1970s. Her work as a journalist drew the attention of Houghton Mifflin and they encouraged her to write her first children's book, A Summer to Die, which was published in 1977 (when Lowry was 40 years old). She has since written more than 30 books for children and published an autobiography. Two of her works have been awarded the prestigious Newbery Medal: Number the Stars in 1990, and The Giver in 1993.
As an author, Lowry is known for writing about difficult subject matters within her works for children. She has explored such complex issues as racism, terminal illness, murder, and the Holocaust among other challenging topics. She has also explored very controversial issues of questioning authority such as in The Giver quartet. Her writing on such matters has brought her both praise and criticism. In particular, her work The Giver has been met with a diversity of reactions from schools in America, some of which have adopted her book as a part of the mandatory curriculum, while others have prohibited the book's inclusion in classroom studies. (Adapted from Wikipedia.)
Book Reviews
Some critics objected to the unresolved endings of the first two books; others applauded. While Messenger may tie the three stories together just a little too neatly, it is still far from a sweet resolution. Up to the last anguished page, Lois Lowry shows how hard it is to build community. I suspect that many young readers will want to return to all three stories.
Hazel Rochman - New York Times
It sounds abstract and portentous, but Lowry's mastery of dramatic pacing, eye for homey detail and sly sense of humor combine to make this allegorical world seem far more real than the cardboard-cutout malls and schools of many a "realistic" YA novel.
Elizabeth Ward - Washington Post
Life is good for Matty and the Seer, the blind man with whom he lives in their open and friendly community. However, changes begin to take place. People become obsessed with trading for objects, and some have traded their "deepest selves." When some of the people vote to close the village to keep strangers out, Leader sends Matty to other villages so they will know what is happening. Matty also goes to the Seer's village to bring his daughter back. On the return trip however, the forest has turned angry and most foul. Matty must use every ounce of his being to bring the forest and life in the village back to normal. Lowry is a marvelous storyteller who grabs hold of the reader's imagination as strongly as the vines and branches of her terrible forest. Lowry's themes of the necessity of caring for one another, the importance of being open and honest, the significance of the relationship between humans and our natural surroundings are all worthy of discussion. However, for this reader there were some loose ends that were not satisfactorily resolved. The issue of the trading was left—perhaps intentionally—rather nebulous. The reader never learns the details of who is making the trades and what the people are trading in return. In healing the forest, Matty was able to heal all that was wrong with the people of the village—their greed as well as illness. It seems that no one was required to take responsibility for his or her own actions. This is a companion novel to The Giver and Gathering Blue, but it can be read on its own.
Children's Literature
Fans of Lowry's Newbery-winning The Giver (Houghton Mifflin, 1993) and its companion book, Gathering Blue (2000), will find themselves brought back to the same world that bridges the two previous volumes by connecting characters and events, answering some questions but asking even more. Matty is the main character, a boy on the threshold of adulthood, who lives in Village with Seer, the blind man who has taken him in and raised him as his own. Matty is a messenger who travels throughout Village and occasionally through Forest, taking messages to the communities beyond. Village has been a welcoming place of refuge for others like Matty who have fled their homes to escape mistreatment and even death; however, something is different. People in Village are changing, and a group of townspeople have approached Leader demanding to close off Village to refugees. Through democratic vote, the will of the people prevails. Matty must warn the other communities that Village will soon be off-limits, and he must travel through Forest, which is thickening and growing more sinister day by day. His most important task is to bring Seer's daughter, Kira, back with him on his return journey, which becomes more ominous and more dangerous with every step. Matty's journey is one of self-discovery, and Lowry's simple prose belies complex issues of human nature woven throughout the story—faith, desire, and accepting the consequences of one's choices. As in The Giver, by the end of this book readers will want the story to continue to answer the questions that Lowry poses.
VOYA
Lowry masterfully presents another thought-provoking, haunting tale in this third novel, a companion to The Giver and Gathering Blue. Matty, the scruffy thief from Gathering Blue, lives with the blind man called Seer and helps him around the house. Now an educated young adult, Matty delivers messages for Leader, the head of Village, traversing the sometimes inhospitable Forest. On one such mission, he discovers that he has the power to heal. Meanwhile, sinister attitudes begin to infiltrate his formerly tolerant Village-most notably in Mentor, the man who "tamed" Matty-and to threaten the principles on which it was founded. While Lowry intertwines compelling threads from past novels (readers discover what happened to Jonas, and that Kira also has a connection to Village), this story more than stands on its own. The author revisits some of the themes of her previous novels (the cost of striving for physical perfection; the benefits of inclusion), and takes them to another level. Because she continues to work in allegorical terms, her lessons about the effects of consumerism on society and the importance of knowing one's history never feel teacherly; instead, she allows readers to come to their own conclusions. And Matty himself, once a taker, in many ways brings the series full circle, becoming the Village citizen who offers the greatest gift.
Publishers Weekly
Matty, who has lived in Village with the blind Seer since running away from an abusive childhood, is looking forward to receiving his true name, which he hopes will be Messenger. But he is deeply unsettled by what is going on. He has discovered his own power to heal others and learned of disturbing changes within his community. Under the gentle guidance of Leader, who arrived in Village on a red sled as a young boy and who has the power of Seeing Beyond, the citizens have always welcomed newcomers, especially those who are disabled. But a sinister force is at work, which has prompted them to close admission to outsiders. Also, it seems that Matty's beloved Mentor has been trading away parts of his inner self in order to become more attractive to Stocktender's widow. When the date for the close of the border is decided, Matty must make one more trip through the increasingly sinister Forest to bring back Seer's daughter, the gifted weaver Kira. On the return journey, Matty must decide if he should use his healing but self-destructive power to reverse the inexorable decline of Forest, Village, and its people. While readers may be left mystified as to what is behind the dramatic change in Village, Lowry's skillful writing imbues the story with a strong sense of foreboding, and her descriptions of the encroaching Forest are particularly vivid and terrifying. The gifted young people, introduced in The Giver (1993) and Gathering Blue (2000, both Houghton), are brought together in a gripping final scene, and the shocking conclusion without benefit of denouement is bound to spark much discussion and debate. —Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY
School Library Journal
(Starred review.) Like Lowry's hugely popular Newbery winner, The Giver (1993), this story dramatizes ideas of utopia gone wrong and focuses on a young person who must save his world.... Lowry moves far beyond message, writing with a beautiful simplicity rooted in political fable, in warm domestic detail, and in a wild natural world, just on the edge of realism.... The physical immediacy of his quest through a dark forest turned hostile brings the myth very close and builds suspense to the last heart-wrenching page
Booklist
Told in simple, evocative prose, this companion to The Giver (1993) and Gathering Blue (2000) can stand on its own as a powerful tale of great beauty. Though it does offer connections to its predecessors, it is not a mere postscript to them, but something new and grand: a completely enchanting, haunting story about the dark corruption of power and good people using their gifts as weapons against it. Readers will be absorbed in thought and wonder long after all of the pages are turned.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Gatherine Blue (The Giver Quartet, 2)
Lois Lowry, 2000
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
256 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780547995687
Summary
Lame and suddenly orphaned, Kira is mysteriously removed from her squalid village to live in the palatial Council Edifice, where she is expected to use her gifts as a weaver to do the bidding of the all-powerful Guardians.
Lame and suddenly orphaned, Kira is mysteriously removed from her squalid village to live in the palatial Council Edifice, where she is expected to use her gifts as a weaver to do the bidding of the all-powerful Guardians. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—March 20, 1937
• Where—Hawaii, USA
• Education—B.A., M.F.A., University of
Southern Maine
• Awards—Newbery Medal (2)
• Currently—lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Lois Lowry is an American author of children's literature. She began her career as a photographer and a freelance journalist during the early 1970s. Her work as a journalist drew the attention of Houghton Mifflin and they encouraged her to write her first children's book, A Summer to Die, which was published in 1977 (when Lowry was 40 years old). She has since written more than 30 books for children and published an autobiography. Two of her works have been awarded the prestigious Newbery Medal: Number the Stars in 1990, and The Giver in 1993.
As an author, Lowry is known for writing about difficult subject matters within her works for children. She has explored such complex issues as racism, terminal illness, murder, and the Holocaust among other challenging topics. She has also explored very controversial issues of questioning authority such as in The Giver quartet. Her writing on such matters has brought her both praise and criticism. In particular, her work The Giver has been met with a diversity of reactions from schools in America, some of which have adopted her book as a part of the mandatory curriculum, while others have prohibited the book's inclusion in classroom studies. (Adapted from Wikipedia.)
Book Reviews
With characteristic grace, Lowry pulls her reader into this tale of a devastated world in which judgments are harsh and the dead are left to rot in the fields. Here we find Kira, her leg twisted from birth and her heart, impossibly, nourishing hope. Kira is in a struggle for survival, and the world she inhabits has been crafted with care. The narrative voice is compelling, and in the end, the reader is left with the satisfying sense that in the creation of beauty out of cruelty lies infinite potential. Those who appreciated The Giver will find here another readable, futuristic fantasy, set in a world of flaws and fortunes that bear contemplation in relevance to our own.
Children's Literature
This outstanding novel is set in a futuristic hunter-gatherer society in which primitive laws and barbaric custom hold sway. Fatherless thirteen-year-old Kira, almost killed at birth because of her twisted leg, was saved when her mother intervened. After her mother dies, Kira turns to the village's Council of Guardians for help when the village women try to kill her for her meager plot of land. The Council spares Kira because her extraordinary weaving talents will allow her to complete the ceremonial robe worn in the village's annual gathering by the village Singer. Kira is sent to live in the Council offices, where she meets Thomas, a young woodcarver using his exceptional skills to complete the Singer's staff, and Jo, a six-year-old being trained to take over the duties of the Singer. The three prodigies, however, soon begin to lose the joy they had previously taken in their gifts. As the annual gathering draws near, Kira and Thomas discover that their parents and Jo's might have died at the Council's hands so that the Council could control the children's remarkable talents. Lowry has created a world diametrically opposed to the technologically centered, rigidly structured world of The Giver. This title similarly leaves its young protagonist at a crossroads, and one hopes that Kira's story will continue. The author weaves in details that bring Kira's world to life as seamlessly as Jonas's in The Giver. Readers can see and feel Kira's excitement when she finally acquires the ability to make blue, a color that has eluded her people. This extraordinary novel is remarkable for its fully realized characters, gripping plot, and Lowry's singular vision of afuture in which technology does not predominate but has instead been essentially discarded.
VOYA
After conjuring the pitfalls of a technologically advanced society in The Giver, Lowry looks toward a different type of future to create this dark, prophetic tale with a strong medieval flavor. Having suffered numerous unnamed disasters (aka, the Ruin), civilization has regressed to a primitive, technology-free state; an opening author's note describes a society in which "disorder, savagery, and self-interest" rule. Kira, a crippled young weaver, has been raised and taught her craft by her mother, after her father was allegedly killed by "beasts." When her mother dies, Kira fears that she will be cast out of the village. Instead, the society's Council of Guardians installs her as caretaker of the Singer's robe, a precious ceremonial garment depicting the history of the world and used at the annual Gathering. She moves to the Council Edifice, a gothic-style structure, one of the few to survive the Ruin. The edifice and other settings, such as the Fen—the village ghetto—and the small plot where Annabella (an elder weaver who mentors Kira after her mother's death) lives are especially well drawn, and the characterizations of Kira and the other artists who cohabit the stone residence are the novel's greatest strength. But the narrative hammers at the theme of the imprisoned artist. And readers may well predict where several important plot threads are headed (e.g., the role of Kira's Guardian, Jamison; her father's disappearance), while larger issues, such as the society's downfall, are left to readers' imaginationsn.
Publishers Weekly
Gathering Blue begins, a harsh, barbaric community of the future challenges the right of Kira to remain a part. Orphaned by the recent death of her mother, Kira has been cursed by a deformed leg and blessed by unsurpassed artistic talent. Facing the Council of Guardians, she pleads her case and finds an important role that plunges her deep into the heart of this enigmatic civilization. Lois Lowry, the consummate yarn-spinner, has deftly woven this cautionary tale so reminiscent of her Newbery tour-de-force, The Giver. She takes a bleak and colorless landscape, embroiders it richly with her storytelling prowess, and even treats us to an introductory spoken passage filled with insight into her thoughts and motivations for writing the story. Gathering Blue lends itself well to the medium of audiobook. The unusual-yet-familiar vocabulary used by the villagers can be recognized readily through the expert reading of actress Katherine Borowitz. The story is loquacious, mysterious, and thought provoking a must-have for young adults. The audio version is certain to be popular on circulation lists and with teachers. —Lisa Denton, J.S. Russell Junior High School, Lawrenceville, VA
School Library Journal
(Starred review.) Lowry is a master at creating worlds, both real and imagined, and this incarnation of our civilization some time in the future is one of her strongest creations.
Booklist
Lowry returns to the metaphorical future world of her Newbery-winning The Giver (1993) to explore the notion of foul reality disguised as fair.... Readers will find plenty of material for thought and discussion here, plus a touch of magic and a tantalizing hint (stay sharp, or you'll miss it) about the previous book's famously ambiguous ending. A top writer, in top form.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Discuss what gave Katrina, Kira’s mother, the courage to stand up to the people of the village and spare Kira’s life, when the custom in Kira’s society was to destroy babies born with birth defects. Do you think Katrina was aware of her daughter’s gift? Katrina never created the color blue. Do you think she knew that her daughter would someday find the secret of creating blue?
2. At the beginning of the novel, Katrina dies and Kira is left homeless. Kira is fearful, especially when Vandara, a vicious and angry woman, tells her that she is worthless. Discuss the strength Kira displays when she faces the Council of Guardians. How does Kira show strength and courage throughout the novel?
3. Discuss the way children are treated in Kira’s society. What is the difference between abuse and neglect? How is Matt both abused and neglected? What is his role in the story? How does Matt contribute to Kira’s growth as a person and an artist?
4. Vandara is known throughout the village. “People whispered about her. She was known, and respected. Or feared.” (p. 15) How can someone who is feared be respected? Discuss whether the women of the village fear Vandara more than they respect her. How do you know that they don’t really agree with Vandara regarding Kira’s fate?
5. What qualities determine the difference between skill and art? Debate whether Katrina was a skilled weaver or an artist. At what point in the novel does Kira display the true qualities of an artist?
6. Why is the history of the people called the Ruin Song? The scenes on the Singer’s Robe represent Ruin, Rebuilding, Ruin Again, andRegrowth. How does this symbolize the history of our world?
7. Kira has always been told that beasts killed her father. When Kira tells Jamison that Annabella says there are no beasts, he replies, “She’s very old. It’s dangerous for her to speak that way.” (p. 128) Do you think Annabella knows the truth about Kira’s father? Discuss whether Jamison is responsible for Annabella’s death.
8. Matt is concerned that Kira might be held captive at the Council Edifice. How is it that he has a better understanding of the meaning of captivity than Kira does? Debate whether Kira and Thomas, the young carver, are indeed held captive even though they are allowed to roam. At what point does Kira realize that she isn’t really free?
9. What do Kira, Thomas, and Jo have in common? Interpret the following statement: “They were forcing the children to describe the future they wanted, not the one that could be.” (p. 212)
10. At the end of the novel, Matt brings Christopher, Kira’s blind father, to meet her. How does meeting her father alter Kira’s concept of her purpose in life and her contribution to her society’s future?
(Questions courtesy of Pat Scales, author, former Director of Library Services, South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, Greenville.)
Time Between Us
Tamara Ireland Stone, 2012
Hyperion Books for Children
384 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781423159568
Summary
Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett’s unique ability to travel through time and space brings him into Anna’s life, and with him, a new world of adventure and possibility. As their relationship deepens, they face the reality that time might knock Bennett back where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate—and what consequences they can bear in order to stay together.
Fresh, exciting, and deeply romantic, Time Between Us is a stunning and spellbinding debut from an extraordinary new talent in YA fiction. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
Tamara Ireland Stone grew up in northern California. In addition to writing, Tamara co-owns a Silicon Valley marketing communications firm and enjoys skiing, hiking, and spending time with her husband and two children. Tamara lives just outside San Francisco, where she is at work on her second novel. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
Anna started an ordinary day with her usual routine, running. She did not, however, usually see a hot guy on campus as she ran by, and she had never seen a guy who just...disappeared. But then he showed up later in the day at school—turned out Bennett was real, seemed nice, but maybe a little aloof. Anna falls for Bennett, who reveals his secret: he disappeared that morning because he is able to travel through time and space. At first, Anna delights in Bennett's ability. She wants to travel so badly, and he can take her to Italy on a moment's notice—and without any adults noticing they are missing. Their relationship gets complicated when Bennett reveals another secret: he is from the past and he is losing control over his unusual ability. Teen romance readers will enjoy this twist on a "bad boy" story—Bennett is actually a good guy, but his special power seriously complicates their relationship. First-time author Stone has had a successful career in public relations, but says that Anna's story came to her during a conversation with her husband. He asked her which superpower she would like to have. She replied that she would want time-traveling abilities—so that she could go back five minutes each time she stuck her foot in her mouth., and maybe to see Green Day play back in the '90s. Soon, Bennett was born; then Anna. Hyperion is betting on this to be a hit, releasing it in print, audio, and as an e-book simultaneously.
Anna Foote - VOYA
The cute new boy at school, Bennett Cooper, keeps disappearing on steadfast Anna Greene in this warm, time-bending romance, set in 1995. High school junior Anna feels stuck in Evanston, Ill., growing up in her father’s childhood home and dreaming of travel and adventure. Anna stays smitten with Bennett as he alternately flirts with her and pushes her away. Debut author Stone takes a while to let Anna discover that Bennett is a time traveler from the year 2012; they fall for each other knowing they might be pulled apart by Bennett’s inability to stay in 1995. Some readers may get slightly tripped up by the logistics of time travel—Bennett is simultaneously a baby and a 17-year-old in 1995 while looking for his sister who got stuck in 1994. But the chemistry between Bennett and Anna—and the fun and brave things they do together—will have readers rooting for the couple that keeps daring fate. The secret Bennett keeps from Anna unravels into a dreamy, twisty ending.
Publishers Weekly
The story will hold readers with its twists and turns, present and future; its love, sadness, and anger; and especially, its surprising secrets.
Booklist
A slow-moving time-travel romance emphasizes romance over everything else. When Anna sees a strange boy who smiles warmly at her when she's out for her morning jog, she's puzzled. Puzzlement turns to bewilderment when that boy—Bennett—shows up as a new student at her tony private high school and reacts violently to her name but seems not to recognize her at all. She has always wanted to see the world, but she's hardly ever left her hometown of Evanston, Ill.; she explores the travel section of her father's bookstore instead. One night, Bennett uses his amazing time-travel ability to save her from a robbery at the store; he explains that he comes from 2012 and is in Anna's time, 1995, to find the sister he lost at a Pearl Jam concert. Love ensues. Stone doesn't bother to give Bennett's unique talent any kind of coherent framework, instead using it to fuel fabulous trips to exotic places and to provide an excuse for hand-wringing about unrequitable love. Anna forces him to go against his preternaturally developed sense of chrono-ethics when her two best friends are in a terrible car accident, but even the consequences of that are only limply explored. The rushed ending exposes the lost sister for the MacGuffin she is and knocks the feet out from under the novel's only emotionally honest moment, Anna's decision to live for herself. Time travel can be fascinating, but here it is not.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Specific discussion questions will be added if and when they are made available by the publisher.
Liar & Spy
Rebecca Stead, 2012
Random House Children's Books
192 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780385737432
Summary
The instant New York Times bestseller from the author of the Newbery Medal book When You Reach Me: a story about spies, games, and friendship.
Seventh grader Georges moves into a Brooklyn apartment building and meets Safer, a twelve-year-old self-appointed spy. Georges becomes Safer's first spy recruit. His assignment? Tracking the mysterious Mr. X, who lives in the apartment upstairs. But as Safer becomes more demanding, Georges starts to wonder: what is a lie, and what is a game? How far is too far to go for your only friend? Like the dazzling When You Reach Me, Liar & Spy will keep readers guessing until the end. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—January 16, 1968
• Where—New York City, New York, USA
• Education—B.A., Vassar College
• Awards—Newbery Medal
• Currently—lives in New York City, New York
Rebecca Stead is an American author who writes books for children and young adults. She won the 2010 Newbery Medal for the most distinguished contribution to children's literature for her second novel, When You Reach Me.
Personal Life
Born and raised in New York City, Stead enjoyed her elementary school years and remembers fondly the way to make and enjoy tacos. She attended Vassar College and received her bachelor's degree in 1989.
Rebecca Stead is married to attorney Sean O'Brien and has two sons. She and her family live on the upper west side of Manhattan.
Writing Career
Stead enjoyed writing as a child, but as she grew older she felt it was 'impractical' and became a lawyer instead. After years as a public defender she returned to writing after the birth of her two children. On her website she credits her son with inspiring her to write a children's novel, but not in the way one would expect. For years she had collected story ideas and short stories on a laptop, which the child pushed off a table, destroying it and losing all her 'serious' writing. As a way to lighten her mood she began again with something light-hearted. The creation of First Light followed.
First Light
When You Reach Me
When You Reach Me takes place in 1978-1979 New York. The story follows Miranda, a sixth grader, as she recalls the events of the past few months, laying out clues and puzzles as she asks an unseen listener to figure it out. The setting is a tiny slice of Manhattan, filled with abundant details and vivid characters. It has been described as suspense with a bit of the supernatural. Miranda is a great fan of Madeleine L'Engle's classic, A Wrinkle in Time and references to that book help add to the mystery of the novel. Three plot lines run through this novel, seemingly unrelated as the tale begins: Miranda's mother prepares to be a guest on The $20,000 Pyramid; Miranda's lifelong friend Sal will no longer speak to her; and "the laughing man", a very strange homeless man catches Miranda's attention. Publishers Weekly applauds Stead's ability to 'make every detail count' as she creates a plausible conclusion with these divergent and improbable plot lines. A New York Times Book Review called it a "taut novel, every word, every sentence, has meaning and substance. (Adapted from Wikipedia.)
Book Reviews
Stead has such a fine grasp on the alternately base and fanciful preoccupations of seventh graders that even the occasional forays into capital-C Cuteness get a pass.... Stead handily succeeds in keeping all the mysteries going to the bitter end. And in each case, this non-young adult was genuinely surprised by the outcomes.
Lucinda Rosenfeld - New York Times Book Review
Georges has it pretty good, but then his best friend becomes a skater who hangs with the bullies who make Georges their target; his dad gets fired; his mom has to work extra shifts; and they have to sell their house. The new apartment does not measure up, until Georges sees a sign advertising the Spy Club. This leads him to Safer, who promises to train Georges to be a spy and enlists him to help scope out the building's possibly murderous man in black. Georges is unsure about being a spy, but is also unsure about how to deal with the bullies at school, whether the taste lab will determine he is, in fact, a geeksack, and, most importantly, whether Safer is really all he seems. Stead's vibrant, fully actualized characters—determined Georges; his earnest, hopeful father; the mysterious, damaged Safer; Dallas the jeering bully; enigmatic Bob English Who Draws—elevate this coming-of-age story from typical middle-school angst to a truly quirky, memorable piece. The seemingly insignificant minutiae of Georges' daily life—the anatomy of the tongue, escaped parrots, Ben Franklin's Rules for Spelling—achieve symbolic significance as they lead Georges to a place where he can face the looming loss he spends most of the novel avoiding. All the pieces come together in a magnificent twist at the end, reinforcing the message that all obstacles can be overcome. Young readers will see themselves in Georges's frustrations, and celebrate and be inspired by his victories over his tormentors—and himself.
VOYA
Seventh grade is not going well for Georges, the only child of an out-of-work Brooklyn architect and a nurse who named him after her favorite painter, pointillist Georges Seurat. Although Georges's mother has taken on double shifts to bring in extra income, the family has had to sell their house and move into an apartment. At school, former best friend Jason, who has started dressing like the skateboarder he isn't, now stands idly by while bullies harass Georges. Newbery Medalist Stead (When You Reach Me) expertly balances Georges's blue period with the introduction of the new neighbors: amateur spy Safer, and his younger sister, Candy, whose parents (in one of many hilarious details) let the kids name themselves. As homeschooled siblings, they offer refreshing perspectives on the ridiculousness of what goes on at Georges's school, including a forthcoming science unit on taste buds that the kids believe forecasts one's destiny. Safer recruits Georges to investigate and observe—using the lobbycam to track a mysterious tenant and binoculars to monitor a nest of wild green parrots—but the biggest secrets are the ones these two sensitive boys have buried in their hearts. Stead has a talent for introducing curriculum-ready topics in the most accessible ways imaginable, e.g., Seurat's painting methods become a persuasive metaphor for what Georges is going through and how he can survive it. Chock-full of fascinating characters and intelligent questions, this is as close to perfect as middle-grade novels come.
Publishers Weekly
The ending twists readers’ entire perception of the events and creates a brilliant conclusion to an insightful novel.
School Library Journal
A seventh-grade boy who is coping with social and economic issues moves into a new apartment building, where he makes friends with an over-imaginative home-schooled boy and his eccentric family. Social rules are meant to be broken is the theme of this big-hearted, delightfully quirky tale, and in keeping with that, Stead creates a world where nothing is as it seems.... It would be unfair to give anything away, but suffice it to say that Georges resolves his various issues in a way that's both ingenious and organic to the story. Original and winning.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
(The following questions have been adapted from an educators guide by Random House. The first six questions are based on themes.)
1. On FAMILY—Describe Georges’ family. Georges’ mom calls Safer’s family “bohemian,” but his dad calls them “progressive.” Discuss the difference. Why is Georges intrigued with Safer’s family? Georges’ mom is a nurse, and he refers to her working double shifts. What is the first clue that she is an actual patient in the hospital? Explain why Georges’ dad needs him. Why is Georges uncomfortable with their conversations?
2. On FRIENDSHIP—How might Georges define friendship? Explain what happened to the friendship between Georges and Jason. Georges feels like a loser when Jason betrays him for the “cool” kids. How is Georges really the winner? Debate whether Safer understands the meaning of friendship. Describe the relationship between Georges and Bob English Who Draws. Discuss whether Georges’ idea of friendship changes by the end of the novel.
3. On BELONGING—Georges certainly doesn’t belong to the “cool” group at school. Then his dad loses his job and the family has to move from their house to an apartment. What does Georges miss about his old neighborhood? Contrast Georges and Safer’s need to belong. How does Safer need Georges more than Georges needs Safer? What prompts Mr. Landau to ask Georges if he’s doing okay.
4. On BULLYING—Define bullying and talk about the difference between teasing and bullying. How does teasing lead to bullying? Dallas Llewellyn is the leader of the bullies that torment Georges. Discuss how Georges solves his problem with Dallas and his gang.
5. On SELF-DISCOVERY—Georges makes an important journey in the novel. What does he learn about himself? How does learning the truth about Safer’s fears help him mastermind a plot to improve his image at school? Georges and Safer deal with identity issues because of their names. How is “Safer” both a label and a name? When does Georges begin to see “the big picture”? How does this change his view of himself?
6. On CONFLICTING VALUES—Georges isn’t normally a liar. Why does he allows Safer to talk him into lying about the Spy Club meeting. In what other ways does Georges violate the moral values that his parents taught him? Georges feels somewhat betrayed when he finds out that Safer has been dishonest about Mr. X. Debate whether Safer is a liar or someone who doesn’t tell the whole story.
7. In teaching the class about taste, Mr. Landau asks, “What is the taste of the human experience?” Talk about how taste is frequently used as a metaphor to describe life? What tastes might you use to describe some of your life experiences.
8. What is Bob English Who Draws' system of spelling reform? Have some fun demonstrating how it works.
9. What clues are given that Safer suffers from some type of social phobia?
10. Talk about pointillism and the way in which author Rebecca Stead uses it as a symbol for the troubles Georges is going through.
(Questions issued by publisher.)
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