![]() ![]() ![]() Small moments pack big emotional wallops, as when a teacher gives Ari “brand-new, trés cool shoes” to replace her “ratty” ones, or when Ari pretends that the people she cuts from magazine are a family, because, “With a big family you’re likely to have someone watching out for you always.” A tender exploration of homelessness. Despite an overly neat conclusion, Jacobson ( Small as an Elephant) elevates her book beyond “problem novel” territory with an engaging narrator who works hard to be loyal to her brother-and to her mother’s memory. As Ari falls behind at school, she wonders if she can still fulfill her mother’s wish for her to attend a middle-school for gifted kids. The siblings’ mother implored them to “Stay together always,” but without an apartment or a job for Gage, they bounce around among friends’ places and a homeless shelter, even spending a night in Gage’s girlfriend’s car. ![]() She lives in Maine with her husband and Jack Russell terrier. Ari and her older brother, Gage, have lived with a strict guardian since their mother died four years ago, but now Gage, 19, wants to leave-and take 11-year-old Ari with him. Jennifer is the author of the middle grade novels Paper Things and Small as an Elephant, and the Andy Shane picture book series, among others. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |