Czech, Jan M. Grace happens, a novel.CZECH, Jan M. Grace happens, a novel. Penguin, Viking, 159p. c2005. 0-670-05962-5. $15.99. JS This is Czech's first novel, and she sets it on Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard (vĭn`yərd), island (1990 est. pop. 8,900), c.100 sq mi (260 sq km), SE Mass., separated from the Elizabeth Islands and Cape Cod by Vineyard and Nantucket sounds. , a place she and her family love to visit. The island is as important as any of the characters in the story. Grace is the child of a movie star named Constance Meredith, and she and an entourage The e-mail program included in the Macintosh version of Microsoft Office. Combining the functions of Outlook with scheduling capabilities, Entourage was introduced with Microsoft Office 2001 for Mac, the first release of Office for OS X. have traveled around the world to wherever her mother is working on a film. Grace doesn't know much about her mother's history, and she doesn't know who her own father is. The trip to Martha's Vineyard is especially important, because this is where Constance went to high school, where she became pregnant with Grace: Grace is determined to use their time on the island to discover the truth about her father. They settle in the home where Constance lived as a teenager and Grace noses around finding places and people who were part of Constance's past. Most YA readers enjoy the lives of celebrities, and this foray into Verb 1. foray into - enter someone else's territory and take spoils; "The pirates raided the coastal villages regularly" raid encroach upon, intrude on, obtrude upon, invade - to intrude upon, infringe, encroach on, violate; "This new colleague invades my the world of a daughter of a famous person, with the pitfalls of never knowing if someone really likes you--or is just trying to get close to your famous mother--will be entertaining in itself. Since Grace is introspective in·tro·spect intr.v. in·tro·spect·ed, in·tro·spect·ing, in·tro·spects To engage in introspection. [Latin intr and wise, it makes the story even better. She works for a local caterer, keeping her identity a secret, for a while anyway. And she is insistent that her mother tell her the truth about her father. Grace knows she is getting near the end of her quest when she spots an old bumper sticker bumper sticker n. A sticker bearing a printed message for display on a vehicle's bumper. bumper sticker n → Aufkleber m in the garage of a lovely older woman, a bumper sticker that says "Grace Happens." All is eventually revealed. Summer on Martha's Vineyard seems especially sweet, as is this story--without being saccharine sac·cha·rine adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of sugar or saccharin; sweet. . Claire Rosser, KLIATT J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers. S--Recommended for senior high school students. |
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