Frizzell, Colin. Just J.FRIZZELL, Colin. Just J. Orca. 138p. c2007 978-155143-650-0. $795. J J's mother has recently lost a long and painful bout with cancer and has left behind 13-year-old J, her dad, and her five-year-old brother, Billy. J is not just sad, she is utterly furious--at her father, who doesn't seem to have any time or energy for her; at her father's friend, Fanny (aka the Evil One), whose mission is to send J far away to summer camp; at her mother for getting sick and dying and causing everything to change; and at God, who has let other girls keep their mothers for when they experience their first kiss, first date, and every other major event in a girl's life. Thus, J is a force to be reckoned with. J's saving grace is her mother's sister, Guinevere, who has arrived for the funeral. Aunt Guin, an eccentric eccentric, in mechanics, device for changing rotary to back-and-forth motion. A disk is mounted off center on a shaft. One flat, open, circular end of a rod fits around the edge of the disk; the other end is usually attached to a block that slides in a slot. woman, whisks J away for the summer to renovate an old summerhouse she has just purchased. While J is thrilled thrill v. thrilled, thrill·ing, thrills v.tr. 1. To cause to feel a sudden intense sensation; excite greatly. 2. To give great pleasure to; delight. See Synonyms at enrapture. to be away from her father and Fanny, she is unsure about this aunt who speaks in proverbs Proverbs, book of the Bible. It is a collection of sayings, many of them moral maxims, in no special order. The teaching is of a practical nature; it does not dwell on the salvation-historical traditions of Israel, but is individual and universal based on the and makes things happen that seem impossible. Refusing to help Aunt Guin in the restoration project, she seeks comfort in her friendship with Colin. This is a funny though sometimes heart-wrenching story of a young girl who struggles to keep the memory of her mother alive, to stay connected with her dad, and to control the anger that grips her in sadness. Adolescent ad·o·les·cent adj. Of, relating to, or undergoing adolescence. n. A young person who has undergone puberty but who has not reached full maturity; a teenager. girls will enjoy J's spunky spunk·y adj. spunk·i·er, spunk·i·est Informal Spirited; plucky. spunk  i·ly adv. personality and her
unwillingness to give in to the emotions that rip through her.
J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers. Shaunna Silva sil·va also syl·va n. pl. sil·vas or sil·vae 1. The trees or forests of a region. 2. A written work on the trees or forests of a region. , Teacher, Biddeford MS, Biddeford, ME |
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