O'Keefe, Susan Heyboer. My life and death by Alexandra Canarsie.O'KEEFE, Susan Heyboer. My life and death by Alexandra Canarsie. Peachtree, Freestone free·stone n. 1. A stone, such as limestone, that is soft enough to be cut easily without shattering or splitting. 2. A fruit, especially a peach, that has a stone that does not adhere to the pulp. See Regional Note at andiron. . 255p. c2002.1-56145-367-0. $7.95. JS To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, May 2002: Headstrong head·strong adj. 1. Determined to have one's own way; stubbornly and often recklessly willful. See Synonyms at obstinate, unruly. 2. Resulting from willfulness and obstinacy. , mouthy mouth·y adj. mouth·i·er, mouth·i·est 1. Annoyingly talkative. 2. Given to ranting or bombast. mouth 14-year-old Alexandra and her mother have just moved once again. Now they're living in a rundown Rundown A summary of the amount and prices of a serial bond issue that is still available for purchase. rundown A list of available bonds in a municipal issue of serial bonds. trailer in her mother's old hometown, and Alexandra hates every thing about it, fantasizing about the father who left them years ago. She spends the summer before high school indulging in her new hobby, attending the funerals of strangers at the adjacent graveyard, and she becomes obsessed ob·sess v. ob·sessed, ob·sess·ing, ob·sess·es v.tr. To preoccupy the mind of excessively. v.intr. with the death of a boy named Jimmy who would have been a classmate. She sets out to prove that his death was not accidental but a murder. Along the way, she makes friends with a boy named Dennis, connects with a wise English teacher, and makes an enemy of a vicious classmate. Her investigations nearly lead to another death, and to her slow-dawning realization that her impulsive actions can have terrible results. The plot here might stretch credulity cre·du·li·ty n. A disposition to believe too readily. [Middle English credulite, from Old French, from Latin cr , but Alexandra, a fierce, bright, smart-mouthed girl who skips classes blithely and goes after the truth regardless of the consequences, is worth meeting. O'Keefe renders her sardonic wisecracks and her painful loneliness convincingly, and in the end readers will root for her. Paula Rohrlick, 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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