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More copies of this ISBN:

How to Build a House

by Dana Reinhardt

How to Build a House Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

HARPER’S DAD IS getting a divorce from her beloved stepmother, Jane. Even worse, Harper has lost her stepsister, Tess; the divorce divides them. Harper decides to escape by joining a volunteer program to build a house for a family in Tennessee who lost their home in a tornado. Not that she knows a thing about construction.

Soon she’s living in a funky motel and working long days in blazing heat with a group of kids from all over the country. At the site, she works alongside Teddy, the son of the family for whom they are building the house. Their partnership turns into a summer romance, complete with power tools. Learning to trust and love Teddy isn’t easy for Harper, but it’s the first step toward finding her way back home.

Review:

"Reinhardt artfully parallels the construction of a house with the reconstruction of a broken family in a work as intimate and intelligently wrought as her previous YA novels, A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life and Harmless. Shaken by the recent divorce of her father and stepmother and her separation from stepsister and best friend, Tess, Harper Evans jumps at the chance to participate in a summer program in a small Tennessee town, where she and other high school students will build a new house for a family whose home was destroyed by a tornado. Harper aims to bury herself in physical labor to forget about problems back in L.A., but gets sidetracked when she falls in love with Teddy, one of the house's intended residents. Weaving flashbacks of Harper's home life before and after the divorce into the romance between Harper and Teddy, Reinhardt builds a story within a story: one exploring reasons the heroine feels betrayed, the other focusing on how she learns to trust again. This meticulously crafted book illustrates how both homes and relationships can be resurrected through hard work, hope and teamwork. Ages 12-up." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

Starred review, Publishers Weekly, April 7, 2008:

"As intimate and intelligently wrought as her previous YA novels . . . this meticulously crafted book illustrates how both homes and relationships can be resurrected through hard work, hope and teamwork."

Starred review, School Library Journal, June 2008:

"Harper is a sympathetic, believable character whose narrative voice expresses wit and heartbreak, and her emotional journey will have tremendous appeal for mature teen readers."

Review, Los Angeles Times Book Review, July 27, 2008:

"Written with a light touch that belies the heavy subjects of divorce and blended-family dynamics, [the novel] is also well-paced."

About the Author

Dana Reinhardt lives in Los Angeles with her husband and her two daughters. This is her third novel. She is the author of A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life and Harmless.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780375844539
Author:
Reinhardt, Dana
Publisher:
Wendy Lamb Books
Subject:
Building
Subject:
Divorce
Subject:
General
Subject:
Social Issues - General
Subject:
Family - Marriage & Divorce
Subject:
Stepfamilies
Subject:
Interpersonal Relations
Copyright:
Publication Date:
May 2008
Binding:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Pages:
227
Dimensions:
8.31x5.73x.87 in. .77 lbs.
Age Level:
14-17

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