Awards
Winner of the 2003 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
Synopses & Reviews
Love under trying circumstancesOne night out of the blue, Ratchet Clarks ill-natured mother tells her that Ratchet will be leaving their Pensacola apartment momentarily to take the train up north. There she will spend the summer with her aged relatives Penpen and Tilly, inseparable twins who couldnt look more different from each other. Staying at their secluded house, Ratchet is treated to a passel of strange family history and local lore, along with heaps of generosity and care that she has never experienced before. Also, Penpen has recently espoused a new philosophy - whatever shows up on your doorstep you have to let in. Through thick wilderness, down forgotten, bear-ridden roads, come a variety of characters, drawn to Penpen and Tillys open door. It is with vast reservations that the cautious Tilly allows these unwelcome guests in. But it turns out that unwelcome guests may bring the greatest gifts.
By turns dark and humorous, Polly Horvath offers adolescent readers enough quirky characters and outrageous situations to leave them reeling! The Canning Season is the winner of the 2003 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
Review
"Offbeat, slapstick humor is mitigated by poignancy in Horvath's distinctive rollicking style....Readers are in for a wise and wacky ride when they open this novel." School Library Journal
Review
"Horvath is a winning writer, luxurious in her descriptions." Booklist
Review
"Polly Horvath...has...however, found both comedy and poignancy in this story of the affecting relationship between two widely-separated generations, showing that isolation and apathy can be overcome in the most unexpected ways. Not all readers will warm to this story, but those who enjoy a more offbeat tale and a less linear structure will find much to ponder." Children's Literature
Review
"[A] hilarious, heartrending tale." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Unruly, unpredictable and utterly compelling....Readers may find themselves wondering just how far Horvath will go and they won't be disappointed with her steering." Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Love under trying circumstancesOne night out of the blue, Ratchet Clarks ill-natured mother tells her that Ratchet will be leaving their Pensacola apartment momentarily to take the train up north. There she will spend the summer with her aged relatives Penpen and Tilly, inseparable twins who couldnt look more different from each other. Staying at their secluded house, Ratchet is treated to a passel of strange family history and local lore, along with heaps of generosity and care that she has never experienced before. Also, Penpen has recently espoused a new philosophy - whatever shows up on your doorstep you have to let in. Through thick wilderness, down forgotten, bear-ridden roads, come a variety of characters, drawn to Penpen and Tillys open door. It is with vast reservations that the cautious Tilly allows these unwelcome guests in. But it turns out that unwelcome guests may bring the greatest gifts.
By turns dark and humorous, Polly Horvath offers adolescent readers enough quirky characters and outrageous situations to leave them reeling! The Canning Season is the winner of the 2003 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
Synopsis
One night out of the blue, Ratchet Clarks ill-natured mother uproots her from Florida without a second thought. Ratchet is on a train to Maine for a summer with relatives within the blink of an eye. But these arent just any relatives. Ratchets ninety-two-year old great-aunts, twins Penpen and Tilly, live life in their secluded home on their own terms. They were born together, they grew up together, they live together, and they plan to die together. Through thick wilderness, down forgotten, bear-ridden roads, a plethora of strange family history, and a slew of unwelcome guests, Ratchet may just learn what a family can be after all. Unwelcome guests might just bring the greatest gifts of all.
By turns dark and humorous, Polly Horvath offers readers enough quirky characters and outrageous situations to leave them reeling!
About the Author
Polly Horvath is the author of many books for young people, including Everything on a Waffle, The Pepins and Their Problems, and The Trolls. Her numerous awards include the Newbery Honor, the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, the Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature, the Mr. Christie Award, the international White Raven, and the Young Adult Canadian Book of the Year. Horvath grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She attended the Canadian College of Dance in Toronto and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in New York City. She has taught ballet, waitressed, done temporary typing, and tended babies, but while doing these things she has always also written. Now that her children are in school, she spends the whole day writing, unless she sneaks out to buy groceries, lured away from her desk by the thought of fresh Cheez Whiz. She lives on Vancouver Island with her husband and two daughters.