Synopses & Reviews
Mary OHara is a sharp and cheeky 12-year-old Dublin schoolgirl who is bravely facing the fact that her beloved Granny is dying. But Granny cant let go of life, and when a mysterious young woman turns up in Marys street with a message for her Granny, Mary gets pulled into an unlikely adventure. The woman is the ghost of Grannys own mother, who has come to help her daughter say good-bye to her loved ones and guide her safely out of this world. She needs the help of Mary and her mother, Scarlett, who embark on a road trip to the past. Four generations of women travel on a midnight car journey. One of them is dead, one of them is dying, one of them is driving, and one of them is just starting out.
Praise for A Greyhound of a Girl
STARRED REVIEW A warm, witty, exquisitely nuanced multigenerational story.”
Kirkus Reviews, starred review
STARRED REVIEW This elegantly constructed yet beautifully simple story, set in Ireland and spun with affection by Booker Prizewinner Doyle, will be something different for YA readers. These four lilting voices will linger long after the book is closed.”
Booklist, starred review
STARRED REVIEW
"Written mostly in dialogue, at which Doyle excels, and populated with a charming foursome of Irish women, this lovely tale is as much about overcoming the fear of death as it is about death itself."
Publishers Weekly, starred review
"In this moving and artfully structured ghost tale, four generations of Irish women come together. A big part of the pleasure here is the rhythm of the language and the contrasting voices of the generations. Any opportunity to read it aloud would be a treat."
Horn Book
"For children grieving the death of a parent or grandparent, this book provides comfort."
Library Media Connection
Award:
Capitol Choices 2013 - Noteworthy Titles for Children and Teens
Cooperative Childrens Book Center (CCBC) Choices 2013 list - Young Adult Fiction
USBBY Outstanding International Books List 2013
Synopsis
After their baby sister dies, Willa Jo and Little Sister's family falls apart. Their mother sinks deep into an unshakable depression, so the two older girls are sent to live with their strict Aunt Patty and her husband. Since Little Sister refuses to talk, Willa Jo has to try and make things right in their new home, but she can't stop missing her mother or the life the four of them had before Baby died. Aunt Patty is trying as hard as she can, but she doesn't really understand what Willa Jo and Little Sister are trying to deal with-until the morning the two girls climb up to the roof of her house, and stay there. Audrey Couloumbis's masterful debut novel brings to mind Karen Hesse, Katherine Paterson, and Betsy Byars's The Summer of the Swans-it is a story you will never forget.
Synopsis
A Southern charmer for fans of Newbery Honor book Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage Audrey Couloumbis's masterful debut novel brings to mind Karen Hesse, Katherine Paterson, and Betsy Byars's The Summer of the Swansit is a story you will never forget.
Willa Jo and Little Sister are up on the roof at Aunt Pattys house. Willa Jo went up to watch the sunrise, and Little Sister followed, like she always does. But by mid-morning, they are still up on that roof, and soon its clear it wasnt just the sunrise that brought them there.
The trouble is, coming down would mean theyd have to explain, and they just cant find the words.
This is a funny, sometimes heartbreaking, story about sisters, about grief, and about healing. Two girls must come to terms with the death of their baby sister, their mothers unshakable depression, and the ridiculously controlling aunt who takes them in and means well but just doesnt understand children. Willa Jo has to try and make things right in their new home, but she and Aunt Patty keep butting heads. Until the morning the two girls climb up to the roof of her house. Aunt Patty tries everything she can think of to get them down, but in the end, the solution is miraculously simple.
A Newbery Honor Book
An ALA Notable Book
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
About the Author
Audrey Couloumbis on the writing process...
"While I'm writing, I don't worry about the usual character bio points, but there is another list of questions that I'm asking myself:
"10 observations this character would make
10 things he or she would fight for
10 decisions he or she would make
what he or she thinks about when daydreaming
5 sensitivities, and how they developed
5 of their personal childhood horrors
5 intentions they have, maybe 10
5 reasons for something they do or something about their appearance that is directly related to the story
"They may not all directly pertain to the story being told, but they tell me a lot about the character, just like they would tell me a lot about my friends.
"For me, if the character won't come, I'll write something else entirely, but I'll write twice as much. I'll write on how to write. In this very sure and certain voice that thinks it knows something. I'll write on what makes people read. I'll write on how to write fairy tales. I'll write about conflict or plot until I learn something about it, coughing up some of that internalized information like a cat's hairball. I'll write letters to the people I trade manuscripts with, critiquing their work if I'm not making progress on mine. I ignore my uncooperative characters entirely.
"If that doesn't work in a few days, I stop reading or writing anything else. I don't watch TV or movies. I do housework or gardening. And pretty soon, my characters come back muttering about a missed lunch. And we fry half a pound of bacon, or make popcorn, or get bags and bags of peanut M&M's and settle down in front of the computer."
Audrey Couloumbis was born in Illinois. She currently lives in upstate New York with her husband.
Copyright © 2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.