Synopses & Reviews
Stubborn, self-reliant eleven-year-old Zoe, recently orphaned, is forced to move to the country to live with her strange and bad-tempered uncle. Zoe could care less that he's a famous doctor and sculptor. All she knows is that he is impossible to understand. The only interesting thing on the farm is a feral cat who won't let Zoe near. Together, Zoe and her uncle learn about trust and the strength of family ties. In this moving coming-of-age novel, Zoe comes to understand what it means to love and be loved, uncovers a long-kept secret, and finds family where she least expects it. Includes an interview with the author and a reading group guide.
Named ALA Notable Children's Book Award; Bank Street College of Education Best Children's books of the Year; NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts; Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book.
Review
"Carmichael gives a familiar plot fresh new life in this touching story with a finely crafted sense of place. . . . Zoë's fierce, funny voice is compelling." --Booklist
Review
* "A tribute to the power of story, this is ultimately a tale of hope and redemption. Zoe Royster, peer to the literary heroines she so loves, is as memorable in her own way as the Great Gilly Hopkins, Opal Buloni and Anne Shirley." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Review
"Carmichael's a smooth and evocative stylist. . . . [Zoe] is at times a new-millennium Shirley Temple in her relentlessly adorable moppetry." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Synopsis
ALA Notable Children's Book Kirkus Reviews "Best Children's Book of the Year" Winner of the North Carolina Juvenile Literature Award Winner of the NAPPA Gold Award A feisty tweenage orphan discovers what it means to love and be loved in this powerful coming-of-age novel about hope, redemption, and found family
A headstrong girl. A stray cat. A wild boy. A man who plays with fire. Eleven-year-old Zo trusts no one. Her father left before she was born. At the death of her irresponsible mother, Zo goes to live with her uncle, former surgeon and famed metal sculptor, Dr. Henry Royster. She's sure Henry will fail her as everyone else has. Reclusive since his wife's death, Henry takes Zo to Sugar Hill, North Carolina, where he welds sculptures as stormy as his moods.
Zo and Henry have much in common: brains, fiery and creative natures, and badly broken hearts. Zo confronts small-town prejudice with a quick temper. She warms to Henry's odd but devoted friends, meets a mysterious teenage boy living wild in the neighboring woods, and works to win the trust of a feral cat while struggling to trust in anyone herself.
In this award-winning coming-of-age tale for young readers, Zo 's questing spirit leads her to uncover the wild boy's identity, lay bare a local lie, and begin to understand the true power of Henry's art. Then one decisive night she and the boy risk everything in a reckless act of heroism . . .
Synopsis
Stubborn, self-reliant eleven-year-old Zoe, recently orphaned, is forced to move to the country to live with her strange and bad-tempered uncle. In this moving coming-of-age novel, an ALA Notable Children's Book and Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of the Year, Zoe and her uncle learn about love, trust and the strength of family ties.
About the Author
Clay Carmichael has written award-winning children's books that have been translated into many languages. She teaches writing and illustrating and lives in Carrboro, North Carolina. This is her first novel.