Synopses & Reviews
"Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated . . ." With her grandmother's taunt, Louise knew that she, like the biblical Esau, was the despised elder twin. Caroline, her selfish younger sister, was the one everyone loved.
Growing up on a tiny Chesapeake Bay island in the early 1940s, angry Louise reveals how Caroline robbed her of everything: her hopes for schooling, her friends, her mother, even her name. While everyone pampered Caroline, Wheeze (her sister's name for her) began to learn the ways of the watermen and the secrets of the island, especially of old Captain Wallace, who had mysteriously returned after fifty years. The war unexpectedly gave this independent girl a chance to fulfill her childish dream to work as a watermen alongside her father. But the dream did not satisfy the woman she was becoming. Alone and unsure, Louise began to fight her way to a place where Caroline could not reach.
Renowned author Katherine Paterson here chooses a little-known area off the Maryland shore as her setting for a fresh telling of the ancient story of an elder twin's lost birthright.
Synopsis
Winner, 1981 Newbery Medal
Nominee, 1981 American Book Award for Children's Literature
Notable Children's Books of 1976?1980 (ALA)
1980 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)
1981 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book)
Best Books of 1980 (SLJ)
Best of the '80s (BL)
1980 Children's Editors' Choices (BL)
Outstanding Children's Books of 1980 (NYT)
Children's Books of 1980 (Library of Congress)
1980 Children's Books (NY Public Library)
Best of the '80s (English Journal)
About the Author
Katherine Paterson was born in China, where she spent part of her childhood. After her education in China and the American South, she spent four years in Japan, the setting for her first three novels. Ms. Paterson has received numerous awards for her writing, including National Book Awards for The Master Puppeteer and The Great Gilly Hopkins, as well as Newbery Medals for Jacob Have I Loved and Bridge to Terabithia. Ms. Paterson lives with her husband in Vermont. They have four grown children.