Synopses & Reviews
Review
'\"a fantasy with a surprisingly serious foundation...a complicated mother-daughter relationship...feelings all ring true to an 11-year-old.\" SLJ'
Review
"likable protagonist...exploration of personal fears and desires as well as familial relationships resonates with authenticity. Spunky meets spooky." KIRKUS Kirkus Reviews
"enjoy the concrete details, smooth prose, and sympathetic characterization of this unusually normal paranormal mystery" BCCB Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"a fantasy with a surprisingly serious foundation...a complicated mother-daughter relationship...feelings all ring true to an 11-year-old." SLJ School Library Journal
Synopsis
When her parents go away for a month-long business trip, Arlie Metcalfe and her little brother, Michael, get to stay with their fun-loving aunt, Isabel. It seems as if its going to be a month-long vacation, particularly for Arlie, whos looking forward to the time away from her demanding mother. But only a few days into the trip, Arlies parents are seriously injured in a car accident, and her mother falls into a coma. On the very same day, a new girl arrives in Arlies fifth-grade class. Casey has the same short brown hair, the same stubbornness, and the same bossiness as Arlies mother. Is it possible that she is actually Arlies mother as an eleven-year-old girl? Can Arlie somehow help her mother by befriending Casey? Or is this a gift from the universe for Arlie: a strange and wonderful way to know her mother before she was her mother?
About the Author
Gina Willner-Pardo is the author of 15 books, including Jason and the Losers and Figuring Out Frances, which won the Bank Street College of Education Josette Frank Award. She lives with her family in the San Francisco Bay Area.