Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Newberg Public Library | J FICTION HAYDU | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Salem Main Library | J Haydu, C. | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
"A well-crafted blend of realism and fantasy." --School Library Journal (starred review)
"A lyrical story of love and loss. The way the sisters fight and love in equal measure, as well as their basic need for one another, rings poignantly true in this touching and heartwarming story, which contains a 'tiny bit of magic, right here in the real world.'" --Booklist (starred review)
In the tradition of Sharon Creech and Wendy Mass, Corey Ann Haydu's sparkling middle grade debut is a sister story with a twist of magic, a swirl of darkness, and a whole lot of hope.
Silly is used to feeling left out. Her three older sisters think she's too little for most things--especially when it comes to dealing with their mother's unpredictable moods and outbursts. This summer, Silly feels more alone than ever when her sisters keep whispering and sneaking away to their rooms together, returning with signs that something mysterious is afoot: sporting sunburned cheeks smudged with glitter and gold hair that looks like tinsel.
When Silly is brought into her sisters' world, the truth is more exciting than she ever imagined. The sisters have discovered a magical place that gives them what they truly need: an escape from the complications of their home life. But there are dark truths there, too. Silly hopes the magic will be the secret to saving their family, but she's soon forced to wonder if it could tear them apart.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-Silly's family is in distress. Moving to their New Hampshire summer house, which was supposed to help, has only exacerbated her mother's drinking problem. Silly's father finds refuge in his academic study of fairy tales, leaving 11-year-old Silly and her three sisters to fend for themselves. Silly resents the fact that her siblings view her as the baby, and exclude her from the secrets they hide behind their bedroom doors. But the day their mother finally turns her wrath on Silly, the bedroom door cracks open and Astrid pulls Silly into the room to share their secret: the bedroom closet is a magic portal that allows the girls to escape to worlds of their creating. "We let the closet take care of us" Astrid explains, "and it always does." Silly soon discovers other closets are magical as well, feeding what each girl needs. Not all the girls' desires are benevolent, however, and as the summer wears on, the seductive alternative worlds begin to separate the sisters. Silly realizes the siren call of the closets may soon cause irreparable damage. Haydu masterfully portrays the stress of living with an alcoholic parent. While narrator Silly is most fully voiced, all four sisters are well developed and readers share their pain as they search to fill the void left by their mother, creating a pattern of ever-shifting alliances as they seek balance. But when one of the sisters gets trapped in a closet, the sisters must find the strength to break down doors, both literal and metaphorical. VERDICT A well-crafted blend of realism and fantasy. Give to fans of Holly Goldberg Sloan's Counting By 7s (Dial, 2013) and Sarah Weeks's So B It (Harper, 2004).-Nancy Nadig, Penn Manor School District, Lancaster, PA © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Eleven-year-old Silly and her three older sisters have always tiptoed around their alcoholic mother and her unpredictable moods. Things are even worse this summer now that the family has moved into their mother's childhood home in New Hampshire, and Silly's sisters are acting especially distant. Soon, Silly comes to share in the secret her sisters have been keeping from her: the house's closets can transport them to a magical realm. It also turns out that Silly can manipulate this magic in a way that none of her sisters can. Like the dancing princesses of fairy-tale legend, the girls discover new wonders and gain much-needed escapes from their day-to-day lives whenever they go inside. Each closet is different, and while some bring delight or contain memories, others hold darker secrets. The siblings' relationships are complex and believable, and their pain at their fractured family life is raw and real. Haydu (Making Pretty) makes skilled use of her story's fantastical overlay to create a haunting narrative about the ways family members can fail-but also support-each other. Ages 8-12. Agent: Victoria Marini, Gelfman Schneider. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
When eleven-year-old Priscillas family moves into Moms childhood home, the secrecy between her oldest sisters Astrid and Eleanor, and later including next-oldest sister Marla, becomes infuriating: Why is the youngest always left out? Priscilla eventually learns that the houses closets perform varying types of magic: one transports the sisters into worlds Astrid has created in dioramas; another reveals family memories. The escape afforded by the magic closets fulfills an increasing need as Moms troubled mental state and unpredictable behavior worsen: shes drinking too much, wandering the house all night, and suddenly talking about a sister shes never mentioned before. The solution to that mystery lies in the closet worlds, but not in the way the girls (or readers) imagine. Haydus contemplative voice and pace may be better suited to young adult realism (OCD Love Story, rev. 9/13; Life by Committee, rev. 7/14), but her first fantasy novel for younger readers is full of nuanced relationships. Theres Marlas desperate attachment to borderline-abusive Mom, which becomes hard for her to bear when Mom is sent away to a rehab center. Theres spacey Dad, a folklore professor who brings up the relevant Twelve Dancing Princesses tale but whos oblivious when Marla gets stuck in the darkest of the closet worlds. Whether the magic is shedding light on family secrets or turning some fabric scraps into warm, glowing stars that comfort Priscilla, it exists to serve the real world. shoshana flax (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Four sisters escape a difficult home life by spending more and more time in their magical closets. Narrated in first person by 11-year-old Silly, this story is saturated with the deep sadness felt by four daughters whose mother is drinking, depressed, and unpredictably cruel to them. When the sisters discover that their closets are gateways to magical worlds, they begin to use them to seek solace and to try to learn about the source of their mother's problems. When one sister, Marla, becomes trapped inside a closet, her sisters save her by convincing her of the wonders she's missing in the real world beyond the closet door. There are many lessons here: that magic exists in both the mysterious and the mundane, that the same magic can heal or hurt, and that it is precisely when trouble and grief make us want to isolate ourselves that we most need to seek the comfort and the strength of those who care about us. The plot, while plagued by some loose ends, is compelling, and the sisters are distinctive and interesting characters. It is the sadness, though, that takes center stage. There is hope here as well, but it feels small and almost peripheral. A tough read, this story of tragedy, magic, and sisterhood does proffer some rewards for readers who stick with it. (Magical realism. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* This lyrical story of love and loss realistic but interwoven with light fantasy beautifully captures the unbreakable bond between 11-year-old Silly and her family. Silly and her older siblings, Marla and twins Eleanor and Astrid, have moved permanently from Massachusetts to their summer house in New Hampshire. I shouldn't be lonely when I have three sisters, Silly thinks. Yet she is because they all keep disappearing into their rooms and shutting her out. Their mother drinks excessively and is severely depressed, and their fairy tale-loving professor father is in a state of denial. After Astrid and Eleanor discover that the house's closets are magical, each sister finds inside them what they want even if, in the end, it's not good for them. Marla begins spending so much time there that her father forgets who she is, forcing Silly to embrace the special spark of magic inside her to help her and her sisters save Marla. The way the sisters fight and love in equal measure, as well as their basic need for one another, rings poignantly true in this touching and heartwarming story, which contains a tiny bit of magic, right here in the real world. --Rawlins, Sharon Copyright 2015 Booklist