Overview / 简介: |
| with her mother in a coma, twelve-year-old Livie struggles to come to grips with guilt, faith and family in this powerful story set deep in the lush Louisiana bayou. |
From Organization / 国外机构评价: |
| From School Library Journal
Gr 5-8–Guilt-ridden because she believes she caused the accident that resulted in her mother being in a coma, 11-year-old Livie is terrified to tell anyone for fear they will hate her. She and her mother have never been close, but she adores her father and spends a lot of time with him in the Louisiana swamps where they live. Daddy chooses to care for Mamma at home, believing it will hasten her recovery, and Livie can't bear to touch her, which causes friction with her older sister and the aunt who's come to help out. Because she desperately wants her mother to be well, the girl visits a traiteur who lives deep in the bayou to obtain a healing spell guaranteed to work if Livie has faith. The setting is beautifully described and the protagonist is well-defined. However, the book is too long for the plot. Readers will figure out how the accident happened long before the characters do. The ending, with the mother waking from her weeks-long coma one night, talking to her drowsing husband, going to her art studio and finishing a painting, then returning to bed and to unconsciousness, is rather far-fetched. It isn't clear whether the author wanted the event to be mystical or miraculous, but it definitely isn't realistic.–Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SCα(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Eleven-year-old Livie is terrified when her father insists that they bring her comatose mother home from the hospital. How can she look at, much less touch and care for, Mamma when she alone knows that she caused her illness? As Mamma continues to languish in bed, Livie grows more and more estranged from her family, a chasm that begins to close only after she gathers her courage to visit the local traiteur, who gives her the formula for a healing spell. As Livie collects the spell's necessary ingredients, she begins to open up to the knowledge that she is loved and cherished by her family. Little explores the extremes of childhood guilt and its consequences in this harsh yet well-crafted story about fully drawn people. The bayou, with its rich culture, is an atmospheric character that overlays the story with mystery and dread. A special offering for readers seeking a challenge of the heart as well as the mind. Grades 5-8. --Frances Bradburn --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. |
Foreign Customer Review / 国外客户评价: |
| The Healing Spell by Kimberly Griffiths Little is a surprisingly wonderful book. Although written for the middle graders, all the adults that I know who have read it have found it moving, engaging, and deeply satisfying. I started it on one day and couldn't put it down until I finished it late into the night. The story grabs you and pulls you along.
Livie lives in the bayous of Louisiana with her family. Her mother has been injured and is in a coma. Her father brings her home to hopefully recover, although the hospital doesn't give her much chance. Eleven year old Livie is a middle child who doesn't feel like she fits in her family and is carrying a terrible secret about her mother's injury and feels she must do something to help her recover from her "sleeping sickness."
It is a story told through Livie's eyes and mind. It is about a family's healing, loving and reaching out to each other.
The characters are fully drawn and realistic and the settings are lush. Every character is one you can understand and sympathize with, no stock bad guys or wicked stepsisters here. The book deals with universal truths and feelings and draws you in beautifully.
The author shows great skill in the storytelling, revealing the plot in natural and intriguing ways. Brief descriptions are woven naturally into the story vividly enough you can visualize everything and the narrative never lags.
You will cry at the end of the book but not out of sadness but because you have been touched so deeply and profoundly. It may even help you heal and understand yourself. It is a book about family, faith, healing, and reconciliation. There is a healing spell in it, but it is really about the magic in love and faith and commitment. Youths will identify with it but even more so do adults. It would also make a good read aloud book for the family. I couldn't recommend it more highly. |
About the Author / 作者介绍: |
| When I was a kid I always wanted to be one of those authors that "lived" inside the card catalog. Let me tell you, it's a fun place to hang out!
I adore Louisiana, Paris, Bulgaria, England, Scotland, Egypt, and anything old and musty and delicious.
I grew up in San Francisco, but now live in an adobe house on the banks of the Rio Grande. I think I've drunk so much Land of Enchantment water that some of that ancient magic got into my blood and now spurts out my pencil--I mean ergonomic keyboard. |
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