★ 12/10/2018
Henkes’s profound understanding of the adolescent heart and mind is evident as always in this story of two 12-year-olds frustrated by their parents. Amelia wanted to go to Florida for spring break, but her father, who hates to travel, has refused. Stuck at home in Madison, Wis., with her melancholy dad and their housekeeper, Mrs. O’Brien, her only respite is sessions at the nearby clay studio, where she’s been sculpting since she was six. The first day of break, she’s surprised to see a stranger there: the owner’s nephew, Casey, who is staying with his aunt while his parents work on their failing marriage. Finding a kindred spirit in each other is the first of many unexpected events that occur that week. While the two are in a coffee shop, Casey has an “eerie” sensation about a woman outside the window. He’s convinced that she’s Amelia’s long-dead mother (“Sort of like a ghost, but she’s real”), and Amelia determines to discover who she is. In economic prose, Henkes (The Year of Billy Miller ) evokes the complexity of his characters’ emotions and relationships, and offers a feel-good resolution. Ages 8–12. (Mar.)
Deeply felt. . .moving and satisfying, and the book ends with a feeling of revelation and rebirth. . .and an utterly perfect final sentence.” — New York Times Book Review
“A shimmering novel that touches on human frailty, the consolations of art, and the mysteries of growing up.” — Wall Street Journal
“Captured on the threshold of puberty’s tumultuous changes, Amelia and Casey quiver with hope and longing. Like a Chinese brush painting made of words, this short novel distills the slow-building impatience of early adolescence down to its essence—not much happens, yet everything does. . . . Spare, luminous, lovely.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Henkes’s profound understanding of the adolescent heart and mind is evident . . . In economic prose, Henkes evokes the complexity of his characters’ emotions and relationships, and offers a feel-good resolution.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“In that confusing space between childhood and adulthood, Amelia finds comfort in talking to her beloved stuffed lamb even as she experiences her first crush and wonders ‘what kind of woman she would be when she grew up.’ The week’s cheerlessness morphs into something complex and important.” — Horn Book (starred review)
“A stunning realistic fiction novel, Amelia’s story is woven tightly with themes of friendship, grief, and love. In his signature classic style, Henkes perfectly captures the hope paramount to the youthful heart, while honoring difficult themes. . . [A] smooth, compact, emotionally nuanced novel with relatable characters.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
“Amelia is a winning character: a dreamy, old soul who perfectly displays the naivety and the wisdom of growing up. Humor and lyrical language buoy the . . . narrative. Henkes’s latest story is, like most life changes, quiet yet momentous.” — ALA Booklist
“Henkes writes in still pools with occasional ripples, a clarity of approach that gives his writing immediacy along with precision. . .Readers will sympathize with [Amelia] as she negotiates some complicated human dynamics and comes out with more understanding.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Henkes is the master of quiet yet potent observation, and this slender novel sensitively maps the heart of a girl on the cusp of ‘whatever was still to come.’” — Cleveland Plain Dealer
In that confusing space between childhood and adulthood, Amelia finds comfort in talking to her beloved stuffed lamb even as she experiences her first crush and wonders ‘what kind of woman she would be when she grew up.’ The week’s cheerlessness morphs into something complex and important.
Horn Book (starred review)
Deeply felt. . .moving and satisfying, and the book ends with a feeling of revelation and rebirth. . .and an utterly perfect final sentence.
New York Times Book Review
Henkes is the master of quiet yet potent observation, and this slender novel sensitively maps the heart of a girl on the cusp of ‘whatever was still to come.’
A shimmering novel that touches on human frailty, the consolations of art, and the mysteries of growing up.
Amelia is a winning character: a dreamy, old soul who perfectly displays the naivety and the wisdom of growing up. Humor and lyrical language buoy the . . . narrative. Henkes’s latest story is, like most life changes, quiet yet momentous.
Henkes writes in still pools with occasional ripples, a clarity of approach that gives his writing immediacy along with precision. . .Readers will sympathize with [Amelia] as she negotiates some complicated human dynamics and comes out with more understanding.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
A shimmering novel that touches on human frailty, the consolations of art, and the mysteries of growing up.
Henkes writes in still pools with occasional ripples, a clarity of approach that gives his writing immediacy along with precision. . .Readers will sympathize with [Amelia] as she negotiates some complicated human dynamics and comes out with more understanding.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
In that confusing space between childhood and adulthood, Amelia finds comfort in talking to her beloved stuffed lamb even as she experiences her first crush and wonders ‘what kind of woman she would be when she grew up.’ The week’s cheerlessness morphs into something complex and important.
Horn Book (starred review)
Henkes writes in still pools with occasional ripples, a clarity of approach that gives his writing immediacy along with precision. . .Readers will sympathize with [Amelia] as she negotiates some complicated human dynamics and comes out with more understanding.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
★ 03/01/2019
Gr 4 Up– Amelia Albright wakes on the first day of her spring break with low expectations for a dull week at home. While she thinks everyone else is relaxing in Florida, her vacation turns out to be anything but ordinary. As Amelia strikes up an unexpected friendship with Casey, the nephew of the owner of the art studio Amelia frequents, she wavers on the edge of feelings she has never before experienced. Casey confides in Amelia about the emotional pain with which he's struggling as he watches his parents' marriage crumble. When the pair sees a woman around town resembling Amelia's deceased mother, they theorize she is the embodiment of her spirit. While Amelia becomes increasingly hopeful about the possibility of her mother still being alive, her father's guarded personal life threatens to upset the balance of their predictable family. Guided with love and understanding by her neighbor, Mrs. O'Brien, Amelia's heart will awaken to feelings of sorrow, love, and grace. A stunning realistic fiction novel, Amelia's story is woven tightly with themes of friendship, grief, and love. In his signature classic style, Henkes perfectly captures the hope paramount to the youthful heart, while honoring difficult themes with which young readers can identify. Readers struggling with difficult family situations will identify with the protagonists. VERDICT This smooth, compact, emotionally nuanced novel with relatable characters should be a first purchase for every library where readers' hearts are ready to melt.—Amy McInerney, Falmouth Elementary School, ME
Narrator Lisa Flanagan’s calm, uniform voice matches the tone of this sensitive story about two 12-year-olds who are navigating a new friendship and difficult emotions. Amelia’s mother died when she was a baby, and her father is still emotionally distant and grieving. An artist, Amelia finds sanctuary is a nearby clay studio where she meets a kindred spirit in the owner’s visiting nephew, Casey, whose parents are contemplating divorce. The story relies on observations of the characters’ nuanced emotions rather than dialogue or fast-paced action, and this is where Flanagan shines. Her measured narration honors Henkes’s lyrical language—but balances it with authentic, relatable portrayals of the two young people. S.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Narrator Lisa Flanagan’s calm, uniform voice matches the tone of this sensitive story about two 12-year-olds who are navigating a new friendship and difficult emotions. Amelia’s mother died when she was a baby, and her father is still emotionally distant and grieving. An artist, Amelia finds sanctuary is a nearby clay studio where she meets a kindred spirit in the owner’s visiting nephew, Casey, whose parents are contemplating divorce. The story relies on observations of the characters’ nuanced emotions rather than dialogue or fast-paced action, and this is where Flanagan shines. Her measured narration honors Henkes’s lyrical language—but balances it with authentic, relatable portrayals of the two young people. S.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
★ 2018-11-12
A seventh-grader in 1999 wonders when her real life will start—this spring break, she'll find out.
Her friend Natalie is spending a year in France, while Amelia's widowed, emotionally distant father won't even take her to Florida for one week! Love, support, and the excellent baking of their housekeeper, Mrs. O'Brien, a neighbor in her 70s, partly reconcile Amelia to staying home in Madison, Wisconsin, where at least she'll have time for creating ceramic animals at Louise's clay studio. At first Amelia's dismayed to find a strange boy there—it's Louise's nephew, Casey, visiting while his parents go on a retreat, hoping to save their failing marriage. Casey confesses that his campaign to keep them together isn't going well. Amelia can relate. Her mother died when Amelia was 2; with her father seldom home and Natalie in France, she feels unsettled and adrift. Active imaginations and shared creativity strengthen the preteens' bond. Spotting a woman who resembles Amelia, Casey suggests she could be her mother, possibly reborn. Pursuing this intriguing idea spawns unexpected developments that spur Amelia's emotional growth (reflected in the Emily Dickinson poem quoted in the title). Captured on the threshold of puberty's tumultuous changes, Amelia and Casey quiver with hope and longing. Like a Chinese brush painting made of words, this short novel distills the slow-building impatience of early adolescence down to its essence—not much happens, yet everything does. The primary cast presents white.
Spare, luminous, lovely. (Historical fiction. 8-12)
