Recalling works by both Han Nolan and Martha Moore, this studiously quirky first novel looks at a small-town Kentucky girl whose contact with an offbeat stranger helps her come to terms with the death of her father, killed the previous summer while piloting a small plane. While her mother is out getting "beautified" at the Clicking Clippers salon, 12-year-old Amelia Forrest opens the door to a born-again ex-convict improbably named Brother Mustard Seed. It turns out that Brother Mustard Seed had met Amelia's father who, as a Baptist missionary, had visited him in prison and showed him the way to the Lord. Now Brother Mustard Seed claims to have had a vision of Amelia's father, telling him to go to Amelia and her mother: "They need your help." Amelia, who narrates, is highly cynical, but her mother decides to "exercise [her] right to be open minded." Meanwhile, Amelia harbors secret feelings of guilt (closing chapters reveal that Amelia is sure that the popper toy she had planted behind his seat had popped out mid-flight and distracted him, causing him to crash). Coincidences mount and Amelia reconsiders her assumptions. She learns to live with questions: being brave, she concludes, means that "sometimes you had to do something without knowing the full reason for doing it." While Walker firmly resolves one of Amelia's quandaries by having her find the toy in question, she leaves the visions and the coincidences open-ended. For all the mannered cast and plot, the conclusion is highly satisfying and accomplished in its deference to readers' imaginations. Ages 10-14. (Apr.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Pray Hard
Narrated by Marguerite Gavin
Pamela WalkerUnabridged — 2 hours, 37 minutes
Pray Hard
Narrated by Marguerite Gavin
Pamela WalkerUnabridged — 2 hours, 37 minutes
Overview
At twelve years old, Amelia Forrest has a lot to pray for: improving her poor grades, mending a strained relationship with her mama, and, most importantly, absolving her guilt over the role she played in her daddy's plane crash. Except that in the year since he died, Amelia has stopped believing in anything. Not prayer. Not miracles. And certainly not the crackpot visions of an ex-convict named Brother Mustard Seed who suddenly appeared at their door claiming to have contact with her daddy.
So when Mama invites him to live with them, it stirs up all sorts of trouble-as well as a deep sorrow that Amelia thought she had put to rest.
By turns sassy and lyrical and wise, Pray Hard is exceptional storytelling from an original new voice.
Editorial Reviews
Gr 4-7-When Amelia Forrest was 11 years old, her crop duster/missionary father died in an airplane accident. Now, a year later, the girl has determined that she and her mama need to find a way to put their lives back together. She's set on a summer of improvement for both of them and has sent her mother off to the beauty parlor while she reads the encyclopedia to improve her grades. Amelia's well-laid plans are interrupted when a strange man comes to the door claiming he's been sent to them by her father, who has appeared to him in a vision. Amelia takes an instant dislike to ex-convict Brother Mustard Seed, whom Jed Forrest had helped rehabilitate, but her mother seems reluctant to let him go. As the summer wears on, the man becomes the catalyst that allows Amelia and her mama to regain a sense of purpose in life and, more importantly, to regain their faith. Set against the background of a rural Southern community, this novel explores the issues of adolescent guilt (Amelia is convinced that she is responsible for her father's death) and the inertia that often overwhelms families in tough situations. Walker's quirky characters are imbued with the spiritual resolve they need to overcome their sorrow and to get on with life. Amelia does not forget her father, but learns to remember and celebrate their relationship in a new and healthy way.-Sharon Grover, Arlington County Department of Libraries, VA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
A clumsy, vision-seeing, forever-weeping ex-convict is the unlikely catalyst in Walker's affecting story of a daughter's emotional healing after the untimely death of her father in a plane accident. Amelia's father Jed kept the field behind his house, which served as the runway for his plane, neatly mowed and debris-free. Before going away on a trip, he would remind his daughter to "keep the runway clear," which Amelia understood meant more than just picking up downed twigs; it meant "taking care of things" until he returned. But now that Jed's never coming home, the runway is literally and metaphorically covered in weeds and trash. Amelia barely passed sixth grade, and she and her mother have both retreated into a world of silent sorrow. The sorrow lies particularly heavy on Amelia, as she believes that she may have accidentally caused her father's death, a subject that so fills her with guilt and shame that she can neither talk about it nor heal. The arrival of Brother Mustard Seed, an annoying, bumbling, over-emotional yet well-meaning "sinner" who claims that he saw Jed in a vision, stirs up the family dynamic and allows Walker to explore the jumbled, quasi-mystical connections between belief and bravery, laughter and letting go. Brother Mustard Seed is an original creation, curious and contradictory, and like Amelia, readers should find him initially irritating though eventually almost endearing. Even if occasionally overburdened by its own symbolism, the book's twangy first person narrative keeps the reader engaged to the touching, tear-inducing end. (Fiction. 10-14)
A clumsy, vision-seeing, forever-sweeping ex-convict is the unlikely catalyst in Walker's affecting story of a daughter's emotional healing after the untimely death of her father in a plane accident. Amelia's father Jed kept the field behind his house, which served as the runway for his plane, neatly mowed and debris-free. Before going away on a trip, he would remind his daugther to "keep the runway clear," which Amelia understood meant more than just picking up downed twigs; it meant "taking care of things" until he returned. But now that Jed's never coming home, the runway is literally and metaphorically covered in weeds and trash. Amelia barely passed sixth grade, and she and her mother have both retreated into a world of silent sorrow. The sorrow lies particularly heavy on Amelia, as she beleives that she may have accidentally caused her father's death, a subject that so fills her with guilt and shame that she can neither talk about it nor heal. The arrival of Brother Mustard Seed, an annoying, bumbling, over-emotional yet well-meaning "sinner" who claims that he saw Jed in a vision, stirs up the family dynamic and allows Walker to explore the jumbled, quasi-mystical connections between belief and bravery, laughter and letting go. Brother Mustard Seed is an original creation, curious and contradictory, and like Amelia, readers should find him intially irritating though eventually almost endearing. Even if occasionally overburdened by its own symbolism, the book's twangy first person narrative keeps the reader engaged to the touching, tear-inducing end.
---Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2001
Walker, a first novelist, offers a multi-layered story told in the memorable Kentucky voice of 12-year-old Amelia Forrest. Amelia's father died more than a year ago in his small plane on a mission of mercy. Since then, nothing has been the same. Her grades and social life have tanked, her mother has gained 50 pounds, and the tiny airstrip behind their house is covered with weeds. But for Amelia, the worst is keeping the secret that she is responsible for her father's death. Then, one day, an old man wearing a cap that says "Pray Hard" appears on her doorstep. He's Brother Mustard Seed, a member of Mr. Forrest's prison fellowship, and he has come because he's seen a vision of Amelia's father. The novel's denouement falls slightly flat, but Walker juggles numerous plot elements with the skill of a more experienced writer, while effectively showcasing larger themes such as belief and death. A fine debut from a writer to watch.
---Booklist, March 1, 2001
When Amelia Forrest was 11 years old, her crop duster/missionary father died in an airplane accident. Now, a year later, the girl has determined that she and her mama need to find a way to put their lives back together. She's set on a summer of improvement for both of them and has sent her mother off to the beauty parlor while she reads the encyclopedia to improve her grades. Amelia's well-laid plans are interrupted when a strange man comes to the door claiming he's been sent to them by her father, who has appeared to him in a vision. Amelia takes an instant dislike to ex-convict Brother Mustard Seed, whom Jed Forrest had helped rehabilitate, but her mother seems reluctant to let him go. As the summer wears on, the man becomes the catalyst that allows Amelia and her mama to regain a sense of purpose in life and, more importantly, to regain their faith. Set against the background of a rural Southern community, this novel explores the issues of adolescent guilt (Amelia is convinced that she is responsible for her father's death) and the inertia that often overwhelms families in tough situations. Walker's quirky characters are imbued with the spiritual resolve they need to overcome their sorrow and to get on with life. Amelia does not forget her rather, but learns to remember and celebrate their relationship in a new and healthy way.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940169862126 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 06/27/2005 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Age Range: | 8 - 11 Years |
Videos
