★ 02/29/2016
Finley, 11, is sent to spend her summer at Hart House, her estranged grandparents’ country estate, while her parents deal with their divorce. Feeling like a stranger among her own family, she finds solace in the woods across the river because she believes them to be the real version of the magical Everwood she writes about. Legrand (The Year of Shadows) weaves portions of Finley’s tales seamlessly through the novel, building a foundation of understanding for Finley’s feelings of isolation and overwhelming sadness. As Finley allows her cousins into her imaginary world, she begins to trust her family and build friendships, but these new feelings of acceptance do not keep Finley’s depression and anxiety at bay. Legrand handles the tough subject of childhood mental health gently and honestly, and—through the dual narratives of Finley’s real and fantasy lives—paints a realistic picture of a girl trying to figure out what’s wrong with her. Finley’s quest to uncover family secrets reveals not just what kept her father away from his relatives but how a family sticks together through good times and bad. Ages 8–12. Agent: Diana Fox, Fox Literary. (May)
Some Kind of Happiness
Narrated by Tina Wolstencroft
Claire LegrandUnabridged — 9 hours, 34 minutes
Some Kind of Happiness
Narrated by Tina Wolstencroft
Claire LegrandUnabridged — 9 hours, 34 minutes
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Overview
¿ Her parents, who are having problems. (But they pretend like they're not.)
¿ Being sent to her grandparents' house for the summer.
¿ Never having met said grandparents.
¿ Her blue days-when life feels overwhelming, and it's hard to keep her head up. (This happens a lot.)
Finley's only retreat is the Everwood, a forest kingdom that exists in the pages of her notebook. Until she discovers the endless woods behind her grandparents' house and realizes the Everwood is real-and holds more mysteries than she'd ever imagined, including a family of pirates that she isn't allowed to talk to, trees covered in ash, and a strange old wizard living in a house made of bones. With the help of her cousins, Finley sets out on a mission to save the dying Everwood and uncover its secrets. But as the mysteries pile up and the frightening sadness inside her grows, Finley realizes that if she wants to save the Everwood, she'll first have to save herself.
Contains mature themes.
Editorial Reviews
"Depression and anxiety are usually reserved for YA fare, so it’s refreshing to see those matters brought to younger readers and especially to those kids strug- gling to voice emotions they don’t yet understand. Legrand handles the topic with sensitivity and compassion. . . ."
*"A quiet magic is at work in Legrand’s novel, in which she adeptly interweaves Fin’s imaginative writing with the real-life narrative, underpinning all with an appeal to honesty and self-acceptance. This beautiful and reflective tale carries echoes of Katherine Patterson’s The Bridge to Terabithia (1977) and will resonate with thoughtful readers who enjoy pondering life’s bigger questions."
Imagine if Wednesday Addams had written THE PRINCESS BRIDE and you’ve got some kind of idea of SOME KIND OF HAPPINESS — a dark and meditative fantasy written with Claire Legrand’s signature light touch.
*Nominated by the Mystery Writers of America for the 2017 Edgar Award*
“Finley’s marvelous adventure will resonate with anyone who has battled a broken heart through the power of story. The courage she finds along the way will leave you cheering - and believing in magic - even in the darkest part of the woods.
"Depression and anxiety are usually reserved for YA fare, so it’s refreshing to see those matters brought to younger readers and especially to those kids strug- gling to voice emotions they don’t yet understand. Legrand handles the topic with sensitivity and compassion. . . ."
"Depression and anxiety are usually reserved for YA fare, so it’s refreshing to see those matters brought to younger readers and especially to those kids strug- gling to voice emotions they don’t yet understand. Legrand handles the topic with sensitivity and compassion. . . ."
03/01/2016
Gr 4–7—A multilayered plot, engaging characters, and more than one mystery highlight this ambitious novel. Eleven-year-old Finley spends a summer with her grandparents and a swarm of other relatives from her father's side of the family. Suffering from depression which is amplified by her parents' likely divorce, Finley escapes through writing. She creates elaborate tales about the magical Everwood forest, featuring herself as "the orphan girl." Everwood tales, neatly inserted into the narrative, parallel her own worries and triumphs. Exploring the real forest near her grandparents' home brings her hope; so do new friendships with her cousins and a trio of wild neighbor boys. As she defies her grandparents and tries to keep her debilitating "blue days" a secret, Finley also discovers family secrets from the past. She narrates most of the story in first person, present tense, with short paragraphs, formal language, and careful observation that establish her as an astute, intelligent, and very interesting protagonist. Finley inserts lists that help her make sense of things, along with frequent parenthetical asides that reveal her continual self-doubts. Multiple supporting characters are well drawn, becoming further developed as Finley learns more about each one. The central mystery, involving a fire, takes a while to resolve, but it's really Finley and her developing relationships with her extended family members that resonate most strongly. VERDICT Though the measured pace and mix of narrative styles will challenge some readers, Legrand successfully weaves it all into a rich, nuanced tale that culminates in a convincing and satisfying conclusion.—Steven Engelfried, Wilsonville Public Library, OR
2016-03-02
Sometimes stories are a means of survival. Unhappy children often like to pretend that their parents aren't really their parents and that they secretly belong to a royal family. Finley is not a member of a royal family, but she's staying with long-lost relatives for the summer, by a deep forest. Her mom and dad are "having problems" and "need some space to work it out." Her father refuses to say why he stopped talking to his parents all those years ago, and clearly both house and family are full of secrets. Finley does her best to adjust and to get to know her relatives, and she begins writing fantasy stories about a deep forest and an orphan girl and a queen. Finley has a secret of her own. She's living with depression and anxiety, and the stories she writes on paper help her defend herself against the painful stories in her head. Legrand has pulled off a difficult trick in this novel. She's constructed a story-within-a-story fairy tale that's utterly compelling but sounds as though it was written by an 11-year-old girl. Finley's own story is even more compelling. Some of the family secrets are telegraphed too far in advance to be shocking, and some of the dialogue is too bluntly on-the-nose. But by the time the secrets are revealed, most readers will be too caught up in the story to stop reading. A layered, thoughtful exploration. (Fiction. 8-12)
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940159461667 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Tantor Audio |
| Publication date: | 10/31/2023 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Sales rank: | 1,131,035 |
| Age Range: | 8 - 11 Years |
Read an Excerpt
Some Kind of Happiness
HE IS COMING.
She is coming.
It was the beginning of summer. There were soft breezes in the air, and the Everwood was using them to speak.
The ancient guardians used spells and charms to weave a golden cage around the secret at the heart of the Everwood.
But still the secret grew and darkened, deep underground. It reached for the roots of the great Everwood trees like poison. Someday it would rise. Someday, soon, it would escape.
But those who lived in the Everwood—the witches and the goblins, the barrows and the fairies and the wood spirits—knew nothing of this. They turned their faces to the trees and listened, as they did every day.
Today the message was different.
She is coming, whistled the Everwood winds.
She is coming, rustled the Everwood leaves.
“Who?” the creatures of the forest asked. “Who is coming?”
The little orphan girl, groaned the trees. She carries a great sadness inside her. We must put our hope in her nevertheless.
And the guardians stood at the edge of the wood and gazed into the sun, waiting.
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