You Take The High Road,New

Product DescriptionAn Austrailian girl's dream of being an older sister is fulfilled, until a tragic accident shatters her family, and she must pick up the pieceswith the support of a caring teacher and a special boyfriendFrom Publishers WeeklySamantha, 15, believes that everything good has left the world when her baby brother dies. Sam had anticipated Nicholas's arrival every bit as much as her parents had, and witnessing his birth was like experiencing a miracle. With the help of new friends and a sensitive teacher, Sam begins to cope with her despair, but life at home remains difficult. Only by recognizing that change is inevitable does the girl come to understand the nature of loss and her parents' reactions. Sam becomes more open about her feelings, forgives her mother for the tragic accident and accepts her father's emotional withdrawal and eventual departure. While it explores the pain of grief, this first novel's focus is on recovery. Pershall's downtoearth style is tempered by poetic moments of insight; she treats the subjects of birth and death with extraordinary grace. As Samantha's life is touched by her brother's brief existence, readers will be touched by the truths revealed throughout this book. Ages 12up.Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.From School Library JournalGrade 712 Through firstperson narration, Samantha recounts several years of her life in a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. During those years Samantha's mother has a baby, Nicholas, whose birth creates some upheaval in an already uncomfortable family situation, and whose death by drowning at age two causes the family to fall apart. In the course of the story, readers are confronted with issues of abortion, work outside the home, pregnancy and natural childbirth (presented in a vivid and moving manner), death, dysfunctional and failed marriages, cynicism about relationships, the trauma of moving away from a secure neighborhood and loved ones, adolescent friendships and love, close interactions with teachers, and ways of dealing with grief. While Samantha's feelings and actions are clearly described and her relationship with her mother and with her friends is realistically portrayed, the introduction of so many plot elements and the contrived flashbacks used to reveal them keep the story from flowing smoothly. Because of the density of events, characters' growth has to be explained more often than it is revealed. The ending of the story, as Samantha flies off to spend a year with her grandmother in the United States, with her grief still new and her reconciliations with others somewhat superficial, suggests, unfortunately, that to take the 'high road' of the title may be to walk away from things that hurt. A book only for libraries with a high demand for firstperson comingofage stories or fiction about death. Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, LaramieCopyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.