Belle Prater's Boy: 1 - Softcover

White PhD MPH MSW, Ruth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1250005604 ISBN 13: 9781250005601

Publisher: Square Fish, 2012

Synopsis

Around 5:00 a.m. on a warm Sunday morning on October 1953, my Aunt Belle left her bed and vanished from the face of the earth.

Everyone in Coal Station, Virginia, has a theory about what happened to Belle Prater, but twelve-year-old Gypsy wants the facts, and when her cousin Woodrow, Aunt Belle's son moves next door, she has her chance. Woodrow isn't as forthcoming as Gypsy hopes, yet he becomes more than just a curiosity to her-- during their sixth-grade year she finds that they have enough in common to be best friends. Even so, Gypsy is puzzled by Woodrow's calm acceptance of his mother's disappearance, especially since she herself has never gotten over her father's death. When Woodrow finally reveals that he's been keeping a secret about his mother, Gypsy begins to understand that there are different ways of finding the strength to face the truth, no matter how painful it is.

Belle Prater's Boy is a 1996 Boston Globe - Horn Book Awards Honor Book for Fiction and a 1997 Newbery Honor Book.

About this title

Review:

"Gypsy, the 12-year-old narrator, is all excited when her cousin Woodrow moves in with their grandparents next door--Woodrow's mother . . . has disappeared without a trace, and Gypsy hopes that Woodrow will divulge some new clues. Instead, she gets a best friend. . . . White creates vivacious, memorable characters." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"An admirable, stirring book." --The New York Times Book Review

From the Author:

Not for everyone. Teachers need to realize this.
This is a very moving and touching book. Gypsy and Woodrow two complete opposites come to realize it's not always greener on the other side and things are not always what they appear to be. This is not a book for all children. Although I found the story to be enjoyable and full of life's lessons my son just didn't get it. He and many of his classmates found the story very hard to follow and understand. This book should be read in school so that someone familiar with the story could help the kids with thier questions.

About this edition

• Publisher: Square Fish
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1250005604
• ISBN 13: 9781250005601
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224