From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-- Almost-13-year-old Maggie has a loving mother, a terrific young stepmother, and a father whose delight in seeing her each summer is apparent. This year, there's an infant half-sister for Maggie to meet. The status quo is perfect. But even before her arrival at the rented marsh-side cottage, the girl senses that something isn't right. Her father's anger is barely under control; the relationship between him and his wife is rapidly deteriorating; and Maggie is too young to understand fully the troubles that are destroying them. When she learns that her father's health is poor, and he confesses that he has lost his job and hasn't told his wife, she feels mired in a marsh of complex adult emotions. As she tries to sort things out, she sees a blue heron. It becomes a symbol in her life, especially when she discovers that someone is trying to kill it with a bow and arrow. This is a complex novel, and it is needlessly complicated by symbolism. An overburdened story line about the heron's would-be killer, a lonely boy, is never fully explored and serves to muddle rather than enrich and enhance. The important thread, that of a happy family coming apart because of events seemingly beyond their control--depression, poor health, unemployment--is poignant enough without further intricacies. --Marjorie Lewis, Scarsdale Junior High School, NY
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
A versatile author whose popular books include rousing historical adventures (The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, 1990, Newbery Honor) and sparkling satire (Nothing But the Truth, 1991) portrays a contemporary family under unusual stress. Flying in for her annual visit with her 50-ish father, his young wife Joanna, and their new baby, Maggie (12) hopes that ``nothing about her father [has] changed.'' Not so: Dad is unaccountably snappish and unreasonable. As the vacation on a Connecticut lake progresses, it develops that he's at odds with Joanna and has heart trouble, while even Joanna doesn't know that he lost his job just after the baby's birth and isn't taking his medication. Maggie's plea that he do so precipitates an angry outburst during which Dad nearly dies in an accident. Though sadly credible, Dad's behavior, as observed by Maggie, makes him unsympathetic and hard to like. Meanwhile, Avi draws other relationships with exceptional subtlety, especially Maggie's growing affection for her nice, intelligent stepmother, who in her need reaches out to her like a sister; and Maggie's delicate negotiation with a neighborhood bully, Tucker, who has been stalking a noble great blue heron. The heron, a potent symbol (Dad says it can mean life or death), has been Maggie's preoccupation and solace; in the end, though Dad's adult problems may defy solution, she manages to transform the belligerent Tucker's perception of the awe-inspiring bird. A thoughtful, beautifully crafted story. (Fiction. 11+) --
Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
