Anna Casey's Place in the World [Hardcover]

Adrian Fogelin (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Award-winning author Adrian Fogelin follows up her critically acclaimed young adult novel CROSSING JORDAN with ANNA CASEY’S PLACE IN THE WORLD, the story of a young girl’s trials and triumphs as she tries to find a home. With warmth and humor, Fogelin creates Anna, who must deal with the loss of her family and adjust to living in a foster home. Feeling abandoned and alone, Anna turns to her best friend, her explorer journal. With the help of her journal and a scrawny new friend named Eb, Anna discovers a sense of belonging…and her own place in the world.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-Anna is the heroine of this orphan tale that has no real surprises and the standard, feel-good ending. A 12-year-old who has run out of relatives to care for her, she ends up in a foster home with a distant, first-time foster mother and a 10-year-old boy from a neglectful home. A colorful biology teacher and local conservationist from the neighborhood strike up a friendship with the children, as do Cass and Jemmie, the memorable runners from the author's Crossing Jordan (Peachtree, 2000). Set in the same blue-collar neighborhood during a Florida summer, the plot hinges on Anna's need for permanency and her desire to be accepted for who she is. Numerous subplots, including a homeless Vietnam vet, a wooded area being cleared for a sand mine, an adult romance, and the foster brother's long-term placement, at times detract from the arc of the story. Through her natural-sounding, first-person narrative, Anna comes off as being polite, eager to please, and with a great love of the world around her. Useful as a companion volume to Crossing Jordan or where a quiet story of belonging is needed.

Faith Brautigam, Gail Borden Public Library, Elgin, IL

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-8. Twelve-year-old Anna has a rock from each place she's been; death and divorce have left her with no more relatives. She's placed in foster care in Tallahassee, with a pinched but well-meaning woman who also fosters Eb--younger, asthmatic, acerbic. Eb wants nothing more than to be back with his feckless mom; Anna is heartsore and wants a place where she belongs. As they go through the summer, they meet the neighborhood kids, befriend a homeless Vietnam vet, and hang out with Miss Johnette, a local teacher whose home resembles a natural history diorama. Anna has inner pluck and outer charm: she's been through a lot, but knows what needs to be done. Evocative descriptions bubble up from a deep reality: Miss Johnette laughing from her belly "like a man"; Eb "scooched up" against a car door. And places are found, if not the ones both kids thought they wanted. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Peachtree Publishers; 1st edition (October 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561452491
• ISBN-13: 978-1561452491
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,760,964 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Adrian Fogelin is the daughter of fiction writer, Maria Bontempi Fogelin, and grew up in a house littered with manuscripts. A slow early reader Fogelin took in stories as her mother read aloud, and in the lively exchange of family tales, giving her writing the freshness of the spoken word.

She is the author of seven novels for middle-grade and young adult readers, including the hugely popular "Crossing Jordan," and has won numerous awards including two Florida Book Award gold medals.

Although she might not pass the "Are you really a grownup?" test, Fogelin definitely gets kids, from the way they talk to the things they yearn for. She is a frequent visitor to schools and libraries all over the counry where she shares her love of writing and story.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Arian Fogelin does it again!, October 25, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Anna Casey's Place in the World (Hardcover)

This book was one of the best books I have ever read! In this book Anna and her friend Eb are living with a foster parent named Ms. Dupree and they are trying to fit into her environment! Other events also make this book interesting! This was such a good book I could not stop reading it!In the end Anna learns her place in the world!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Book by Adrian Fogelin!, May 1, 2005

By 

A. K. Adams "AKA" (Tallahassee, Florida-where the book is set!) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anna Casey's Place in the World (Peachtree Junior Publication) (Paperback)

This book is the second in the series about the kids in a neighborhood in Florida (see "Crossing Jordan" for list). The main character is real preteen dealing with the uncertainty of the foster care system. It is a book about a girl who not only survives, but also builds a life for herself and thrives among an unlikely family. She is a character full of life and determination. A great read for 4th grade through beginning high school! This book is full of North Florida local color (the real Florida away from the glow of Disney World). I know because it is set in our town and she captures it to a T with all of its fun and quirkiness! It makes a great read aloud! My son begs me to read more each night!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book should not be judged by its cover !, February 20, 2005

By 

Mary Z. Cox (Tallahassee, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anna Casey's Place in the World (Peachtree Junior Publication) (Paperback)

I love the characters in this book. They have flaws and virtues and could all realistically exist in the pretend neighborhood of Anna Casey's world. (which is loosely based on a a very real neighborhood that is located a few blocks from the school where I am a media specialist.) Many of the students that have already read, "Crossing Jordan," eagerly read this second novel of Adrian Fogelin and enjoy it very much. Not only because they recognize characters from the first book, but because there is much adventure and character driven
comedy in this book as well.
I have always felt that the cover of this book did not reflect the quality of the story within. I noticed that the cover has been changed--but it is still a cover to attract elementary school girls--while there is much in this story to interest both elementary and middle school boys as well. I'd like to see the Vietnam vet portrayed with a wooded scene and the two main characters hiding from him on the cover. This book is well written and entertaining and still deserves a more intriguing cover.