Chicago Blues [Hardcover]

Julie Reece Deaver (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up | Grade Level: 6 and up

What would you do if you were told to kidnap your sister?Lissa Hastings has a big problem. Her mother, who used to be a semi-well-known cabaret singer, has now become a very well known alcoholic who realizes that she can't take care of Lissa's eleven-year-old sister Marnie any more. She tells Lissa that if she can't trick Marnie into leaving home and going to live with her, she's going to turn Marnie over to Social Services.
Lissa doesn't know how she's going to handle becoming a single parent overnight. She's the youngest student at a prestigious art school in Chicago, and if it weren't for the miniature rooms that she's been lucky enough to sell to collectors, she'd have practically no money at all. What she doesn't know yet is that having her high-spirited younger sister come and live with her is going to be one of the richest experiences in her life.
Chicago Blues is a funny and heartwarming story about two sisters trying to make a life together in the big city.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The opening sentence of Deaver's (Say Goodnight, Gracie) latest is bound to rivet the attention of even a jaded reader: "I have just kidnapped my eleven-year-old sister, although she doesn't know it yet." A first-semester scholarship student at a prestigious Chicago art school, Lissa is handed the job of temporary parent for her 11-year-old sister, Marnie, when their mother's alcoholism reels out of control. In the months that follow, Lissa must balance her work (she creates perfectly scaled miniature rooms) with her largely successful efforts to provide a stable home for Marnie. She also embarks on a fledgling romance with Daniel, a charismatic fellow artist. Though "rock-solid responsible" Lissa is generally unflappable, the subtle undercurrents of her pent-up anger occasionally surface-most memorably in the neatly constructed scene revolving around the unexpected appearance of the girls' country-singer father and his second wife. A crisp and amiable look at believable characters coping with trying circumstances. Ages 11-14.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9?A pleasant if fanciful story of family disarray in which the children are far more mature than their dysfunctional parents. Marnie, 11, is forced to move in with her 17-year-old sister, an art student, when alcoholism overwhelms their mother. The two girls learn to live together and depend on one another, but then Mom wants Marnie back once her drinking is under control. This would make a good made-for-TV movie: happy ending, local color, a bit weepy. But the characters are stereotyped and the intensity is weakened by the plot's blithe unreality. For two examples, 17-year-old girls are simply not allowed to register sixth graders in a public school, and it's not clear why the mother quits drinking now and never before. Appealing, but lightweight.?Kathy Fritts, Jesuit High School, Portland, OR
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (June 30, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060246758
• ISBN-13: 978-0060246754
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,801,878 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Readers, thanks for stopping by! For information about my books, please visit my website at www.JulieDeaver.com. You can also contact me at [e-mail]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and heartbreaking!, July 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Chicago Blues (Hardcover)

The first sentence grabs you and pulls you right into this story of a seventeen year old college girl named Lissa who suddenly finds out she must raise her little sister all by herself in the big city. This novel reads like a screenplay with snappy dialogue between the sisters as they try to carve out a new life for themselves in Chicago. I highly recommend this book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A heart warming book!!, June 4, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Chicago Blues (Hardcover)

This book is a very heartwarming book. This is the second book I have read by Julie Reece Deaver, and it is the second best book I have ever read,just falling short of the best which is "Say Goodnitght,Gracie", also by Deaver. Marnie is just a little girl who is forced to live with her older sister, Lissa who is just a child herself, because their mother has a drinking problem. I would reccommend this book to anyone who is looking for a heartwarming story about a little girl and her sister who have everyday struggles and have to survive with just each other.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Blues but not music., April 25, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Chicago Blues (Hardcover)

This is a story of two girls who's mom is having drinking problems. The eldest is asked to take her little sister with her to Chicago. There is only one delima she doesn't want to stay with her, she wants to go home. They are having problems with getting along when suddenly their dad shows up and he is not approved by the eldest. He is always staying out late with her little sister without asking her. Are her problems solved? That's something you'll just have to find out when you read the book. This easy read book catches your attention and you can't put it down once you start!