Defiance [Hardcover]

Valerie Hobbs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 26, 2004 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Winner of the 2008 National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) in the Children's Products competition.

 

A memorable trio of characters, each fighting for independence

Eleven-year-old Toby Steiner wants to do normal things on his vacation: he wants to hike and race his bike down the hill and learn to fish out on the lake. The last thing he wants is to return to the children’s hospital where his painful cancer treatment finally ended. When Toby starts spending time with Pearl, a spunky old woman who lives on a nearby farm, and Blossom, her broken-down cow, he sees all the more reason to keep the new lump on his side a secret from his parents. From Pearl he discovers the beauty of poetry, and from Blossom he just might uncover the meaning of life.

In this honest and life-affirming novel for young readers, which Suzanne Fisher Staples, author of the Newbery Honor Book Shabanu, calls “beautiful and gripping,” an unforgettable boy learns about the importance of letting things happen on their own and listening to his heart.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 4-7. Toby's cancer has recurred, but he defiantly determines not to share this information with his parents. The prospect of hospitalization and additional painful treatments are more than the 11-year-old can bear. His decision is reinforced after he meets and befriends a fiercely independent, elderly neighbor, Pearl, once a famous poet who hasn't published for years. Although she is in her 90s and nearly blind, Pearl stubbornly refuses to leave her tumbledown home to live with her daughters. Drawn together by their mutual affection for Pearl's beloved cow, Blossom, these two characters gradually develop a mutually supportive and loving friendship, which, with the death of Blossom as a catalyst, helps them reclaim their lives and a promising future. Occasionally predictable in both plot and characterization, the story is nonetheless emotionally satisfying, and Hobbs, a gifted writer, does a quietly effective job of dramatizing the life-affirming power of both poetry and a cross-generational friendship. Michael Cart
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Real and poignant." -- Starred, Kirkus Reviews

 

"This gripping story will send fans searching for this author's previous books."  -- SIGNAL

 

"Emotionally satisfying.  Hobbs, a gifted writer, does a quietly effective job of dramatizing the life-affirming power of both poetry and a cross-generational friendship."  -- Booklist

 

"Without morbidity, Hobbs ranges between tart and poignant, sorrowful rage and hope."  -- The Horn Book

 

"This simple, touching story offers great characterization."  -- VOYA

 

"A heartwarming story of self-discovery." --A YALSA Teen YA Galley Reader

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (August 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374308470
• ISBN-13: 978-0374308476
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,315,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

What I've learned in all the years since I began writing is that each of us has at least one special story to tell. Some stories are sad, some funny, but all are as unique as our fingerprints. We are storytellers, every one of us. Some of us just have to write those stories down. I didn't always want to be a writer though. What I longed for most was to be an ice skater, but when I was fifteen I moved with my family from New Jersey to California and there went the ice.

My first short story began with a journal entry written when I was nineteen, after a close friend of mine met with a tragic accident. Many years later, that same story became the basis for my first novel, How Far Would You Have Gotten If I Hadn't Called You Back . Eight novels have followed, with three more to come in the next few years. Writing is the hardest work I've ever done, but by far the most fun.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Execellent Everybody Book, April 18, 2006

By 

Book Worm - See all my reviews

This review is from: Defiance (Hardcover)

This book is a heart-warming, couragous story. I found myself smiling and by the end, shedding a few tears! What a great story about life, relationships, feelings and more. A must read for anyone!!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cancer Kid, February 21, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Defiance (Hardcover)

The thing about cancer is that only a person who has it knows how hard it really is to take care of the problem. It's not like you get to pick if you have it or not, it just happens.

In the book DEFIANCE a boy about 11 years old finds another lump on his side, He gets real scared, trust me if I had cancer and I found a lump on my side I would be worried too.

The one big mistake someone with cancer can do is not tell anyone and let it get worse. I know how hard it must be for the parents because they worry all the time. My grandma has lung cancer, and she dosn't even smoke. It's real hard to just leave them alone but you have to learn to and that is what this whole book is all about really, he wants his mom to leave him alone about his problem but is comes back and he just doesn't want to go through it agian. I wouldn't want to eather.

Toby meets someone who helps him make the right choices in the end so he soesn't make dumb ones, like not getting the treatment he needs for his cancer. he just wishes he could be a normal kid and that is what put this book together, the choices he made, and how he made them.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, May 4, 2010

By 

Social Work "Graduate Student" (hempstead, NY, US) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Defiance (Paperback)

I had to read this book for my Graduate social work elective course Grief, Loss & Bereavement and think about how I would use this in a group session or curriculum for children. I absolutely loved it and think that it is an excellent book for children ages 11-13. Especially, young boys. I highly recommend this book for social workers, counselors, parents or anyone one who is working with children who are facing sickness and disease. It also touches on death and relationship with the elderly. Absolutely loved it!