Going to See Grassy Ella [Hardcover]

Kathryn Lance (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1993

Peggy Jean "Peej" West is a great one for figuring things out. "If she weren't a 12-year-old girl," says her sister, Annie, "she'd probably be a five star general." So when Peej decides that faith healer Graciella Bujold can cure her of cancer, it seems only natural to Annie that the two of them should take off on their way to find her. And no kidnappers or hoodlums are going to stop them from seeing "Grassy Ella!"

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"This is the true story of how my sister and I got kidnapped and broke up an international drug ring." So opens this wild caper of two siblings who leave their home in Ohio for New York City. Their objective: to locate Graciella Bujold, a putative miracle worker whom 12-year-old Peggy Jean ("Peej") believes will help cure her from cancer. With their parents conveniently away at a conference, narrator Annie and Peej begin the adventure with surprising ease. The trouble starts in the city, with the girls' arrival at a sleazy hotel. When their backpacks are stolen, they become embroiled with Ivory, the blue-haired daughter of a drug lord. From Shea Stadium to the modest home of "Grassy Ella," the girls are involved in a wild chase as Peej, mistaken for Ivory, must try to outwit two clumsy kidnappers. While some of the logistics fall together too conveniently and while Peej's condition is at odds with the high action, the story maintains its appeal by virtue of its fast pace and the poignant nature of the girls' quest. Peej indeed overcomes her illness (unlike her real-life model, the author's sister), but Lance wisely includes chemotherapy as part of Peej's recovery, also suggesting that the determination that brought Peej to Grassy Ella may have had some healing power of its own. Ages 9-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-- Annie and Peej travel to New York City to meet a faith healer, hoping that her powers will cure Peej's cancer. Left home while their parents attend a three-day conference, the girls lie to their neighbor, cut school, and fly from Ohio to New York. Peej has planned the trip carefully, but their plans quickly go awry when their backpacks are stolen. Recklessly chasing the thief into the subway tunnels, they meet Ivory, the daughter of a rich mobster. Ivory lives in the subway tunnel but calls her father's limousine to take the sisters to see Graciella, stopping to see a Mets game at Shea Stadium along the way. There, the three are separated, and Annie and Peej are mistakenly kidnapped by a couple of hoodlums who want Ivory in order to keep her father from turning state's evidence. All ends well. The girls get home safely, and their parents are understanding, grounding them for a month, but taking them back to New York to testify. Current headlines aside, the siblings' behavior is unconscionable and dangerous and the plot is unbelievable. In spite of the fast pace and a bit of suspense, readers wanting a good adventure will do much better with Konigsburg's From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (Atheneum, 1970). --Jeanette Larson, Texas State Library, Austin
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 134 pages
• Publisher: Lothrop Lee & Shepard; 1st edition (May 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688121632
• ISBN-13: 978-0688121631
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,415,305 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I knew I wanted to be a writer from the time I was old enough to hold a pencil. I scribbled stories and "novels" from second grade onward. I bought my first typewriter with babysitting money when I was 14. Now, 50+ published books later, I am still at it, still creating stories for both adults and children.

I was raised in Tucson, Arizona, and lived in New York City for twenty years as an adult. Now I'm back in Tucson, and consider it paradise. I live in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains with my wonderful husband and our four cats, Sammy, Gwinny, Tasha, and Google.

I have recently become a volunteer naturalist at a local nature park, where I lead nature walks and sometimes participate in the reptile show.

In addition to writing, I have led many novel-writing workshops, and until recently edited and evaluated manuscripts.

Writing is my profession and my passion.

The pictures here in reverse order show me as a young woman, in Leningrad, at Dostoeveky's grave; with one of my favorite subjects at the nature park; and me as I am when I'm smiling in the sunshine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flying colors and then some, November 29, 2011

By 

Y. IKESHIMA "love planets" (Ames, IA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Going To See Grassy Ella (Kindle Edition)

I've always heard that one of the tests of an excellent children's book (or young adult book) is that it appeals to, and holds the attention of adults as well. This book passes that test with flying colors and then some. It's a fast-moving story about two sisters who have some amazing, yet entirely believable adventures, which all begin when Peej (the younger sister, who has cancer) announces that she has made plans to go on a trip to see a faith healer, and talks her older sister into going with her.

Now does this sound like a slightly crazy idea for a book? I secretly thought so--that is, until I started reading it and could not put it down. The story draws you in; the plot is intriguing; and the action scenes are realistic. Best of all though, are the main characters. Two, more likable girls would be hard to find.

It's a book which touches on the difficult subject of cancer in a hopeful and positive way. I am sure that if I had read it aloud to my two daughters (as was my custom when they were growing up) they would have demanded that I finish it in two or three days, rather than our customary week. And then they would have read it again to themselves. MANY times. --Chatty

4.0 out of 5 stars Looking for a miracle..., February 10, 2012

By 

Cheryl M-M (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Going To See Grassy Ella (Kindle Edition)

There is a message in the back of this book from or by the author, which explains the reasoning behind the story. I think it should be at the front, because it gives this childrens/YA book a different frame of reference when you realise this is what the author wishes it had been like.
As a story it is suited for younger children also, because there is no use of bad language and/or scenes. It is about a child searching for hope and a miracle. On the way she bonds with her sister and makes a few odd friends along the way. Miracles can and do happen, just not for everyone, but the message in this story is to find the positivity within you and in return it will find you. I received a free copy of this book for my review.

4.0 out of 5 stars Quck read and fun story, February 8, 2012

By 

K (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Going To See Grassy Ella (Kindle Edition)

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review.

As a lifelong lover of books, I tend to read quickly. So when this story came across and I realized I was finished, I was upset that it was shorter than normal because I would have enjoyed the further exploits of the girls in the story. As an adult, I still enjoy reading young adult or teen fiction because it can be a story that is simpler or focused on ideals instead of heavy drama. Not so with this story.

Peej and Annie are sisters living in Columbus, Ohio. Peej, a cancer patient and not quite a teenager, reads of a faith healer in New York and researches ways to go see her while her parents are at a conference. She talks her older sister, Annie, into going with her. Through a series of exploits they manage to take in a Mets game, bust up a drug ring (not a spoiler, it says this on the first page of the book), and have the adventure of a lifetime.

In some ways, this book really reminded me of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by e.l. konigsberg. While Peej and Annie were not running away permanently, they were on a secret adventure. They made friends. They were in a bit of a mystery. Mixed-up was and remains a favorite of mine, and the nostalgic comfort and similarity just made this book more endearing.