Holding Up the Earth [Hardcover]

Dianne Gray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 28, 2000 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

It has been eight years since Hope’s mom died in a car accident. Eight years of shuffling from foster home to foster home. Eight years of trying to hold on to the memories that tether her to her mother. Now Sarah, Hope’s newest foster mom, has taken her from Minneapolis to spend the summer on the Nebraska farm where Sarah grew up. Hope is set adrift, anchored only by her ever-present and memory-heavy backpack. Accustomed to the clamor of city life, Hope is at first unsettled by the silence that descends over the farm each night. But listening deeply, she begins to hear the quiet: the crickets’ chirp, the windsong, the steady in and out of her own breath. Soon the silence is replaced by voices, like echoes sounding across time — the voices of girls who inhabited the old farmhouse before her. Reluctantly, Hope begins to stretch down roots in the earth and accept this new family as her own.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Narratives, diaries and letters woven together, often too tidily, tell the stories of four girls from different generations who each find a way to reclaim their lives on a small Nebraska farm. Hope, whose mother died eight years earlier, is 14 when her latest foster mother, Sarah, brings her to the farmDthe site of "earth finds." These archeological treasures, such as barrettes and gold coins, become touchstones for each girl's experience and for Hope's ultimate sense of belonging. Abigail, the daughter of a 19th-century homesteading family unable to meet the demands of the frontier, returns to her prized meadow to die. Rebecca, a hired girl on the farm at the turn of the 20th century, eventually helps to heal the family she works for and marries the son. Her daughter, Anna (Sarah's mother), still runs the farm, and she and Sarah welcome Hope. Unfortunately, Hope's character does not seem convincing; her struggles are too easily won. Some tying of threads across the girls' narratives is contrived, such as Anna's meeting with Abigail just before she dies and the creation of a "story quilt" at the end. However, the letters and diaries, while uneven, offer some of the more fluid passages here and may sustain readers' interest in this first novel. Ages 10-14. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-Gray uses a contemporary character to frame stories of four generations of young teens who lived on a Nebraska farm. Hope, 14, is spending the summer at the childhood home of her latest and most-promising foster parent, Sarah. Sarah's mother, Anna, gives the teen some old letters written by Abby, a pioneer girl who describes the initial breaking of the earth around the homestead in 1869 and the wonder of the meadow beyond the soddy in which she lived. Next, Anna gives Hope her mother's journal, which tells how her stepfather sent her to work for the stern owner who bought the failing farm from Abby's father. Anna then tells Hope her own story, and, finally, Sarah's journal tells of the day the Air Force came to install a nuclear missile silo in the meadow. All of the memoirs are tied together poetically, with significant artifacts and details appearing in each, and the meadow figuring prominently in each woman's experience. While all the narratives are not equally compelling, many themes and symbols create a rich quilt of memories that helps Hope find a place to call home among the generations of women who have inhabited this farm.
Elizabeth A. Kaminetz, L. Douglas Wilder Middle School, Richmond, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (August 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618007032
• ISBN-13: 978-0618007035
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,406,975 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ALYSSA;THE FOSTER CHILD., December 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Holding Up the Earth (Hardcover)

The book, Holding Up the Earth, was about a girl, Hope, whose mother died when Hope was six. She went to seven foster families before she went to a lady's named Sarah. This is about how Hope overcomes her mother's death, and learns to live with Sarah. I think that this book is well written,because about every other chapter the author has a diary or a journal explaning what has happened at the farm where they live in the past. I think that this helps you better understand the book. I would recommend this book to someone who likes Realistic Fiction. As far as age groups go I would recommend this book to children ten and up because there are words that younger children probably shouldn't be reading. If you love books that will lift your spirits this is the one for you!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful story- beautiful writing, October 23, 2001

By 

Cathy Skubik (San Pedro, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Holding Up the Earth (Hardcover)

I was very moved by this story that followed the lives of these interesting, connected women. I was fascinated by the non-linear way they were related- the way it was woven together, and the manner the main character was kept at the center of the story. I think this book is a must-read for 6th grade girls and above, its appeal to boys is questionable, although I think there is hope! The historical detail is rich, the themes of finding family and being true to yourself are well explored. This is one of my favorites!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book really struck a chord with me, May 6, 2001

By 

Allison (Davis, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Holding Up the Earth (Hardcover)

I thought that 'Holding Up the Earth' was a powerful, moving, and inspiring story. It is beautifully written and tells such a wonderful tale. Fourteen-year-old Hope goes with Sarah, her latest foster mother, to the farm in Nebraska where Sarah grew up. It has been eight years since her mother died and Hope doubts that she will ever find happiness or a real home. Then Anna, Sarah's mother, gives Hope the letters written by a girl named Abigail who was the first girl to ever live on the farm. Abigail was a pioneer and came to Nebraska with her parents in the 1800's. After reading Abigail's story, Hope reads the diary of Rebecca, a hired girl who lived on the farm and was Anna's mother. Hope then discovers Anna and Sarah's stories and meanwhile her mother's story and her own. All of the young women in this story are strong, intelligent, and have made a difference. All of their own stories are intertwined and relate to each other. Certain things, like the cherry wood bedstead and the gold-rimmed china, are present in several generations of women and help the stories flow together. I think that every girl or woman should read this book because the meaning and hope and lessons it has to share with us are so poignant.