Invisible Threads (Definitions S.) [Paperback]

Annie Dalton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2004 | Series: Definitions S.

At the age of sixteen, shy introverted Naomi makes a harrowing adult decision about the future of her baby daughter. Sixteen years later, Carrie faces painful challenges of her own. These two very different girls from two different generations, are linked only by the invisible threads of DNA, but as their stories unfold, moving parallels as well as differences between their experiences emerge, lending unusual honesty and force to this compelling novel.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-Naomi, 16, became pregnant after her first sexual experience. Her story is told in alternating chapters with those of Carrie-Anne, the daughter she gave away, who, at 16, decides to find her birth mother. As a child, Naomi walks a fine line around her erratic single mother who expresses adoration of her one moment and verbally abuses her the next, blaming the girl for all her troubles. When free-spirited Lily and her two daughters enter their lives, Naomi glimpses what a healthier, more stable home life could be like and eventually moves in with Lily for the duration of her pregnancy. Carrie-Anne is adopted by a married couple who are also out of balance, and neither parent is equipped to deal with a rebellious teenager. Carrie-Anne reacts to their emotional detachment by fantasizing that her birth mother would love and appreciate her, and sets out to contact Naomi. Set in England, Invisible Threads is full of British slang and flavor and features characters who have no qualms about using profanity liberally. At times, the depiction of teenagers' hopelessness in the face of family dysfunction and social pressure to enter uncomfortable romantic and sexual relationships is dishearteningly vivid. However, in this intriguing study of two young women of succeeding generations, the major characters are sympathetically developed and multidimensional, and both Naomi and Carrie-Anne are able to see beyond their immediate circumstances and reach out to key adults for help.-Joyce Adams Burner, Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 8-11. Carrie Ann is determined to find her birth mother, Naomi, regardless of the pain it causes her family. With the support of best friends Gemma, Carl, and Matt, she heads for Naomi's hometown. Authors Annie Dalton and her adopted daughter, Maria, tell the story in alternating chapters alternately narrated by Carrie Ann and Naomi. Carrie Ann's sections relay far-flung emotions: an insatiable need to find her birth mother and a quantifiable love of her adoptive one; her idealized image of Naomi and the reality of her contentious relationship with the mother who raised her; and the fear of finding Naomi while possibly losing her adoptive mom. Naomi's chapters reveal the circumstances of Carrie Ann's birth: the alcohol-induced liaison with Carrie Ann's father, her surprise pregnancy, the loving preparation she makes for Carrie Ann's arrival, and her decision to give her daughter to adoptive parents. It's a sad yet validating story, one with all-too-human, authentically drawn teenagers and adults. A welcome, unusual view of teen motherhood. Frances Bradburn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 179 pages
• Publisher: Red Fox (July 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099433389
• ISBN-13: 978-0099433385
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,145,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars For those seeking answers, December 3, 2005

By 

Gary H. Cassel "Flamingnet Teen Book Reviews" (Baltimore, MD, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Invisible Threads (Definitions S.) (Paperback)

Invisible Threads, by Annie and Maria Dalton, is the story of a mother and daughter dealing with all the trials and tribulations that they went through when they were 16. Carrie-Anne is having trouble at home trying to get along with her adopted parents, and trying to find her place in the world. She thinks that if she has a chance to find her biological mother, she could get a better sense of who she is and where she's from. Meanwhile, Naomi, Carrie-Anne's biological mother, tells us the story of when she was 15. She lived with her unsteady mother, trying to keep a grasp on reality, trying to be a normal teenager, but always having to comfort her mother after her mother had a sort of mental breakdown. After Naomi's mother found an on again-off again boyfriend, Naomi decided that she shouldn't have to be her mother's babysitter. She chose to go have some fun at a party with some of her friends, and did something she knew she shouldn't have done. So Invisible Threads takes us on through their separate journeys, reminding not only Carrie-Anne and Naomi, but also the reader that even if we may not want to acknowledge it (as in Naomi's case), we are all connected by invisible threads that make up our family tree and our history.

This was a very good book. It really took you through all the controversy and all of the emotions that Carrie-Anne and Naomi went through at specific moments in the book. I thought that Invisible Threads very well written, and anyone who's ever been seeking answers to who they are and where they came from, should read it. I recommend, though, to be about 13 or 14 before reading this book.

Reviewed by a student for Flamingnet Book Reviews
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