John Riley's Daughter [Hardcover]

Kezi Matthews (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2000

John Riley's Daughter opens in a small South Carolina town in the early 1970s with the disappearance of Memphis Riley's 29-year-old mentally handicapped aunt, Clover. Memphis and Clover have never gotten along, which is just one of the things Memphis's grandmother will never forgive her for. Six years ago Memphis's folksinging father, John Riley, dropped her off at her grandmother's house "temporarily" after her mother died; he hasn't been back since. Now Memphis's life is a constant round of domestic battles and uneasy truces. And she can't rely on her mother, Rosie, who no longer appears in her daughter's dreams. After Clover disappears, Memphis finds herself on the defensive yet again, and even her grandmother suspects that Memphis may have harmed Clover. In this powerful story told in the first person and set over the course of three sweltering July days, Memphis must come to terms with her life, her attitudes, and her options.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-Five years ago, 13-year-old Memphis's mother died and her father drove to South Carolina to deliver her into the unwelcoming arms of her grandmother, Naomi, who has never forgiven her daughter for running off with "that John Riley." Memphis is left with her mother's guitar, her father's weak promise to return, a preoccupied and reluctant grandmother, and a childlike 29-year-old aunt who "had the meningitis" when she was a baby. Clover's behavior is odd, and, much to Memphis's irritation, Naomi always coddles and defends her. When Clover smashes Rosie's guitar, which has been a constant source of rivalry between her and her niece, a steady release of pent-up family complexities is unleashed. The child yells at her, prompting her aunt to run away, and a creeping sense of foreboding sets in. A search for the mentally handicapped woman begins, and Memphis is left alone to struggle with her anger and guilt. "Old Roy," a deviant drifter comes begging for food, then threatens the girl, and has perhaps done worse to her missing aunt. Naomi's lifetime friend, "Aunt Birdie," finally helps Memphis come to terms with the family she didn't choose. The pulse of the story is the prevailing search for the missing woman. Yet the heart of it is all Memphis, flowing poignantly through the undercurrent. At once unsettling and inspiring, this memorable novel is as well written and honest as they come.
Alison Follos, North Country School, Lake Placid, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

It's 1973, and Memphis Riley, who's just turned 13, has had an explosive fight with her aunt Clover, a 29-year-old woman whom a childhood bout with meningitis left broken inside her head. After smashing her guitar, a precious memento that once belonged to Memphis's dead mother, Clover stomps off down the road. Memphis doesn't give Aunt Clover's departure a second thought until that night when her aunt doesn't reappear. Memphis's grandmother Naomi, whom Memphis has lived with since her father, John Riley, dumped her there and never looked back the day after her eighth birthday, is deeply distressed. As the hours, then days, mount, Naomi begins to think that her granddaughter, whom it's clear she never cared for, might have actually hurt the childlike Clover. Memphis only has two allies in the tiny town of Blue Parrot, her grandmother's childhood chum whom she calls Aunt Birdie and her friend Samson, and she's becoming increasingly scared. The surefooted first-person narrative keeps the pressure steadily building, and the reader becomes ever more fearful not only about Clover's fate, but how it will affect Memphis's tenuous position in her household and the community at large. Memphis comes to learn the sad lesson that being born into a family doesn't necessarily mean that they'll . . . love you, and discovers that home isn't brick or board but instead a feeling of belonging. Matthews's strength is that she creates no villains, but sees all her characters, even the most deeply flawed, with a compassionate eye. (Fiction. 12-14) -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Cricket Books; 1st edition (May 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081262775X
• ISBN-13: 978-0812627756
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,127,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beating the odds, June 29, 2000

By 

Diana Ross (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Riley's Daughter (Hardcover)

What a wonderful book! I did not put it down until I finished reading it. This book should be rated "adult and young adult". I love the character's names.(especially Memphis, Clover, and Aunt Birdie) This book took me back to when I first read "TO Kill a Mockingbird". Kezi has a style that I really love. The way that Memphis handled things, at the beginning, may not have been the right way,but she was so young! My heart just went out to her. Thank God she had Aunt Birdie to run interference. I was so very happy with the way the story ended. I will recommend this book to many friends, young and old alike. It has many wonderful lessons for life. I would like to see this book on the "Oprah List". Thank You Kezi, Diana

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Facing Life's Trials, June 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: John Riley's Daughter (Hardcover)

This really is a good book. Not only for teens and young adults, but adults of all ages. My heart went out to Memphis. Dealing with the death of her mother, being left by her father, surely is enough for any thirtheen year old to endure. But then having to also face constant rejection from a grandmother who, filled with so much anger herself, offered no support, not even a kind word, could really have an adverse effect on one's life. Life at its best is not always good. Just when you think you've got it straight, something will pop up out of the blue. But like Memphis, when we learn to forgive ourselves, we can forgive others. When we forgive we are rewarded with inner peace.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars John Riley's Daughter, July 16, 2002

By 

Claude Lysaght (Virginia Beach, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Riley's Daughter (Hardcover)

A great read about family life in the south; mystery,love,adventure,abandonment; a typical southern family. I am a southerner. Altho written for young adults all ages will enjoy Kezi Matthews word pictures that bring Memphis to living color.