Latchkey Kids [Hardcover]

Susan Terris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1986 | Age Level: 9 and up

Eleven-year-old Callie tries to cope with her new responsibilities when the family's changed circumstances force them to move to a new San Francisco neighborhood and leave her in charge of her younger brother.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6 Callie Hoveler and her brother Rex have been abruptly transplanted from a home in the suburbs to a flat in San Francisco due to their father's illness (severe depression). The siblings are forced to cope simultaneously with a new environment, a new school, a working mother and a despondent father. The most difficult adjustment for Callie is wearing the latchkey around her neck, racing home right after school to lock Rex and herself in the flat and report by phone to her mother. This routine leaves her no opportunity to make new friends, and she soon perceives herself to be a prisoner. Before long, however, she does establish a friendship with Nora Chen, another latchkey child, who helps Callie take a more positive approach to her situation and also becomes her partner in mischief. After a close brush with real danger, Callie realizes that it's not the latchkey she really hates, but being locked out of her parents' lives. Terris has aptly described the characteristics of someone suffering from depression and the difficulties it inflicts on families , subjects seldom mentioned in juvenile fiction . However, reader appeal is nullified by the tedious, predictable plot. Cynthia K. Leibold, Anderson High School, Cincinnati
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 167 pages
• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux (J); 1st first edition (January 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374343632
• ISBN-13: 978-0374343637
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,704,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars School Kids, March 11, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Latchkey Kids (Hardcover)

In the benign a girl named Callie Hoveler tells how she had to move to an apartment because her house caught on fire. When she gets home from school every day she has to call her mom at work, unthaw something for dinner, and has to make sure her brother stays out of trouble. One day after school her someone from her class is following her. Then her brother said that someone is following them. Then Callie and her brother run home. The part of this book I read was sort of boring to me. The Latchkey Kids is boring.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Latchkey Kids, November 22, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Latchkey Kids (Hardcover)

The title of my book is The Latchkey Kids. The author's name is Susan Terris. The reason I like this book is because it is true. I think the book is true because I have to have a key to get into my house because my parents have to work in the afternoon. I would give this book 2 stars. I would only give this book 2 stars because it had nothing to do with animals. The main characters are Callie and Nora. The struggle in the story is that Callie has nothing to after school and she is very lonely. Callie and Nora are 11 years old. Callie has a younger brother, his name is Rex.