Letters to Julia [Hardcover]

Barbara Ware Holmes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1997

Bored with her suburban life, 15-year-old Liz Beech yearns to be a writer and escape from the battle zone between her eccentric divorced parents. An astute observer of the people around her, Liz writes everything down in a journal. When Julia Steward Jones, a professional editor, sees something special in Liz's writing, an intense relationship unfolds, giving readers an intimate glimpse into the most private thoughts and feelings of these two compelling characters.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

While there may be many novels about teens who dream of becoming writers, this may be the only one to take readers deep into the writerly process. A tentative Liz sends an introductory letter to Julia, an editor in New York, after her English teacher connects the two. Liz never dreamed that Julia would have time to coach Liz on her writing (twisted stories based on life with eccentric, divorced parents), yet a dialogue develops. After each chapter Liz submits, Julia writes back in affirming prose. Liz may actually have what it takes to become a writer--if she can untangle the web that grows between her and her new editor. In the course of this correspondence, Barbara Ware Holmes chronicles a journey of hope, misunderstandings, dependence, and craft. Liz may have more to teach her editor than either of them realize.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8. In a series of personal letters, journal entries, and chapters from her autobiographical novel-in-progress, Liz Beach, an aspiring author, relates her relationships with her separated parents and with Julia Jones, an editor at a New York publishing house. Prompted by her English teacher to submit her creative writings to Julia, Liz receives an encouraging initial reply, and before long she and the editor are exchanging letters expressing mutual friendship. Julia urges Liz to send chapters of her novel, which depicts an acrimonious home life with dull, unsympathetic parents. As the teen communicates disappointments with her family, Julia's letters are unfailingly supportive and nurturing, even after the woman loses her elderly parents, then her job, and eventually suffers a nervous breakdown. Liz does begin to gain a measure of appreciation for her father, but the relationship between Liz and Julia is highly implausible and weakens the book, as does Liz's didactic transformation from self-absorbed aesthete to perceptive, caring young woman who, in the end, is not-too-ironically encouraging Julia to write as rehabilitation therapy.?Susan W. Hunter, Riverside Middle School, Springfield,
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; 1st edition (June 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060273410
• ISBN-13: 978-0060273415
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,569,070 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Treasure to Read and Share With Young Authors, January 4, 2000

By 

Meg Clayton (Barnet, Vermont) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Letters to Julia (Paperback)

If you know a young, aspiring author or artistic child, this is a book to share with him/her. 15 year-old Liz Beech begins a two year correspondence with Julia Steward Jones, a New York City editor. Their correspondence rapidly turns into a deep friendship, one which enriches and sustains them both through difficult times. Liz gains perspective about not only her writing talent, but her wacky, disfunctional family. Julia derives comfort from her young friend as she deals with the death of her aged parents and comes to terms with her own life choices. Anyone who dreams of publishing a book or just communicating with the world through the written word will be able to relate to these characters. Liz grows into a thoughtful young adult from a tortured adolescent. Julia reconnects with dreams she had as a younger woman, while reconciling herself to the inevitability of aging and dying. Readers, too, will grow and reconnect with their pasts from reading LETTERS TO JULIA.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars :), August 29, 2001

By 

Marisa (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Letters to Julia (Paperback)

--After taking her teacher's suggestion to write to a friend's sister, Julia Jones, an editor in New York, fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Beech is surprised and pleased to receive a reply. The two develop a close relationship which is backboned by Liz's confusing life which is echoed in her writing, and Julia's thoughts on her childhood, which has started to come back to her more than ever since Julia's parents have been in the hospital and she has gained control of the house she grew up in. --Since I am a writer and want to write novels when I grow up, I could identify with nearly everything said in this imaginative and nicely written novel. --Marisa

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved Letters to Julia, June 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Letters to Julia (Paperback)

I thought that Letters to Julia was a wonderful book. I liked how you wrote in three different ways. I also liked it how you really developed Liz and Julia's friendship and then we slowly saw it break apart.