Milly Stories [Hardcover]

DK Publishing (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

Suddenly I heard her voice. Plain as day. "Sit up straight and pay attention." I bolted upright. "Tell your Uncle Edgar to forget my memorial service. Tell him to just do my viewing again." Eleven-year-old Milly is just getting used to living with Uncle Edgar and her bossy Aunt Gloria in their funeral parlor--and then Aunt Gloria dies. It was one thing to hear Aunt Gloria's "helpful advice" when Aunt Gloria was alive, but it's another thing entirely to still hear it after she dies! Dead or alive, Aunt Gloria is hard to ignore, with her very particular standards ("When you've been in town longer, you'll find that some of the people here are very peculiar") and her critical comments about Milly ("It's time you learned to grow up and act like a young lady"). As Milly learns to accept herself, she is finally able to put Aunt Gloria to rest--and to accept the "peculiar" people of Brentwood. This chronicle of Milly's year after Aunt Gloria's funeral has much to say about individuality, and hilariously illuminates that "peculiar" is often in the eye of the beholder.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6?A dozen connected episodes, this first novel tells of a year in the life of 11-year-old orphan Milly Moore of Bentwood, MA. She lives in the funeral-parlor home of easy-going Uncle Edgar and bossy, opinionated Aunt Gloria. The book opens with Aunt Gloria's viewing following her fatal heart attack. Milly continues to hear her aunt's helpful advice as a sort of conscience, until a new viewing more to the woman's liking finally puts her spirit to rest a year later. Meanwhile, Milly's new friend uses a Weirdness Index ("A scale of one to ten. Ten is the most weird") to rate the people she meets. Many of Bentwood's residents, including Milly's grandmother who preaches religion to bikers from her Harley-Davidson, rank close to ten. The book is vaguely reminiscent of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio (Viking, 1987), as each chapter unveils another quirky town character. What Milly learns in the year's span is that peculiarity is often in the eye of the beholder. This awareness of each person's individuality helps the girl to understand and accept herself, and makes her able to put Aunt Gloria and her advice to rest. The somewhat heavy-handed delivery of the theme is balanced by Milly's delightful, humorous voice.?Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-6. Milly, an orphan who lives with her uncle, the undertaker, hasn't had much luck making friends in Bentwood. To make matters worse, since she's been in town, her aunt has died. And to make matters much worse, Milly still hears Aunt Gloria giving her "helpful advice," even though her aunt's gone. But Milly's luck with friends takes a turn for the better when she meets Josie at a writing class. Together, they have a Halloween party in the mortuary for the class rejects, help a ghost find peace, and make a video starring a horse about the size of a big dog. As the subtitle implies, the book is trying for an outrageous and comic tone. It succeeds much of the time, but in other instances, Lindsay, in her debut, tries too hard--and the advice-giving Aunt Gloria virtually disappears for most of the book. Still, the book's cover will draw readers in, and once there, they will find at least some of the promised laughs. Ilene Cooper

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 131 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN; 1st edition (March 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789424916
• ISBN-13: 978-0789424914
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,713,827 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 The Milly Stories Meets Me, April 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Milly Stories (Hardcover)

For my reading club we had to read this book because JaniceLindsay is a local author in my town. I decided to read it because Ireally liked the back section that was taken from the book. I lovedit. I loved Speedbump,Flora,Josie,Milly,Aunt Gloria,and the other characters. I really recommend it. I met the author last month after I read the book and she has one of the most brilliant minds I've ever met. She's truely talented. The book had it's own conclusion that was quite neat. The real story about the book that the author,Janice Lindsay, told me is that this book is not true but it originally started from when she was in a short class that lead it to being going into the book. She wrote Chapter 11 first and then the rest of the book. I recommend this book for any ages. It gives you one girl's true feelings about death,living in a funeral parlor,having a smart cousin and having Aunt Gloria's advise come in handy. If you don't read this book you'll regret ever thinking of reading any other books because this is a wonderful book that deserves a ton of credit. Joyabounding Always!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes you laugh, cry, and wish for more., December 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Milly Stories (Hardcover)

Unlike so many of today's novels, this one deals with serious issues in a humorous, upbeat way, leaving the reader with some great coping strategies as well as satisfied with having had a great read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable story. Fantastic book., October 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Milly Stories (Hardcover)

"The Milly Stories" was wonderful. One of my friends has already asked me to lend it to her. She was over my house and read the back and thought it sounded good. She is the kind of person that has a lot of "joyabounding" ideas. She actually reminds me alot of Flora. She loves nature and is one of the most creative people I know. I hope you write many more successful books like "The Milly Stories."