Out of Nowhere [Paperback]

Ouida Sebestyen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1995

Harley, a teenager abandoned by his mother in the Arizona desert, starts to build a new life and a family with the help of some eccentric friends and Ish, a castaway pit bull. Reprint. SLJ. PW. H.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a starred review, PW said that the author "brilliantly portrays the triumph of the human spirit" in describing an abandoned 13-year-old who meets a small group of outcasts and discovers the true meaning of family. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9-Harley Nunn's mother has never been a big part of his life. But, when she abandons him at a remote Arizona campground, he is truly alone in the world. That night, while seeking shelter from a storm, the boy encounters a forsaken pit bull named Ish. When morning arrives, they are befriended by May, an older woman camped nearby. Recently deserted by her husband, she is on her way to her mountain home where she hopes to begin her life anew. May takes pity on the pathetic duo and reluctantly agrees to take them with her until other arrangements can be made. But, when they arrive at her home, they find it still occupied by her eccentric renter, Bill, who has managed to fill every corner with a lifetime accumulation of junk. And he refuses to leave. With the help of a young handywoman with a heart of gold and endless optimism, this curious collection of rejects strives to build a new family. Sebestyen's memorable characters learn from one another as they begin the healing process, dispose of the extraneous baggage of their past, and rebuild their broken lives. The family dynamics are authentic with failures to match the successes. This poignant story is beautifully written, and readers will delight in it. Sebestyen has once again brilliantly portrayed the triumph of the human spirit and the power of such timeless values as forgiveness, cooperation, trust, hope, and love.
Tim Rausch, Crescent View Middle School, Sandy, UT
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (November 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140376402
• ISBN-13: 978-0140376401
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,755,176 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A place to belong, September 20, 2002

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Out of Nowhere (Paperback)

The story of a lost kid wanting a family is hardly a new one, but Ouida Sebestyen infuses it with new life and new insights in "Out of Nowhere." Her solemn, stark book is a good read for both the lonely, and those who realistically want a better life for themselves.

Harley Nunn leaves, fed up with his ever-shifting life with his promiscuous trailer-trash mom and her constant flow of boyfriends, in the middle of nowhere in Arizona. He soon acquires a travelling companion, a pit bull called Ish, who was abandoned as Harley feels he has been; soon after, the two are given a ride by an elderly woman named May, who is trying to forge a new life for herself after her husband left her. Though she doesn't want the responsibility of a boy and a dog, she allows Harley to come with her to her run-down little house.

There they find a relentlessly Pollyannaish girl, Singer, who tells them that a junk-collecting drifter called Bill has been living -- and collecting junk -- in the house. Bill and May clash when he returns from the hospital (after setting his bedpan on fire to create a diversion while he escaped), with her ordering him to leave and him refusing. Singer offers philosophical advice, while Harley struggles with his lack of roots and his longing for even the vestiges of a home. But it seems that the collection of lost souls will never be able to exist in peace. Only a tragedy can give them the true soul of a family.

Every sitcom has brought up the concept that family is defined more by love than by blood. Sebestyen adds extra dimensions to this by producing a group of misfits -- not all of them get along, and more often than not they don't. But neither do they despise one another. The paths of Bill and May make it difficult to accept Harley, and Harley's past makes him increasingly desperate for love.

Harley is an unusually deep teenage character with a quietly likeable personality. Anyone who has felt alone or unloved -- or who HAS been alone or unloved -- will sympathize with his longing for someone to care about what happens to him. His outbursts as he realizes that nobody is going to keep him on are well-written, as are his feelings of guilt after Ish is injured. Singer is a little harder to care about, as Sebestyen seems to have tried a little too hard to make her relentlessly optimistic -- a few chinks in her armor would have made her seem more human and interesting. May is too similar to Harley for her own comfort, wounded by the loss of her lying husband and closed off emotionally, even to someone who needs her. Bill is the kindly curmudgeon, a cranky old guy who unconsciously becomes the paternal figure that Harley lacks. His almost comic stubbornness will win over most of the readers.

People who need continuous hijinks and action won't like this book -- the pace is gradual and attention is paid to the characters. Aside from a minor accident, it's all introspection drama, with a splash of comedy from time to time. Sebestyen's style is informative but kind of stark, with all the detail inside the characters' heads. She also does not lapse into the preachy "all you need is love to be a family" cliche, instead allowing the readers to draw their own conclusions from what happens to whom. As a result, the book's finale feels less like an end than like the climax of a very long beginning.

For a beautiful, carefully written story filled with likeably odd characters, readers can't do better than "Out of Nowhere." An excellent work of fiction for any age.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A story of many emotions, October 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Out of Nowhere (Paperback)

The book Out of Nowhere, written by Ouida Stubestyen, is a very emotional book that consists of several outcasts trying to form a family. I think this book is very well written and the emotions are very realistic which makes them easy to relate to. My personal preference for a book is in an action or adventure novel though. This book does not match that criteria and as such it did not appeal to me. Even so, the characters May and Harley were very admireable people and their emotions made the novel interesting to read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting And Unique, June 25, 2001

By 

Rebecca (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of Nowhere (Paperback)

OUT OF NOWHERE is quite different from most books that I've read over the past. It's not very well-known, but I went to my town's library one time and I saw this book on one of the racks and it caught my eye so I picked it up and decided to try it. Well, I did and it turned out to be very good. I never even realized I'd be interested in this kind of book, but as soon as I started to read it, I just couldn't put it down. I wanted to see what would happen at the end.

This book is full of emotions but with hardly any action. There are some humorous parts, but this is more like a serious book rather than comedy. Anyways, this book is about a 13-year-old boy named Harley who just got abandoned in an Arizona desert by his outgoing mother and her boyfriend. Soon, Harley comes across an abandoned dog, Ish, who he befriends. He also meets May, a woman in her late 40s, Singer, 16-year-old girl, and Bill, May's tenent. The five have their own problems they need to learn how to face.

This book was solidly written. If you're looking for a good book to read this summer, then go pick this one up. I highly recommend it for any teen.