From Publishers Weekly
With only the most tenuous memories of her mother, the young narrator of these evocative poems thrives with a loving father and her Aunt Lucille. But when her father says she can visit her mother, Ludie, the narrator's longing surfaces the longing of a daughter, who doesn't "step/ on/ cracks./ Ever/ .../ More careful than the others/ with/ mothers/ that they take for granted." Johnson (Toning the Sweep; The Other Side: Shorter Poems) effectively weaves together the fleeting images of a mother-daughter reunion with the everyday events of a teenage girl's life, such as getting in trouble with a friend at school, learning to drive on a beach and the pangs of a secret love (describing her crush on a friend's brother, she admits that she "has loved him/ all her silent heart life"). The visit with her mother allows the heroine to see her resemblance to her mother (for instance, the way "we swing our arms the same/ as we walk into the sunlight"). But the visit also brings the pain of seeing Ludie's photographs of people "who are/ not/ me," and missing what could have been. Conveying a brief but complete narrative, these free verse poems express a young woman's yearning for the presence of a mother and the universal feelings of adolescence. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Gr 5-9-Johnson builds a character through a series of short, free-verse poems about a junior high student and the people around her. The narrator is about to meet her mother, whom she hasn't seen in years. Readers learn about the girl's father and aunt, her best friend (whose brother she's secretly in love with), and, finally, about her mother. Some of the selections don't quite achieve what they've set out to do, and readers may feel that they're just getting to know the character by the time they finish the collection. Occasional black-and-white illustrations resembling photographs enhance the mood of the poems. While this volume doesn't have the same strength as the author's The Other Side (Orchard, 1998), it will be a captivating read for readers who may find the format and length accessible and inviting, or who are just looking for something different.
Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
