Someday [Hardcover]

Jackie French Koller (Author), N/A (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2002

The building of the Quabbin Resevoir in western Massanchusetts in the 1930s signals the end of three small rural towns-and the beginning of a different life for 14-year-old Celie Wheeler.

Celie Wheeler's family has lived in Enfield, Massachusetts, for generations, and she would love to live there forever. For all of her fourteen years, though, the threat that Enfield and two other neighboring towns might be claimed by eminent domain to build the Quabbin Reservoir has been very real. For Celie the coming of the reservoir has always been "someday", far off in the future. But that "someday" has now arrived, and the secure happy world she's known will soon vanish. What does the future hold for her and her family?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fourteen-year-old Celie Wheeler has much to think about: her plans to be a writer; her changing relationship with her best friend, a boy; and the imminent loss of her home, which has been in her family since the 1700s. Set in the Depression, this coming-of-age story unfolds against the backdrop of the actual last days of the four towns in Massachusetts's Swift River Valley, which in 1939 was flooded to create a reservoir for Boston. Amid the demolitions and the deliberately set fires that punctuate her days, Celie juggles her own despair with her concern for her aged grandmother and widowed mother, even as she experiences the thrill of her first romantic feelings for the young man sent by the Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission to finish emptying the town. With complex, finely drawn characters and fluid language that rings true for the period and place, the story is satisfying emotionally as well as intellectually. Koller's (the Dragonlings series) afterword explores environmental and social issues raised by the episode. Adolescent readers, experiencing their own transitions toward adulthood, will respond to the literal submersion of the heroine's past and to her eventual embrace of the future. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. This heartbreaking account of a town flooded to create a reservoir, based on real events in 1930s' Massachusetts, is told through the voice of 14-year-old Celie Wheeler. Celie has lived in Enfield her whole life, and although she's known for years that "someday" would come when they would have to move, it's a shock when the official notice arrives. Gran staunchly refuses to leave, and Celie and Mama disagree about where to go. At the same time, Celie is torn between affection for her best friend Chubby and her infatuation with a handsome representative from the water commission. Celie's fear of the unknown, frustration with Gran, confusion about her feelings for Chubby, love for her town and family, and surprise upon learning that her mother has ambitions beyond Enfield all ring true. The sad scenes of the town's dismantling are truly harrowing, and Celie and Chubby's final parting is bittersweet, as Celie realizes that "someday" can refer to a beginning as well as an ending. Diane Foote
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Orchard; 1st edition (June 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439293170
• ISBN-13: 978-0439293174
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,185,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SOMEDAY You should really read this book, September 16, 2003

By 

Green Thumb Wannabe (Upstate NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Someday (Hardcover)

I picked this book up at the library one day when I didn't have much time for browsing around. I saw that it had an audio version and knew that typically only the better books get made into audio. Since I had a long car ride coming up, I grabbed the audio book and checked it out.

It is WONDERFUL. I can't believe I've never heard of the author or the book before. The characters -- daughter, Mom, Grandmom are all likeable and entertaining. They each have very different desires and the back and forth as they negotiate their daily lives is very funny and very believable. I haven't finished the book yet, as it outlasted the drive, but each day as I jump in my car I can hardly wait to get back to it (don't ask why someone old enough to drive a car is listening to a tape in the juvenile section).

Ms. Koller, this book is the berries!!! (Only the author, those who have read the book, or are fairly old will quite understand the meaning of that line).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WONDER book by a neighbor of the Quabbin Reservoir, September 9, 2009

By 

Rachel Cullen "Book Lover" (palmer, ma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Someday (Hardcover)

i live near the Quabbin Reservoir. And when i read this book i finally realized the Reservoir was not made by nature t was made by people. And the worst park is, when they made the reservoir for Boston, here was plenty of space near Boston, but no, they had to destory peopels home instead. Somday is a wonderful book that tells what Celie Wheeler is going through at the time of the GreatDepression and losing her home and will give you new expericences. You should definitly read this book!!!!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adrienne, February 5, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Someday (Hardcover)

Someday was a terrific novel.I enjoyed reading about what life was like for Celie's family and friends. I also learned about a piece of history. I learned what it was like for many people during the Depression and how they handled certain situations. Celie always knew that 'someday' was comming but she never really expected it to come so fast. The town of Enfield is being destroyed to make a resovouir for Boston. Elizabeth Wheeler is detertmined to stay right where she is. She won't allow anyone to talk her into leaving. Celie and her mother have a hard time putting up with her. When Jake, a worker from the MDWSC, meets the Wheeler family Gran starts to warm up. Celie and her mom discover that they both have a crush on him and feelings are hurt. At the end Celie realizes everything that she's been doing wrong. She tells Chubby how much she loves him and he loves her in return. Celie is lost and confused. Gran died after they had to aution off all of her belongings and now Mama is making Celie move to Chicago. Celie just wants to be with the people she knows and loves, but it's not possible. Someday finally came.