Tall Story [Hardcover]

Candy Gourlay (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 8, 2011 | Age Range: 10 and up

Andi is short. And she has lots of wishes. She wishes she could play on the school basketball team, she wishes for her own bedroom, but most of all she wishes that her long-lost half-brother, Bernardo, could come and live in London where he belongs.

Then Andi's biggest wish comes true and she's minutes away from becoming someone's little sister. As she waits anxiously for Bernardo to arrive from the Philippines, she hopes he'll turn out to be tall and just as crazy as she is about basketball. When he finally arrives, he's tall all right. Eight feet tall, in fact—plagued by condition called Gigantism and troubled by secrets that he believes led to his phenomenal growth.

In a novel packed with quirkiness and humor, Gourlay explores a touching sibling relationship and the clash of two very different cultures.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Working through the many meanings of “tall story,” first-time author Gourlay slam-dunks this tale of a towering boy from the Philippines and the pint-size, basketball-crazy half sister with whom he has recently been reunited. Told in the alternating voices of Bernardo, who suffers from gigantism, and Andi, who longs to play point guard on her school’s b-ball team, the novel effortlessly encompasses real-world dreams as well as magic realism. Bernardo was left behind when his mother, a nurse, immigrated to the UK and forged a new family. In San Andres, Bernardo is seen as a reincarnated folk-hero giant who protects the area from earthquakes, though he believes the blame for his freakish height falls on the local witches who cursed him. In contrast to Bernardo’s anxieties over coming to the UK, Andi’s struggles of readjustment to her changed family appear minor. Wonderfully, though, Gourlay uses the dual viewpoints to show that Andi’s concerns are no less important. And, it turns out, she finds that there is more than one thing worth wishing for. This will capture the hearts and minds of sports lovers—and just about everyone else as well. Grades 6-9. --Karen Cruze

Review

Starred Review, School Library Journal, March 2011:
"Contemporary Tagalong and British vernacular enhance the brother/sister narration and enliven the depiction of cultures. In her first young adult novel, Gourlay offers an appealing blend of diverse characters, emotional conflicts, well-paced action, and an upbeat finale. The challenges facing separated, immigrant families and the universal teen desire for acceptance and respect ring true."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: David Fickling Books (February 8, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385752172
• ISBN-13: 978-0385752176
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 1 x 7.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #973,981 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was a journalist writing about dictators in the Third World before I took up a full time position battling dictators of the nappy-clad variety. I inadvertently became a web designer while avoiding doing the dishes. I take procrastination to new levels by blogging, drawing and making YouTube videos for fun. My debut novel TALL STORY has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for 13 awards. It won the Crystal Kite Prize for Europe and the National Children's Book Award in the Philippines. My second novel SHINE will be published in the UK in September 2013.

www.candygourlay.com

@candygourlay

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Debut Gem April 26, 2011

By ToyaTex

Format:Hardcover

Gourlay's first novel shows her intimate familiarity with both cultures portrayed in the book - especially the Filipino culture, with its folk beliefs, obsession with basketball, familial loyalty, religion, close community, as well as the reality of immigration overseas to find greener pastures, often at the expense of keeping families geographically intact; and British culture, which she has embraced herself as an adult and in which her children have been raised. Her characters are wonderfully colorful and easy to visualize - from the gentle giant Bernardo to the diminutive and tomboyish Andi - and the rest of the supporting characters have their own engaging stories. I found myself immersed in their lives and laughing with, worrying about and cheering for them. I could easily picture Old Tibo or Jabby in my mind while reading about them. They are unusual but not outrageously so - cultural peculiarities add a rich source of learning for readers unfamiliar with them. There is an interesting mix of fantasy with reality, the fantasy coming mostly from legends and myths told by the characters in Bernardo's small town. The sports theme is not overarching, so as to turn off non-basketball fans. All in all, a page-turner with enough adventure, realism, emotion, myth, diversity and humor to entertain anyone! I highly recommend it!

5.0 out of 5 stars Fills a Tall Order for the imagination February 2, 2013

By Scott D. Gilbert, editor, Titan Press

Format:Paperback

Tall Story is a big-hearted, generous tale with charm and surprises for all ages. The story's weave (warp & woof) has its warp thread through a Philippine island village, an ill-fated basketball stadium, and a witch's lair, and its woof thread through urban English townhouses and schoolyards. Gourlay brings all together at each shift of her loom, and the finished fabric is mesmerizing and meticulously crafted. The story also rings true: as a teenager I spent a year in the Philippine islands,
and in Tall Story I feel like I am there again, with a bit of heightened reality -- "galing"! The eclectic combination of tropical culture, basketball, and London humdrum is courageous, and while Gourlay cites disparate sources of inspiration for the story's parts, there is an underlying intensity of hope, grief, and wonder that is the soul of the book. Not since reading Sherman Alexie's book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian have I felt so alive in reading a story fit for kids.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful novel to add to our diversity shelves September 2, 2012

By J D Marple

Format:Paperback

This heart-warming story blends so many things: two very different cultures, magic and realism, sadness and laughter, small and tall, separation and reunion, brother and sister. It is a beautifully crafted story that leaves you with just enough supernatural ambiguity to tease the skeptics and thrill the believers. Great début novel by Candy Gourlay. Am looking forward to more from this author!

5.0 out of 5 stars refreshing ya debut June 20, 2011

By Susan Golden

Format:Hardcover

Candy Gourlay presents us with characters we care about immediately, loving teens and adults acting in good faith despite their faults. The two voices of Andi and Bernardo are distinctive and convincing and their tale of getting to know each other, getting to love each other, and facing obstacles separately and together is humorous and touching. A refreshingly different story and different from most the current crop of young adult fiction. The only book I can think of that might be somewhat similar is The London Eye Mystery by Siohban Dowd, which was also a wonderful surprise. Try this novel and I think you will be amused and moved.

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too June 13, 2011

By TeensReadToo

Format:Hardcover

Standing over 8 feet tall with size 22 shoes, Bernardo has always felt like somewhat of an outcast. While his mom, stepfather, and half-sister live in England, Bernardo lives in the Philippines in hopes of making it back to England one day. When his wish comes true, however, he has a hard time dealing with the hustle and bustle and unfamiliar feel of his family and home.

Will he be able to adjust?

Amandolina has always lived in England and has only met her older half-brother once when he was six years old. When she sees how tall he is, she hopes he loves basketball as much as she does. The initial thrill of a brother soon wears off, though, and the stresses of adapting to the change in schools, houses, and family starts eating away at her.

Will she also be able to adjust?

A fun, lively rendition of a modern-day folktale. The characters are well-developed, and the story is likable and holds the reader's interest. Those who like realistic fiction, books about blended families, and school stories will enjoy reading TALL STORY.

Reviewed by: Kira M

4.0 out of 5 stars I loved Andi & Bernardo March 19, 2011

By DAC VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

16 yr old Bernardo lives in the Philippines with is aunt and uncle. His mother lives in London with her husband and Andi, his step sister. For years Bernardo's family has been trying and waiting to get his Visa. Finally Bernardo is allowed to be with this family.

12 yr old Andi is looking forward to welcoming her step brother to London. Though when Andi discovers that Bernardo is 8ft tall, she doesn't know what to make of him and keeps her distance.
Andi's short like their mom. She loves playing basketball and really wants to make her schools basketball team, no matter that its boys only. Bernardo lives in a small village, named San Andres. Everyone believes Bernardo's height has kept the earthquakes away. Bernando believes we was cursed by Gabriela, the meanest girl in his school. The entire village is afraid of Gabriela's mother and thinks she's a witch.

The story alternates between Andi and Bernardo as the two get to know each other. Tall Story was very good and looking back on it I like it that much more. Gourlay fully develops Andi and Bernardo, surrounds them with great secondary characters, gives the reader a glimpse of London and the Philippines, a great basketball game, all without missing a beat. And its also laugh out loud funny. I absolutely loved the beginning.

Rush hour. So many armpits, so little deodorant. The whole world is heading out to Heathrow to meet long lost relatives. I am wedged between the tummies of the two fattest men in the world. Rank.

Bernardo's best friend Jabby (in honor of Karem Abdul Jabbar) might be one of my favorite secondary characters of the year. I have much respect for authors who put as much care and effort into their supporting character as they do their main ones.