Tell Me Everything [Paperback]

Carolyn Coman (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

Roz and her mother were a two-person family -- until Roz's mother was killed trying to rescue a hiker. Now, a year later, Roz lives with her uncle, unable to cope with the past. For months, she's been calling the hiker, the last person to see her mother alive -- calling, and hanging up. When he gets an unlisted number, Roz sees it as a sign. She has to run away, travel to where the boy lives, and ask him what really happened -- once and for all. " The writing is pure poetry that takes readers on a literary journey too good to miss." -- Booklist, starred review

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A disturbed sixth-grader takes a risky path to come to terms with her mother's death. In a starred review, PW wrote that this first novel "has a plot so strong that it virtually tells itself, and prose so articulate that a multitude of emotions almost overwhelms the reader." Ages 10-14.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8-A visceral, immediate novel. Up until five months ago, Roz, 12, and her mother, Ellie, lived a secluded, spiritual life together in the mountains. When Ellie suddenly dies trying to rescue a lost hiker, Roz moves in with her uncle Mike, a solitary Vietnam veteran. She floats through school-it means nothing to her. Lacking her mother's religious convictions, the girl struggles to understand death and her feelings of desertion. She is driven to find the boy Ellie lost her life for, and when she does, she demands that he tell her everything he knows about the incident-which turns out to be almost nothing. Coman captures perfectly the way Roz's mind moves, the fluidity of her thoughts, the way she takes in and makes sense of things. Her relationship with her uncle grows slowly from a respectful, sensitive avoidance of painful subjects into an easy, natural closeness. His reactions, emotions, and language are as deeply believable as hers. In the end, she accepts that her mother is gone, and that she and Mike love each other. She has been released, and feels the joy of being alive. Through the honest prose, readers will know these characters; they seem to come from dreams and memories.
Vanessa Elder, School Library Journal
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140387919
• ISBN-13: 978-0140387919
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,158,915 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 One of the most moving books I read all year, September 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tell Me Everything (Paperback)

This is a powerful story, beautifully told. Roz is a complex character who is trying not only to understand events in her life, but to understand why she needs to understand them. The ending was incredibly moving. Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mothers Love, May 16, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Tell Me Everything (Paperback)

This story is about a young girl named Roz who recently lost her mom. Her mom was trying to save a hiker when she somehow fell off the mountian. Roz went to find the hiker so she could find out what happened the day her mom died. Roz never really found out what happened but she found out how to let go and love her uncle.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest Book That I Have Ever Read, November 30, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Tell Me Everything (Aerial Fiction) (Paperback)

the book was great and it was moving and it wasnt one of those girly books either and i think that is great . and it had adventure in it to and if anyone was looking for a mystery book this is the one to read . all the charactors were great and even roz . TELL ME EVERYTHING is the greatest book that i have ever read .