This Is Graceanne's Book: A Novel [Paperback]

P. L. Whitney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 2001

The story is told by a nine-year old boy, Charlie, who observes with an encompassing awe a pivotal year in the life of his older sister Graceanne. She's loud, intellectual and a ruthless physical and psychological daredevil, a girl whose ferocious exploits are the stuff of local legend and the stuff of all that Charlie aspires to be. He narrates Graceanne's painful passage into teenage, a passage made tempestuous by their violent mother.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Small-town life in 1960s Missouri is conveyed with elegiac grace in this poignant coming-of-age tale. Nine-year-old Charlemagne "Charlie" Farrand, who wears corrective shoes and hence is nicknamed "Thumper," narrates the complicated antagonisms and triumphs within his troubled family and within Cranepool's Landing, a town on the banks of the Mississippi. Charlie and his two older sisters, sweet-singing Kentucky ("Tucka"), the oldest, and multi-talented 12-year-old Graceanne, move with their mother, Edie, when she divorces their soldier father and takes them to live in an apartment in a mostly black neighborhood. Disturbed to find herself at the edge of the poverty line, Edie lashes out violently when headstrong Graceanne becomes best friends with an African-American neighbor, the smart and feisty Wanda. Whitney nicely details small-town events (cardboard box races, Christmas services and a scarecrow contest), and offers an appealingly off-beat brilliance in precocious Graceanne. The three siblings alternately protect, terrorize and tease each other in a frank and bittersweet defense against the rage of their desperate mother, who feels as threatened by her children's insouciant intelligence as by their reliance on her. Graceanne is writing a book, a diary/collection of poems and manifestoes, which she shares with her admiring brother, and in which she weaves fantasies of revenge with quirky, hilarious notes to herself that keep her pride and spirit relatively intact. When Edie discovers it, Graceanne would rather destroy her work than turn it over to her increasingly malicious mother. At such moments, Whitney's handling of young Graceanne's fiery rebellion is unpersuasive; the girl's survival strategies are so valiant, and her intellectual and physical gifts so vast, that Edie comes off as a monster whose random beatings will never defeat her magnificent daughter. The major detriment to credibility, however, is Charlie's voice, preternaturally sophisticated and mournful even for an unathletic, bookish boy. Whitney's humor and sympathy carry the tale, however, and the scenes of sibling bonding may raise a tear or two. (May) FYI: Whitney has written mysteries under the names Hialeah Jackson and Polly Jackson.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-Graceanne's brother, nine-year-old Charlie, narrates this tale of life in small-town Missouri in the 1960s. Graceanne, 11, is the sole recipient of her mother's brutal beatings, sometimes for offenses committed by her older sister, or by Charlie. Graceanne is admittedly a handful: bright, independent, loud, sometimes foulmouthed, physically agile, and a daredevil. Her "book" is a collection of notebooks of poetry, stories, and observations about life. Charlie naturally finds and reads those notebooks and they help him relate her story. When the children's father, a military man, walks away from his family, they are forced to move to the poor part of town. Edie goes to work, sparing the family her presence much of the time. This is fine with Graceanne who, against her mother's wishes, becomes best friends with the black girl next door. Much of the book describes Graceanne's advents and the brutal punishments her mother metes out. YAs will be intrigued by these timeless, true-to-life characters and their ingenious escapades. Always in the background is the mighty river, thick, brown, and sometimes menacing. The descriptions of small-town life are dead-on, and the descriptions of the perils of growing up with an unpredictable, abusive mother are gripping. Much can be learned about life and growing up from Graceanne's book.
Molly Connally, Kings Park Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (August 22, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312272782
• ISBN-13: 978-0312272784
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,574,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Book, January 9, 2001

By 

Aerie (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Is Graceanne's Book: A Novel (Hardcover)

Sometimes the most profound things are very complex and sometimes they are very simple. This is a simple story about complex human beings who appear simple. Confusing? Not very. I urge you to read this story about a mid-western family hurting in every place imaginable but which still manages to move into parts of the human heart where few of us have the nerve to go. There are scenes of such poignance that you will put the book down and reflect with your eyes closed as you feel what the characters are feeling. I finished the book about a week ago, and I find myself thinking about what Graceanne did on the other side of the bridge and wondering why Charlie never saw his sister Kentucky again. Did Edie ever get herself straightened out? The story stays with you and I will be thinking about it for a long time. It will be on my bookshelf in the section reserved for the very special. It is very simply, a wonderful book and although the story has ended, I wish the Farrand family the very best.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An American Classic, December 8, 2001

By 

Theresa A. Burkhardt "bocafriend" (South FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This Is Graceanne's Book: A Novel (Paperback)

The first time I read "This is Graceanne's Book,"
I did so without pausing. When I closed the
book's cover at four in the morning, I knew that
I had just been privileged to experience a tale
of American literature that will remain in my
heart and my mind's eye forever.

The second time I read the novel, I found myself
poring over the chapters -- absorbing the beauty
of Whitney's vivid settings and inventive dialogue.

I treated myself to a few chapters each day, wanting
to prolong my reunion with the lovable and precocious
Charlie (the boy narrator) and his irrepressible yet
noble sister Graceanne.

Whitney archived a time in American history when
women struggled for financial independence; society
struggled with racial issues; and children struggled
to remain out of crossfire of their elders.

The kids of Cranepool's Landing didn't have television,
they had something far greater: imagination, and a gritty
determination to puzzle through life's mysteries on their
own terms, using their own self-taught codes of honor.

Charlie, Graceanne, Wanda, Kentucky, and Collier
will win your heart as Jem, Dil and Scout did in
"To Kill a Mockingbird."

Reading "This is Graceanne's Book" gives you an insight
into the American experience that should not be overlooked.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Old Fashioned Story of Childhood Innocence & Spirit, August 20, 2001

By 

Sandra Mitchell "Sandra Mitchell" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This Is Graceanne's Book: A Novel (Paperback)

Told from the vantage point of young Charlie Farrand, you'll find yourself in love with him & his older sister Graceanne in no time. Growing up poor in the Midwest in the 1960's, the kids of Cranespool Landing have fun the good old-fashioned way by playing in the muddy river, playing ramped up versions of hide & seek and the like. Despite growing up in a troubled household the Farrand children manage to have fun, create their own excitement and love one another. This novel is about the resiliency of the human spirit and about how strong the bonds of love between siblings can run. A balance of humor and heartbreak, it will have you laughing & crying. Charlie's unconditional love for his sister Graceanne is so pure & touching you'll wish you could wrap your arms around them both.