Three Lives to Live [Paperback]

Anne Lindbergh (Author)

Book Description

Amazed when the twin image of herself suddenly drops into her life, wearing old-fashioned clothing and unable to use a microwave, a young girl is further intrigued when her unsurprised grandmother warns her not to ask questions.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When a girl in an old-fashioned dress tumbles out of an unused laundry chute, Garet is understandably surprised. Her grandmother, Gratkins, on the other hand, accepts the newcomer as a matter of course, calls her Daisy and enrolls her in school, claiming that she is Garet's long-lost twin. After this promising and mysterious opening, Lindbergh's tale becomes a whiny account of the children's sibling rivalry, and the predictable discovery that Daisy and Garet are both actually younger versions of Gratkins, having journeyed forward in time via the magical laundry chute. The inherent fascination of time travel cannot compensate for the novel's lack of any real adventure and its irksome, self-satisfied prose. The characters seem to be little more than repositories for cliched tics, and the narration, unfortunately, keeps the reader at arm's length. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-- A cross between Back to the Future and Freaky Friday (HarperCollins, 1972). Thirteen-year-old Garet's life with her grandmother has been an uneventful one--until a strange girl her own age suddenly appears down the laundry chute. Her grandmother not only recognizes Daisy, but also wants to pass her off as Garet's long-lost twin sister. After much badgering from both girls, Gratkins confesses that she and Daisy are actually the same person, 50 years separated, the result, she explains, of a time ``stutter.'' rather than a warp. Daisy disappears, presumably back to her own time, causing a rift between Gratkins and Garet. In a temper, Garet retreats to the attic and begins thumbing through some old photograph albums. There she discovers yet another wrinkle to the Daisy/Gratkins duplication, and resolves to go up the laundry chute to try and bring Daisy back. The device of the novel being Garet's classroom autobiography assignment cleverly allows her to tell her own story and comment on it at the same time. It also allows for an appropriately colloquial narrative sharpened by a jaundiced adolescent view of the adult world. Plot takes precedence over character, although both improve with a second reading, almost a necessity due to the twists and turns of the story. A familiar premise given an original treatment. --Barbara Hutcheson, Greater Victoria Public Library, B.C., Canada
Copyright 1992 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: 184 pages
• Publisher: Minstrel Books (May 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671867326
• ISBN-13: 978-0671867324
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,232,793 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 My favorite book as a kid, August 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Three Lives to Live (Paperback)

My dad purchased "Three Lives to Live" for me when I was nine. I didn't want it. But somehow, I ended up reading it anyway. And I read it over and over and over for the next 4 years. The story is totally original and the telling is very fresh. I really fell in love with that book. Whenever I was feeling down, I'd pick it up and read it because it would always make me feel better. I've recommended this book to many friends over the years and I haven't found one who didn't enjoy this. Great book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be fifty years ahead of your time!, December 3, 2005

By 

Snork Maiden - See all my reviews

This review is from: Three Lives to Live: A Novel (Hardcover)

It is a great pity that Anne Lindbergh has been forgotten so soon after her death; she was one of the few writers who carried on the wonderful tradition of children's literature that started with E. Nesbit. Lindbergh writes the kind of children's fantasy that doesn't involve elves, dragons, or even wizards. In her books, ordinary children (or teens) stumble across something magical and make the best possible use of it. The magical something, in this case a laundry chute that transports you (or replicates you - it's complicated) fifty years ahead of your time, is not always fully explained. Why a laundry chute should be a time stutter, or why a height chart should allow everyone who is 5'5" to travel to the future, is left unclear, and in Lindbergh's fiction that works.

The basic plot of Three Lives to Live is this: Garet Atkins is an orphan, living very happily with her grandmother Gratkins, who is also her best friend. Then one day, when Garet is peacefully reading in the basement sink, a girl her own age comes flying out of the laundry chute, wearing an old-fashioned peach-colored party dress. To Garet's surprised resentment, Gratkins knows the girl's name (Daisy), takes her in and insists on enrolling her at Garet's school as Garet's twin sister. Garet documents all this, including her increasing jealousy of the pretty, popular, and opportunistic Daisy, in the autobiography she is writing for her English class. As as result, Garet spends a lot of time struggling with Mrs. Magorian, her well-meaning, incompetent teacher, who patently doesn't believe a word of the autobiography. These scenes will induce flashbacks in anyone who has ever had a truly terrible middle-school English teacher. When Garet writes a hilarious conversation between herself and Daisy using only "said" and "asked" as verbs, Mrs. Magorian insists that she rewrite it. She gives Garet, as examples, a list of verbs starting with "beg, bellow, blubber, blurt," and Garet duly sticks them into the dialogue at random. This is funny even for younger children; as read by older children it becomes very pointed satire. The entire book is like this - perfect for many different ages, and worth re-reading as an adult.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three Lives to Live, January 5, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Three Lives to Live: A Novel (Hardcover)

This is wonderful book written by Anne Lindbergh (the daughter of Charles Lindbergh)about a girl, Garet Atkins (age 13) and a mysterious laundry chute. Garet lives with her grandmother Gratkins (short for grandmother atkins) when suddenly a third person enters their lives. Daisy Atkins, a strange girl wearing an old fashioned peach-colored party dress falls into Garet's basement and into her life. This story is a autobiography that Garet is writing for her 7th grade english teacher. Daisy's true identity is never explained to Garet and she is determined to figure out just who this prettier, smarter, more polite, "twin" is.