Through a Brief Darkness [Unknown Binding]

Richard Peck (Author)

Product Details

• Unknown Binding
• Publisher: Viking Pr (1973)
• ASIN: B002KZX8PC
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Richard Peck has written over twenty novels, and in the process has become one of America's most highly respected writers for young adults. A versatile writer, he is beloved by middle graders as well as young adults for his mysteries and coming-of-age novels. He now lives in New York City. In addition to writing, he spends a great deal of time traveling around the country attending speaking engagements at conferences, schools and libraries...Mr. Peck has won a number of major awards for the body of his work, including the Margaret A. Edwards Award from School Library Journal, the National Council of Teachers of English/ALAN Award, and the 1991 Medallion from the University of Southern Mississippi. Virtually every publication and association in the field of children s literature has recommended his books, including Mystery Writers of America which twice gave him their Edgar Allan Poe Award. Dial Books for Young Readers is honored to welcome Richard Peck to its list with Lost in Cyberspace and its sequel The Great Interactive Dream Machine...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, September 18, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Through a Brief Darkness (Paperback)

This book is great! It may be short in length, but it is a great story. All her life, Karen has known nothing but boarding school after boarding school. Her father, her only parent, is a mob boss, and Karen doesn't really know it. She has always kind of suspected it, but never confirmed it. She doesn't really want to know the truth. She is very out of touch with her father, partly because everything is handled by her father's secretary, Miss Simon. One day, the headmistriss at Karen's boarding school recieves a call to get Karen and tell her to pack her bags because her father is taking her to London. This call is supposedly from Miss Simon, snd there is no question in that matter at that point in the book. When she finally gets there, the people that meet her are again, "supposedly" her deceased mother's cousins. After a few odd happenings, Karen starts to think that something isn't right, so she calls upon an old friend who happens to be going to school in London. He comes to the rescue, and whisks her off to a safe place, however, all is not right yet. Her mother's supposed cousins chase them all over, and finally.... Well I guess you'll have to read the book to find out, won't you? This is such a good book. If you like excitment, action, and drama, this is the book for you. Read it already!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Dark as a pocket", May 15, 2000

By 

Sara Garrison (DePauw University in Greencastle, IN.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Through a Brief Darkness (Paperback)

Though she may have been providing a detail for the room Mrs. Hoaresham was held helpless in, main character Karen Beatty, in actuality, summarized her entire life by describing the room as "dark as a pocket."

Karen knows nothing more about her life than a complete stranger on the street. Her mother died when she was young, her father has managed to stay a distant figure... Karen's memories of childhood consist of one boarding school after another.

Suddenly, Karen is instructed to leave school, which initiates a long journey, toward her father and more importantly, to herself. With the help of a childhood friend (Jay) and Mrs. Hoaresham, an animated and generous new friend, Karen is able to escape from her fictional relatives and find her father, along with a strength she never knew she had.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars You Can't Trust Relatives!!!!!!!, June 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Through a Brief Darkness (Paperback)

Karen was a girl who had been to no exotic places so when her so-called "cousin" Blanch nvites her to England saying her dad gave permission, Karen is extremely happy. The story is sizzling and exciting, the plot is unique, the escape is strategically planned. I was kept in suspense till the last page.