5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderfully, emotionally true ... "home" is not a simple word, August 6, 2010
This review is from: Touch Blue (Hardcover)
Cynthia Lord's TOUCH BLUE, set on a Maine island where families volunteer as foster parents to meet minimum state requirements to keep their school open, focuses on 11 year old Tess and her new, older, foster brother Aaron, a veteran of the foster care system. They each have expectations of his placement with her family -- Tess has read Anne of Green Gables, and romanticizes the idea of a new, perfect, family for Aaron. Aaron's emotional ties to his bio mom are still intact, even though the legal bonds have been broken, and he has learned from experience not to get attached to new "homes." Lord writes beautifully and sensitively about how frustrated Tess decides to "fix" Aaron's problem, and talented Aaron gradually makes a place for himself on the island. TOUCH BLUE is a quiet book, but its people and places will find homes in readers' hearts.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a charming, delightful and memorable book that makes me wish for more., October 4, 2010
This review is from: Touch Blue (Hardcover)
Eleven-year-old Tess Brooks, whose hair is "pitch brown and straight as pine needles," is the superstitious sort. She believes good luck floats around, sticking to some people and skipping over others. She loves living on an island off the coast of Maine with her lobster fisherman father, school teacher mother and younger sister Libby.
After Tess's best friend, Amy Hamilton, and her family move to the mainland, the island's only school is in jeopardy of closing because of the low student population. If it shuts down, Tess's mom will lose her job, and her family and several other island families will have to move to the mainland, away from the only home Tess has ever known. In response, several island families have agreed to take in foster children from the mainland. If all goes according to plan, bringing these kids to the island will provide stable homes in a lovely environment, increase enrollment at the school, and avoid the shutdown.
Thirteen-year-old foster child Aaron Spinney is tall and skinny with long red hair "bright as October leaves" and muddy green eyes. He also has a big-time attitude. In his short life, he has had more than his share of bad luck. His mother is a recovering alcoholic and an addict whose whereabouts is unknown. After being taken from his mother, Aaron was raised by his grandmother until she got sick and died. Since her death, he has been bounced around foster homes. Older children are harder to place, but the Brooks welcome Aaron --- along with two younger sisters who want to get to know him --- into their home, where he has his own room with a view of the ocean. But is this enough to make him want to stay?
While most of the community welcomes the foster children to the island, not everyone is kind to them. There's Mrs. Coombs, the island busybody and biggest complainer, and Eben Calder, the cruel bully who makes fun of Aaron and provokes him into a fight. It soon becomes apparent that Aaron is different, and not just because he's a foster child. He has a very special and beautiful musical talent. While he is a welcome addition to the Brooks family and the island, at least one person is jealous of his gifts. And he yearns for his own mother, his own family. Will Aaron become part of his new family on the island, or will he try to leave and reconnect with his mother?
TOUCH BLUE is a heart-warming story about family, community, faith and belonging. Newbery Honor author Cynthia Lord's graceful prose paints a lovely picture of life on an island off the coast of Maine and the lives of foster children, using the right touch of compassion but not pity. Lord does an excellent job creating realistic and vivid characters, especially Aaron and Tess, who believes "wishes are slippery things." This is a charming, delightful and memorable book that makes me wish for more.
--- Reviewed by Donna Volkenann
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, September 2, 2010
This review is from: Touch Blue (Hardcover)
The residents of a small island community off the coast of Maine have been told their island school is in danger of being closed by the state. The news has some of those residents taking action. Here's the plan - a few families have agreed to take foster children into their homes, hoping that the added students are enough to save their school.
Tess Brooks has reason to be doubly excited about the arrival of thirteen-year-old Aaron. First of all, her mother is the one and only teacher at their small school, and closing the school would mean her losing her job. If that happens, Tess knows her family would be forced to move from the island to the mainland so her mother could get a new job. All Tess has ever known is island life. Moving would mean leaving the best place on Earth.
The other reason Tess has to be excited is that Aaron's arrival means she will have a big brother. He may be only two years older, but Tess is used to being the oldest and she thinks it would be nice to have someone else as a companion besides her usually annoying little sister.
What Tess is not expecting is that Aaron might not love the island like she does. He is polite enough, but he's mostly moody and quiet and not even interested in exploring his new home. Aaron spends his time in his attic room playing his trumpet. It takes all of Tess's skill and patience to convince him to join her in enjoying the summer on the island. As Aaron comes out of his shell, Tess discovers his secrets and concerns and vows to help him solve his biggest problem.
Cynthia Lord's new book, TOUCH BLUE, is the emotional story of a group of well-meaning people and how they touch the life of one lonesome, confused boy. Readers will enjoy Lord's humor as well as her colorful descriptions of the picturesque little island and its interesting mix of inhabitants. I also enjoyed that each chapter begins with one of the superstitions Tess religiously believes help to guide her through life.
Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"
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