Western Wind [Hardcover]

Paula Fox (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1993 | Age Level: 10 and up

Sent to stay with her artist grandmother in a cottage with no electricity and only an outhouse on an island off Maine's coast, Elizabeth doesn't like the island, view, cottage, neighbors, or even Gran. But when tragedy strikes, Elizabeth comes to realize the reason why she was sent to the island.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

PW singled out the "lyrical" prose, "laced with striking images and similes," in the Newbery Medalist's story of a 12-year-old's summer visit with her ailing grandmother. Ages 9-12.
Copyright 1995 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-Elizabeth Benedict, 11, has always enjoyed the company of her eccentric artist grandmother, but when her parents insist that she spend a month with her at her rustic summer cottage off the coast of Maine, the girl feels as though she's being exiled so her parents can spend more time with her new baby brother. Anger and jealousy gnaw at her, until, almost in spite of herself, she begins to experience and appreciate the quiet beauty of Pring Island. The rather abrasive elder Benedict at times embarrasses her granddaughter, quoting poetry and posing probing questions, while at the same time, revealing stories about her youth, her husband, and herself. At once charmed and exasperated by the island's only other inhabitants' overzealous, impulsive young son, Elizabeth spends time with him and learns to accept the wisdom he innocently reveals. His disappearance exposes some other truths, including the real reason she's been sent to spend time with Gran. In this wonderfully realized, sensate novel, Fox's unadorned prose is anything but austere. In a forthright manner, she sets each scene and paints her thoroughly compelling, complex characters. Readers may not like them all, but they will defintely be interested in them.
Luann Toth, School Library Journal
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 201 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.; First Edition edition (September 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531068021
• ISBN-13: 978-0531068021
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,967,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Western Wind, November 4, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Western Wind (Paperback)

This was a very interesting book. When I first loooked at the title I had very little interest in it, but yuo know what they say, "You can never judge a book by its cover." When I opened the book up to read the summary I was very surprised. It was very different than I thought it would be. An eleven-year-old girl named Elizabeth is sent to Maine to visit her grandmother for the whole month of August. She is not very excited about it and doesn't really want to go. When she gets there it is like a whole different world to her. It looks very different to her. This is only the second or third time Elizabeth has met her Grandmother in person. She feels kind of awkward and does not know what they will talk about or what Gran will question her about. Gran starts asking Elizabeth questions and she does not know what kind of answer Gran wants so she answers with a yes or no. Gran knows she feels awkward and tells her it's okay. Elizabeth learns many things about Gran and her family. Gran loves to tell stories. Her favorite things to do are to draw and paint. Elizabeth meets many new people. She gets close with Gran's neighbors. They are very different. They are loud and treat their children in a not so good way. Aaron, one of the sons really starts to like Elizabeth. She takes him down to the cemetary and to the dock often. One night Aaron gets lost. he is nowhere to be found. Later that day Elizabeth finds out something she never knew about Gran. I will let you read the rest to find out what happens next. This was a pretty good book but to tell you the truth, it didn't start getting good until about the middle. I would recommend this book to people in between fourth and eighth grade.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As sparklingly craggy as the coast of Maine itself!, August 14, 2000

By 

Stephen Richmond "Librarian/Teacher/Reader an... (Newton, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Western Wind (Hardcover)

If you'd ever lingered among the crags and eddies off the coast of Maine, there is much that is endearing and enduring in this brief novel, written for near-teens, but enjoyable for all ages. A young girl spends the summer with her grandmother, an artist on an island just off the Maine coast. At first, perplexed and hurt by her parents' decision to have her stay with the often taciturn, but always loving and engaging gran, young Elizabeth learns through a young neighbor boy the importance of seizing the day and not missing a moment of life, a lesson that becomes all the more poignant by the novel's melancholy, but hopeful ending. Paula Fox is the author of the Newbery-winning SLAVE DANCER and always writes with a clarity of spirit and sparklingly unforgettable characters. Further evidence that quick reads do not have to be toss-away pap.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the best book!!! It is so realistic interesting!!!!!, August 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Western Wind (Hardcover)

Western Wind is a really good book!! Elizabeth acts just like a girl would in her situation with her grandmother. She is a girl who was sent to her grandma's house for awhile and feels like her parents sent her away so they could be alone with their new son. I really recommend you read this book. It is excellent!!!!!!