Wintering Well [Library Binding]

Lea Wait (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2008

"What happened this afternoon is too terrible to write...Please, God, let Will live. And please, God, forgive me."

Cassie's journal opens her dramatic story and that of her older brother Will, as they are both forced to reexamine their lives after a farm accident leaves Will without a leg -- and without hope.

After a winter of healing, Will knows his future must be away from the farm that he loves. He and Cassie go to stay with their older sister and her husband in the nearby town of Wiscasset. There, with the excitement of Maine's new statehood as a backdrop, Will finds that being disabled can be a social handicap as well as physical one. But with hard work he can win respect -- and find exciting possibilities for his future.

Living in town opens Cassie's eyes too. She sees Will considering career options not open to her, and she wonders if she can be fulfilled by keeping a house and a family. Are there other possibilities for a young woman in 1820? As Cassie watches Will make his life decisions, she struggles to find her own place in the world.

From the author of Stopping to Home and Seaward Born comes this remarkable story of hardship, determination, and the joy of finding the right path in life.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–Each chapter in this novel begins with brief journal entries written by 11-year-old Cassie, who describes life on her family's Maine farm in 1819. As the book opens, her 12-year-old brother accidentally cuts himself with an ax, an injury that leads to the amputation of his leg. Despondent, Will wonders what to do with his life, since his dream of being a farmer has been destroyed. Cassie, who nurses him back to health, also wonders what the future holds for her. When they move to a nearby town to live with their older sister while Will is fitted for a wooden leg, they are exposed to a new range of opportunities. Will's talent for woodcarving is discovered by a cabinetmaker and Cassie finds satisfaction in assisting Dr. Theobold. While the realities of Will's experiences are detailed, from his physical and emotional pain to his struggle to adapt to a wooden leg, there's a sense that when one door closes, another opens. Unfortunately, not as much focus is placed on Cassie's life, as the two stories often compete with one another. However, the overall message of triumph over adversity is handled in an uplifting and convincing manner.–Kristen Oravec, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Strongsville, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. The time is 1819, and the narrator is Cassie Ames, an 11-year-old living near Wiscasset just before Maine becomes a state. The story begins with a terrible accident that leaves Cassie's older brother, Will, without a leg, and offers a grim, if not overly explicit, scene of how amputation was performed at the time. Will and Cassie leave the family farm to spend the summer with their older sister in town, where Will finds new skills and discovers what he can do for himself, and Cassie chafes against the cooking, baking, and sewing skills she is learning. Limned with just the right amount of detail about the realities of life in the early nineteenth century, this is a quiet story of seeking. In the end, Will finds his whittling skill may lead to real work as a carver, and Cassie, who has been assisting the town doctor, feels she may also have found a path to follow. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Library Binding: 186 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439528861
• ISBN-13: 978-1439528860
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,168,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've been writing fiction (traditional mysteries for grownups, and historical fiction set in Maine for young people) since I left corporate America in 1998 and moved to Maine, a state I've always loved. Right now I'm working on a contemporary mystery for my young fans. I earned my B.A. at Chatham College and did graduate work at New York University. I've also owned an antique print business, MAH Antiques, since 1976. I adopted my 4 wonderful daughters when I was a single parent. They're grown now, and I have eight perfect grandchildren. (Aren't all grandchildren perfect?) In 2003 I married Bob Thomas, a man I've known and loved since 1968 .. sometimes life moves in slow but steady ways. Bob is not only a photographer and a partner in my antiques business, but is immensely supportive of my writing. (He even does all the errands and cooking so I have no excuses to leave my desk!) I'm very lucky to have achieved so many of my goals in life, and to have had fun doing it. My favorite quotation is "Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved." William Jennings Bryan wrote that, but I think it defines my life. For more information about me, check my website, http://www.leawait.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting story of brother & sister!, April 28, 2005

By 

Carl from Virginia - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wintering Well (Hardcover)

Will has an accident and loses his leg, but WINTERING WELL is not gross or sad ... it is about how he copes, and how his sister Cassie helps him ... and they both learn that challenges can bring exciting rewards. I couldn't put it down, and I'm older than 13. Really good and exciting and feels real..One of my favorite books now!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Juvenile Historical Fiction, May 19, 2010

By 

Lavern Holdeman "history buff" (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wintering Well (Aladdin Historical Fiction) (Paperback)

As a writer of historical fiction for children, I thought the novel was well written. The main characters, Will and Cassie, learn and grow, and the action is interspersed with interesting and informational historical facts about the State of Maine. The author has done an excellent job of interweaving period specific practices and culture into the novel. The only reason I did not give the book a five star rating is because the language employed does not seem to fit the setting of early nineteenth century America, or the characters, who are relatively uneducated rural folk. It seems far too formal and out of sync with the speech patterns of the period. I believe that more period-specific language could have been used and the novel would still have been intelligible to children. Other than this, it is a believable and well told story with positive moral values, and I recommend it.

Lavern Holdeman, author of N.U.K.E.S.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific, March 9, 2006

By 

Nathaniel Lachenmeyer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wintering Well (Hardcover)

Wintering Well is a terrific book. The characters are wonderful, and the author does a great job of approaching a very difficult subject-physical disability-in a way that is moving and engaging. It's clear that the author did a lot of historical research, but the research never gets in the way of the writing or the story. It's seamless and reads beautifully. Reading Wintering Well, you feel like you have stepped right into the early 19th century. Highly recommended.