Come a Stranger (The Tillerman Series #5) (School & Library Binding)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: summer minister, dance camp, Miz Hunter, Miss Maddinton, Tamer Shipp (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Mina is forced to give up her beloved ballet, it is only her relationship with minister Tamer Shipp that helps herand himgrow up. Ages 11-up.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up Mina Smiths, whom many readers will remember from Dicey's Song (Atheneum, 1982), takes center stage in this addition to the Tillerman saga and holds it with energy and spirit. The story takes her from age 10 to 15, following her from a youthful dancer, full of herself and her ambitions, to a wise and realistic young woman. The key to her growth is Tamer Shipp, a young pastor who drives her home from the station once she leaves the dance camp from which she has been dismissed, perhaps because puberty has harmed her talents, perhaps because she is black. When Tamer's honesty and understanding help her through the first pain, she begins to love him, forming a relationship which will be central to her perceptions of the world around her for the ensuing three summers. There is little plot here, but the story moves well, with the theme, Mina's changing view of the world and her place in it as a young black woman, carrying it in a rich current. The events are seen through Mina's eyes, as are the characters who, nonetheless, emerge with strong identities of their own. In the last third of the book, the Tillermans come into focus as Mina learns about Bullet (The Runner Atheneum, 1985) from Tamer, who loved and hated him. It is her relationship with the Tillermans and with Tamer which brings the story to its climax, as Mina finds a way to complete the circle, bringing a measure of peace to all. Voigt tells her story smoothly, getting inside of Mina's perceptions easily and believably. To catch the resonance of the story, it would be helpful to have read the earlier books about the Tillermans, although, except for minor lapses in character description and incident, this does stand well on its own. Voigt permits readers to know her characters in a way they rarely know people in real life. Christine Behrmann, New York Public Library
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• School & Library Binding: 352 pages
• Publisher: Turtleback Books: A Division of Sanval (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0833508059
• ISBN-13: 978-0833508058
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,461,861 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #58 in

  Books > Teens > Authors, A-Z > ( V ) > Voigt, Cynthia

• This item is part of The Tillerman Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Come a Stranger, November 27, 2000

By	Grace (North Bend, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Come a Stranger (The Tillerman Series #5) (Mass Market Paperback)

Mina Smith loves dancing, and when she gets accepted to the summer ballet school she thinks all of her dreams have come true. When she arrives at the school, she is the only black girl there. The other girls treat her differently, but Mina is too blind to notice. The next summer, she loses her coordination, gets sent home, and falls in love with the summer minister. In this book, Mina embarks on a journey to find herself, and comes to love dance even more than before.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Voigt is probably one of the finest young adult writers..., June 30, 2000

By	Malice (the USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Come a Stranger (The Tillerman Series #5) (Mass Market Paperback)

Wilhemina Smiths (Mina), wants to dance. She's got liveliness, intelligence, zest for life, and determination; but she is also black. Voigt produces her usual not-out of the ordinary kaleidoscope of REAL people...and this is precisely what makes this book out of the ordinary. She presents Mina's emotions beautifully and level-headedly: her love of ballet, her keenness, her crush on/fascination with Tamer Shipp, her relationship with Dicey. The concluding sentences of the book are wonderfully ambiguous (at least a little). There's disappointment, triumph... It's just great.

Characters and scenes from the other books in the Tillerman Cycle overlap and are introduced through her own perspective. I'd recommend this book far more than "The Glory Field", and feel that it lived up to its potential and even surpassed my expectations.

Read it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Race Dependent World, March 11, 2003

By	Emily (Shawnee, KS USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Come a Stranger (The Tillerman Series #5) (Mass Market Paperback)

In the story "Come A Stranger" a young black girl named Mina, experiences bigotry that she is not used to. Mina is a wonderful dancer at the age of eleven, and is a very sweet kind girl, who loves herself for who she is. Then she gets accepted in a dance camp that is supposed to help her learn how to dance better, but teaches her something else. Mina loved being black and then she went to dance camp and learned how to hate being black. Mina is the only black girl at camp, but she doesn't really notice that and no one really shows their true colors toward her. Mina makes friends at camp and is sad when she has to leave when summer ends. Mina returns home and has turned into a snob, she has grown to hate being black in every way and feels that she is better than everyone else is. The next summer when she returns to dance camp, people start to act differently toward her, like they are better. Mina becomes miserable and wants to go home. Her dancing has changed a great deal because she hit puberty and is going though many changes. Dancing has become hard for Mina when it was once so easy. She is eventually kicked out of camp because no one wants a black girl there who can't dance. Mina for the first time in her life experiences racism. When she has to go home she feels angry, sad and happy all at the same time. She meets the summer reverend at her church named Tamer Shipp who comforts her, while she falls in love with him. Mina becomes a better person because of the dance camp rejection eventually meeting someone named Dicey and makes a great friend. The ending has a sort of funny twist to it. I really enjoyed this book and I think anyone would. I give this book 5 star.