8 Plus 1 (Paperback)

by Robert Cormier (Author) "At the last minute Annie couldn't go..." (more)
Key Phrases: Alphabet Soup, Rollie Tremaine, Grover Cleveland (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Meet seventeen-year-old Mike, who visits his grandmother's bedside and learns a family secret.



A divorced father who discovers only love, not bribes, can keep his daughter 'his' on Thursdays.



And Jerry, a young boy desperately looking for the missing Grover Cleveland card to complete his set of president cards.



Here are nine stories by Robert Cormier, one of the most gifted writers of young adult fiction today; stories that are warm, touching, and intensely personal--to be savored by readers of all ages.

From the Publisher
Meet seventeen-year-old Mike, who visits his grandmother's bedside and learns a family secret.

A divorced father who discovers only love, not bribes, can keep his daughter 'his' on Thursdays.

And Jerry, a young boy desperately looking for the missing Grover Cleveland card to complete his set of president cards.

Here are nine stories by Robert Cormier, one of the most gifted writers of young adult fiction today; stories that are warm, touching, and intensely personal--to be savored by readers of all ages.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf (March 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440208386
• ISBN-13: 978-0440208389
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #124,844 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nine poignant short stories that show Cormier's gentler side, May 29, 1998

By A Customer

Robert Cormier is best known for his starkly realistic and uncompromising novels about the darker side of life. In "8 Plus 1" we see a gentler Cormier, although some of the stories do have their painful parts. As always, Cormier's writing is superb. An added bonus is the introductions he wrote for each story, in which he writes about how a story came to be written or about some aspect of the writing. This book is great bedside reading, and fascinating for the reader who also loves to write. Cormier's insights and family anecdotes make this book a true gem for Cormier fans.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A bitter-sweet read, November 28, 1998

By A Customer

This is a book that is always well-received by the pupils I teach. It explores relevant issues but doesn't talk at the reader. Instead, we are invited to experience the joys and sorrows of all the characters as they tell us their stories. It isn't as bleak as some of Cormier's others works but there are melancholy undertones in many of the short tales. My pupils love this book as I did too when I discovered it as a bored teenager (or thereabouts). It's a book I can keep going back to and from which I get something 'new'each time . I think there's a little bit of Mike, Holly, Jane and Mr Croft in all of us.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful. Just beautiful., November 2, 1998

By A Customer

It wasn't the stories themselves that interested me so much as the introductions. I learned some interesting things about Cormier and feel all the better for having read the book. As for the stories, I liked them. They display a Robert Cormier of a very different kind. Yes, he CAN write humor, yes he CAN write happy endings! I have been looking for a weakness but have not yet found one.