Billie Standish Was Here (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Miss Lydia, Billie Marie, Kansas City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Proving that the heavily mined "child and elderly neighbor change each other's lives" premise isn't completely dry, Crocker's sturdy debut explores the deep and subtle reaches of a friendship that blooms between 11-year-old Billie and her across-the-road neighbor Miss Lydia. Set in a small town several generations ago, this is anchored by three pivotal acts—one driven by hate, one by love, and one a complex combination of the two.The story covers five years of Billie's struggles to get out from under the thumb of her spiteful, abusive mother, and Lydia's efforts to erase the guilt of two terrible secrets as, with agonizing slowness, her aging body fails. Crocker skillfully lays out the heart-deep regard that develops between these two perceptive, spirited females (Lydia is occasionally given to hilariously salty language) as life throws them severe challenges that they weather with each other's help. In Billie, the author creates a narrator whose credible mix of naïveté, resilience, and uncertain but budding sense of self-respect that will speak to young readers. This easily transcends its familiar themes and locale. Peters, John

Product Description

CAN ONE UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP SAVE A LIFE?

Billie Standish has pretty much no one. Her parents are too caught up in their own lives, and the only two girls in town her age want nothing to do with her. When it looks like a nearby levee might break, and Billie's elderly neighbor, Miss Lydia, is the only other person besides her family to stick around, a friendship is born out of circumstance. What happens during that time, in that empty town, is a tragedy that Billie can't bear alone. Can the love of one woman nearing the end of her life save the life of a young woman just at the beginning of living hers?

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (June 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141692423X
• ISBN-13: 978-1416924234
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #569,666 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it! Tears and all!, January 11, 2008

By	A Customer - See all my reviews

Having grown up in a time and place not so far from Billie Standish, I can say with some authority that Crocker has captured an American voice with an authenticity that makes the 1960's smack you in the face all over again. My daughter loved it. I loved it. It's not just a coming-of-age novel. It's a book about finding your way through life and the constant struggle to love and be loved; themes that last a lifetime. It may be considered a young adult novel but it had one of the most cynical adults I know (me) by the throat, pulling me along every step of the way. Young people may see Billie's life through one prism. Adults may see it through another. It's the kind of child/adult read that could lead to "teachable moments", although I won't tell my daughter that.

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, October 9, 2009

By	Deborah J. George (St. Louis) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Superbly set, written, and paced.
Simultaneously real and delicate.
A book readers can inhabit.

5.0 out of 5 stars Billi Standish was here, October 7, 2009

By	Karen J. Brown "Book lover" (Milton, NH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

Amazing read.....This is one of the best young adult books that I have read in a very long time. The book will appeal to a multitude of readers. I hope this is the first in many to come from this talented new author.