- Hardcover: 192 pages
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; None edition (Sep 27 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0395971195
- ISBN-13: 978-0395971192
- Product Dimensions: 21.5 x 14.6 x 1.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 386 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Picture book author Collins's first novel takes a startlingly provocative premise and clothes it in the familiar tropes of the YA novel. On the eve of the new millennium, 14-year-old Taswell believes that God has chosen her to give birth to a prophet. As the novel opens, Taswell is writing letters from a convent school where she's been sent because her guardian grandmother, Mavis, is busy traveling. Taswell's mother disappeared soon after her birth and her recently remarried father is a loving but distant presence. In her loneliness, Taswell turns to Pim, a guardian angel with a "misty green suit" and "glassy skin" whom she remembers from her early childhood. Taswell writes him letters that reveal both her alienation and her miraculous transformation (invoking other pivotal events that have happened to young people: "Think of Joan of Arc. Think of the Virgin Mary"). The resolution of this original plot is both surprising (neither consensual nor abusive sex is the cause of Taswell's condition) and at the same time disappointingly predictable (Taswell begins to heal only when an adult shows that she truly understands and cares). The epistolary form allows easy access to the protagonist's thoughts but not necessarily an easy identification with her. Taswell's sense of greatness (due to her special role), which separates her from her peers, may be off-putting to readers as well; yet they'll likely keep turning the pages to learn the outcome of the protagonist's unusual predicament. Ages 10-14. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 7-9-Taswell, 14, has been sent to a remote, mountaintop Catholic girls' school by her grandmother. Her story is plausibly told through letters to and from her family, and to Pim, whom the teen believes is a cherubim who will intercede on her behalf only if she is worthy. She also believes that, like the Virgin Mary, she has been chosen to bear a prophet for the new millennium. Gaining weight and guarding her secret for months, Taswell gradually detaches from everyone, enthralled by ritual and religious fervor. Only Grace, a novitiate, and Madeline, a fellow student whom Taswell is convinced has been called to assist her, make any contact. Interventions by the school staff, including a therapist, are ineffective. When a doctor's examination finally determines that Taswell is not pregnant, but delusional, her family is summoned to deal with her. Ah, the family: her high-powered New York editor/grandmother who raised Taswell but has invested neither time nor emotion in the process; her wealthy but distant father, who, motivated by his new wife, seeks to establish closer contact; and her pregnant, kind and understanding stepmother, the only character who offers the young woman the unconditional love she craves. Serious and disturbing, Taswell's narrative is initially attention grabbing, but drags during the second trimester as the plot labors to conform to the nine-month school year/pregnancy time frame. Taswell and her dysfunctional family are convincingly frustrating and psychologically rich characters. Together with the plot, this limits the readership to serious, capable readers.
Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Jr. High School, Iowa City, IA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Jr. High School, Iowa City, IA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Disattached, Disturbed, and Incredible,
By Abulia (Pittsburgh) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Signs and Wonders (Hardcover)
I have no idea how to rate this book. One the one hand, the writing is excellent, the entire story of a virgin birth presented in the form of letters sent to and from a 14 year old self-made outcast named Taswell (it's a family name). The moment I started reading it, I couldn't stop until I'd reached the end. The writing is _that_ good. The character of Taswell is amazing. Obviously lonely and anti-social, she exhibits a vast amount of faith, intelligence, and a strange sort of maturity. Many of the things she wrote in the book made me pause, breaking out the story, because they were just so deliciously _demented_. As a character study alone, she's an amazing person to examine, because Taswell is both original and believable, which seems to be a very hard combination of characteritics for many other authors to properly achieve. However, on the other hand, as I made my way through the book, I grew more and more depressed. Perhaps it's just me and my crappy social skills when I was growing up, but I found myself wishing I could reach into the world of the book and slap her out of it, tell her the things I've learned over the years about making friends and the importance of other people. Another thing that bothered me was the ending, because I _expected_ it to end that way, and I hate it when my expectations are met in books. I'd much rather be surprised, or wowed. This is a hard review to write, because even though I'll probably never read the book again, "Signs and Wonders" is definitely something that's worth reading. It affected me in a way that many books never have, with its wonderful writing, storyline, and main character. I was thoroughly depressed by the end of the book, but dang it, it was WORTH it. So, thus, I humbly suggest that everyone out there, young or old, READ this book. You may be like me and never want to read it again, but it's still an excellent read and a strangely affecting story. "Signs and Wonders" is powerful, and something so moving deserves to be read.
5.0 out of 5 stars
OUTSTANDING,
By A Customer
This review is from: Signs and Wonders (Hardcover)
This book is truly original and hard to put down, yet also a book that one doesn't want to finish! Told through letters, the author brings us into the thoughts and heart of an adolescent girl who is suffering from a lack of attention from parents, a grandmother, and others in her life. How Taswell deals with her pain is both surprising and touching. And the person who comes into her life as a positive influence is equally unexpected. The characters are complex and well developed, and along the way Collins enriches the story with exceptional humor and wit. This is a wonderful book!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bravo!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Signs and Wonders (Hardcover)
Once in a while a book comes along that you can't put down and you'll never forget. Signs and Wonders is just such a book. It's brilliant. Told entirely in letters that bring the characters to life and keeps the pages turning quickly, almost too quickly for I hated to reach the end. Taswell, the main character, takes us on a fantastical emotional journey, which ends quite beautifully back in reality. Her wild imagination driven by the need for something as simple and as complicated as love. A must read and like Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman, destined to become a classic.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
