This Is Graceanne's Book

The first time I read "This is Graceanne's Book,"I did so without pausing. When I closed thebook's cover at four in the morning, I knew thatI had just been privileged to experience a taleof American literature that will remain in myheart and my mind's eye forever.The second time I read the novel, I found myselfporing over the chapters -- absorbing the beautyof Whitney's vivid settings and inventive dialogue.I treated myself to a few chapters each day, wantingto prolong my reunion with the lovable and precociousCharlie (the boy narrator) and his irrepressible yetnoble sister Graceanne.Whitney archived a time in American history whenwomen struggled for financial independence; societystruggled with racial issues; and children struggledto remain out of crossfire of their elders.The kids of Cranepool's Landing didn't have television,they had something far greater: imagination, and a grittydetermination to puzzle through life's mysteries on theirown terms, using their own self-taught codes of honor. Charlie, Graceanne, Wanda, Kentucky, and Collierwill win your heart as Jem, Dil and Scout did in"To Kill a Mockingbird." Reading "This is Graceanne's Book" gives you an insightinto the American experience that should not be overlooked.

Told from the vantage point of young Charlie Farrand, you'll find yourself in love with him & his older sister Graceanne in no time. Growing up poor in the Midwest in the 1960's, the kids of Cranespool Landing have fun the good old-fashioned way by playing in the muddy river, playing ramped up versions of hide & seek and the like. Despite growing up in a troubled household the Farrand children manage to have fun, create their own excitement and love one another. This novel is about the resiliency of the human spirit and about how strong the bonds of love between siblings can run. A balance of humor and heartbreak, it will have you laughing & crying. Charlie's unconditional love for his sister Graceanne is so pure & touching you'll wish you could wrap your arms around them both.

Sometimes the most profound things are very complex and sometimes they are very simple. This is a simple story about complex human beings who appear simple. Confusing? Not very. I urge you to read this story about a mid-western family hurting in every place imaginable but which still manages to move into parts of the human heart where few of us have the nerve to go. There are scenes of such poignance that you will put the book down and reflect with your eyes closed as you feel what the characters are feeling. I finished the book about a week ago, and I find myself thinking about what Graceanne did on the other side of the bridge and wondering why Charlie never saw his sister Kentucky again. Did Edie ever get herself straightened out? The story stays with you and I will be thinking about it for a long time. It will be on my bookshelf in the section reserved for the very special. It is very simply, a wonderful book and although the story has ended, I wish the Farrand family the very best.

One does not have to have seen the Mississippi or been a child in the 60s to appreciate and marvel at this wondrous tale. The author has created unique characters in Graceanne and Charlie, yet she has accurately portrayed the universality of the dark side of childhood along with the resiliance of the human spirit that is redemptive. As Michelangelo has captured the sorrow and love of a grieving mother in the Pieta, Polly Whitney has illuminated those secret places of childhood and by bringing this light has made the reader see childhood in a different and wondrous perspective that will haunt the soul for years to come. This book may bring the horrors of a dysfunctional family to the readers, but the author also presents the humor which allows for survival. This is a book to buy and treasure.

Graceanne Farrand of Cranepool's Landing, Missouri, has a lot on her mind. And you'd better pay attention or else she'll "...whale you within an inch of your life...". It is 1960 again, and while the Mississippi is wreaking havoc by flooding its banks, it becomes a mere play-toy for the children of the town. Graceanne's younger brother Charlie, is the outsider in us all, watching with wonder how his sister moves through this world, in her magical way. This world becomes more real and unreal, with every passing page. Charlie Farrand is no fool himself, and he observes for us the most interesting event in town; an event called Graceanne. He watches her behave in ways that always intrigue and fascinate, until his world, is her world. And I was lucky enough to be along for the ride. In seeing her gifts and feeling her burdens, he must travel a road of discovery for himself, in attempting to grasp the plights of his remarkable sister. In this town, with this girl, the imagination is limitless, and the heart is human