Say Goodnight, Gracie (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

Julie Reece Deaver has worked both as a teacher's aide and in television and has had her pen-and-ink drawings appear in such periodicals as The New Yorker and Reader's Digest. She is the author of Say Goodnight, Gracie, a 1988 Best Book for Young Adults (ALA) and a 1988 Recommended book for Reluctant Young Adult readers (ALA); First Wedding, Once Removed; and You Bet Your Life. Ms. Deaver lives in Pacific Grove, California.

Grade 8-10A well-drawn portrayal of the complex emotions of an adolescent's first confrontation with death. Morgan and Jimmy have been inseparable friends since birth. When Jimmy is killed by a drunk driver, Morgan's pain seems un bearable. The novel candidly charts the range of Morgan's grief and her slow growth towards acceptance and maturity. Poignantly, the novel opens with a men tion of Jimmy's death, then jumps to be fore the accident as Morgan narrates the events leading up to and following it. Deaver has an acute ear for dialogue; the novel progresses with snappy, realistic exchanges between Morgan and Jimmy. The friendship that they share is just thata close friendship that, refreshingly, is without romantic involvement. The role models presented are a real plus, too. Jim my aspires to be a ballet dancer, and Mor gan's aunt is an attractive psychiatrist. Jimmy's fondness for Fred Astaire is a nice touch, as is the Burns and Allen refer ence in the titlea reference which young readers unfortunately may not under stand. Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia (Crowell, 1977) superbly handles the acci dental death of a friend for younger read ers. Goodnight, Gracie is more sensitive, engaging and realistic than Brancato's Facing Up (Knopf, 1984). It is a memora ble first novel. Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School Library, South Portland, Maine
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.