Phoenix, Upside Down - Hardcover

Feeling displaced after her family's move to Arizona, a fourth grader finds the friends she needs to get her past the rough spots, in this graceful story from the author of The Secret Language of the SB (1990). It's blisteringly hot, her pet rat Spotsey dies as a result of the trip, and Jamie has to start her new school before she can even bring herself to unpack. Although one classmate, Elise, is willing to sit with her at recess, and she forms a surprising friendship with Celia, an elderly neighbor, Jamie soon becomes withdrawn and distracted, and the quality of her schoolwork takes a serious slide. She isn't the only one having trouble adjusting: Her younger sister, Rachel, though outwardly serene, starts sleepwalking. Jamie's problems in school come out in a parent- teacher conference, Celia falls ill but gives and receives comfort from her bed, and Jamie and Elise test their friendship with a spat before tensions ease. That plot may follow a predictable path, but in taking the characters down it, Scarboro exhibits an uncommon ability to acquaint readers with these folk, through small incidents or in a few lines of dialogue. The sisters Jamie and Rachel talk freely with one another, and their rare friendship may be the most important one here, in a story that is sparely told but rich in feeling. (Fiction. 9-12) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Grade 3-5?When fourth grader Jamie, her younger sister, and their parents move from Boulder, Colorado, to Phoenix, Arizona, both girls experience the discomfort of being new. The first friend they make is Celia, an older woman whose garden they discover one day. She provides them with a safe place and a willing ear, and their presence and help is valuable to her, too, since she is an invalid. The girls' parents are both honest and caring, guiding Jamie as she learns to take responsibility for her schoolwork and discovers gradually that there are some good things in Phoenix after all. The story is realistic, if lacking in zip; the pace is slow and humorless. There are some missing facts, as well. If the reason for moving to Phoenix is the father's job, it seems odd not to know what that job is. Also, although Celia's illness is more or less present throughout, readers never learn the nature of it. There are many good stories about moving, getting along in school, and becoming friends with an older person. If you need still another, this one is adequate.?Carolyn Jenks, First Parish Unitarian Church, Portland, ME
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.