Young David is quivering with a rage that he doesn't really understand. This nine-year-old is essentially an orphan; he has an absentee father, and his mother recently died in an accident. On the surface, he seems ill suited for friendship, especially with someone as bossy and scathingly sarcastic as Primrose, David's elder by four years. But there are similarities in the predicaments of this odd couple: Primrose's fortune teller mother lives in her own world, and her father exists only as an aging framed picture. Somehow the pair cobble together a close relationship. A story of abiding loss and budding friendship.
A nine-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl wouldn't seem to have much in common. But David and Primrose find they share some kindred feelings in their anger and hurt. David's mother has died in an accident and he's resisting with all his might a new living arrangement with his grandmother and always-at-work dad. Primrose's kooky fortune-teller mother and long-absent father have driven her to convert a broken-down van in the yard into her bedroom. A chance meeting and an unlikely friendship follow as both kids try to cope with-and perhaps find-what they're missing. Unfortunately, the story, though filled with quirky exploits, doesn't ever lift off. Morris, who voices both children, is not as convincing in the male role. Narrator Toren's smooth, velvety voice has a slightly imperious tone and sometimes sounds on the verge of laughter. The two-person-cast approach is clunky and not very effective here, and David and Primrose's frequent bickering and teasing, as well as David's excessive coldness toward his grandmother, grow tiresome. Ages 8-up. (July)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
Gr 4 -7-Primrose and David seem to have little in common other than living in the same small town. She is a sarcastic 13-year-old who has moved into a van in her yard to avoid living with her flamboyant psychic mother. He is an angry and sad nine-year-old who recently lost his mother in an accident and lives with his grandmother. After becoming friends, the pair start secretly sneaking out at night to scavenge items to sell at the flea market or to hang out with a reclusive handyman named Refrigerator John. Their evolving love/hate relationship is the focus of Jerry Spinelli's novel (Little, Brow, 2007) as listeners slowly find out about each character's problems. The serious issues are balanced by humorous episodes such as looking for night crawlers and trying to run away to the city. Although they would hardly admit it, Primrose and David begin to look to each other for unconditional support like siblings. All the voices are wonderfully narrated by Suzanne Toren and Cassandra Morris. A quirky, heart-warming story.-Teresa Wittmann, Westgate Elementary School, Edmonds, WA
Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
It started with eggs-nine-year-old David on his way to an Easter egg hunt with his grandmother, 13-year-old Primrose living in an old Dodge van egged by local teenagers. And it ends, almost, with a sunrise "beautiful and smooth as a painted egg." In between, it's the story of a boy who has lost his mother and wants her back, and a girl who has a mother and moves out to get away from her. Together, they build a friendship watching late shows on TV, picking through trash, dining at Dunkin' Donuts, hanging out with Refrigerator John and running away to Philadelphia. With strong characterization of major and minor characters and a light, poetic touch, Spinelli deftly handles themes of friendship, family, loss and resilience in a story that will long linger in the hearts of readers. Elegant and memorable. (Fiction. 8-12)
Nine-year-old David is transplanted from Minnesota to his grandmother's home in Pennsylvania after his mother dies in a freak accident. Thirteen-year-old Primrose moves into an abandoned van because she needs space she can't find in the one-room apartment she shares with her mother. A tumultuous, extraordinarily healing friendship develops when these two damaged children find each other. Spinelli has once again created a satisfying story filled with offbeat yet realistic kids. Suzanne Toren is the perfect narrator, who, with the help of carefully employed sound effects, brings this little world to life in the narrative. Cassandra Morris becomes both David and Primrose, delivering dialogue with superb vocal agility. She moves smoothly from one voice to the other, even through the emotionally charged, fast-paced scenes. N.E.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 07]—-
Still, this isn't a sentimental sob story, but rather the tale of two quirky, convincing characters for whom readers will come to feel great affection. Beatifully narrated by Toren (the adults and the narrative) and Morris (David and Primrose), this is Spinalli at his best- in -sightful, fnny, and daring, Moris's narration of both kis is perfectly pitched, giving the story a fresh energy and vibrancy.—KLIATT
Unfortunately, the story, though filled with quirky exploits, doesn't ever lift off. Morris, who voices both children, is not as convincing in the male role. The two-person-cast approach is clunky and not very effective here, and David and Primrose's frequent bickering and teasing, as well as David's excessive coldness toward his grandmother, grow tiresome.—-
Nine-year-old David is transplanted from Minnesota to his grandmother’s home in Pennsylvania after his mother dies in a freak accident. Thirteen-year-old Primrose moves into an abandoned van because she needs space she can’t find in the one-room apartment she shares with her mother. A tumultuous, extraordinarily healing friendship develops when these two damaged children find each other. Spinelli has once again created a satisfying story filled with offbeat yet realistic kids. Suzanne Toren is the perfect narrator, who, with the help of carefully employed sound effects, brings this little world to life in the narrative. Cassandra Morris becomes both David and Primrose, delivering dialogue with superb vocal agility. She moves smoothly from one voice to the other, even through the emotionally charged, fast-paced scenes. N.E.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
