One Whole and Perfect Day

by Judith Clarke

Overview

This wholly satisfying Michael L. Printz Honor Book is told from multiple points of view. Lily Samson both loves and is embarrassed by her eccentric family. Her grandmother has an invisible friend; her grandfather is a racist (she believes); her mother brings elderly clients home from work for dinner; and her older brother keeps dropping in and out of school. Lily wishes her family could be "normal" for just one day. Then serendipity strikes. Through a series of surprising encounters, Lily's family members all reach new understanding about themselves and make changes for the better—and Lily gets her dream of one whole and perfect day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620910252
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	04/01/2013
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	840L (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Judith Clarke has written many award-winning young adult novels including Night Train, The Lost Day, and Al Capsella and the Watchdogs. She lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Editorial Reviews

Writing with the same warmth and humor that characterized her earliest novels (the Al Capsella series), Clarke introduces a new cast of endearingly eccentric characters who are drawn together to enjoy "one whole and perfect day." Seventeen-year-old Lily, the youngest, most "sensible" member of the Samson clan, has well-founded misgivings about the upcoming 80th birthday party for Pop, her grandfather. She is sure something will go wrong (as it always does) when her unpredictable relatives unite, still she hopes for the "perfect day" of the book's title. Pop himself is having a feud with Lily's shiftless brother Lonnie, and has even threatened him with an ax, causing Lonnie to leave home and move into an apartment. Pop's wife, Nan, who is as soft as Pop is gruff, might be considered normal were it not for her invisible best friend, Sef. Then there's Lily's psychologist mother, who works in an adult day-care center and is always bringing home "old people whose care-giver children were quite desperate for a little break." While the novel mainly focuses on Lily's exasperation with her family's peculiarities, the third-person narrative shifts among other characters' points of view, which reveal old resentments as well as their mutual affections, affections that prove to be more deep-rooted than grudges. Filled with surprising turns of events and serendipitous encounters with strangers (who ultimately take on significance in the story), this book celebrates rekindled friendship and blossoming romance. Ages 12-up. (Mar.)

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Publishers Weekly

* "Filled with surprising turns of events and serendipitous encounters with strangers (who ultimately take on significance in the story), this book celebrates rekindled friendship and blossoming romance." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

* --Horn Book

"Reminiscent of Perkins' Criss Cross (BCCB 9/05), this Australian import will appeal especially to fans of strong character development and alternating points of view." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

From the Publisher

Gretal Montgomery manages to define eight eccentric Australian characters who are surprisingly connected to one another. The intriguing characters include a grandmother with an invisible friend who is married to an ax-wielding racist who is fond of threatening his lazy grandson. That's before he learns the grandson is engaged to a girl of Chinese descent. At the story's center is 16-year-old Lily, who is frustrated with her mother's tendency to bring home "lame ducks" from the elder care facility and tired of her own search for romance. Lily wishes for one whole perfect day for her grandfather's 80th birthday. Montgomery's voice is soft and whispery, almost as if she's tiptoeing through the narration, as these characters tread softly around each other and the issue of prejudice that runs throughout the story. S.W. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2009 - AudioFile