Under the Banyan Tree

by Toni De Palma

Overview

Irena's not sure where she's headed when she runs away from home-she just wants to leave the trailer she shared with her mamma and daddy far behind. When she stumbles upon the Banyan Tree motel, something tells her it's exactly where she's meant to be. The elderly owner, Carlotta, welcomes Irena, and the Banyan soon begins to feel like home. But trouble follows Irena wherever she goes, and the Banyan is no different: A mysterious guest, money problems, and secrets from her past soon threaten the stability of her new life. This moving story from a talented new voice revels in life's joys and pains, and uncovers just what it really means to be a family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781450773546
Publisher:	Aerodale Press
Publication date:	04/22/2011
Pages:	214
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.49(d)
Age Range:	12 Years

Editorial Reviews

This debut novel about a 15-year-old runaway has some heartwarming moments and a sympathetic heroine, but the story line seems strained at times. Narrator Irena doesn't know where she'll end up when she decides to leave home-she's just desperate to get away from her gator-wrestling father, who drove her mother away. Hitchhiking on the highway, Irena accepts the first ride offered and winds up at the end of the line in Key West. After wandering around, eating from garbage cans and sleeping in a public restroom, she lands a job as a chambermaid at a rundown motel called the Banyan Tree. She finds a new family in the kindly owners, siblings Carlotta and Antonio, but the motel's dwindling funds have everyone worried, especially Lynette, the pregnant bookkeeper. As the threat of foreclosure looms, Irena brainstorms about how the motel could turn a bigger profit, but the ultimate solution is dependent more on coincidence and luck than inspiration. There are a few mysteries sprinkled throughout the plot (one involves a guest who is never seen and requests that his room never be touched); the story's conclusion ties together all the loose threads a bit too neatly and seems rushed. Nonetheless, the book introduces a cast of likable characters with big hearts and compelling histories. Readers will find satisfaction in knowing that Irena finds a safe haven where she is accepted and cherished. Ages 12-up. (June)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Publishers Weekly

Gr 5-8
Using a banyan tree and its sheltering branches as a metaphor, De Palma tells the story of a 15-year-old who needs protection and the knowledge that she is loved. Irena runs away from home, leaving behind her abusive father and the memory of her mother, who had recently abandoned them. She survives on the streets of Key West for a while and then stumbles into a job at the Banyan Tree Motel, a run-down place owned by kindhearted Carlotta and her aging brother. The family is loving toward Irena; however, they are barely holding on financially and the fact that Carlotta's daughter is expecting a child makes the situation that much more dire. Enamored with her new "instant family," Irena wants to help, but has no solutions that will relieve the money pressures. Her first-person narrative allows readers to know her intimately, but many of her thoughts and actions are closer to those of a 12-year-old than a girl of 15. The story line, even with its episodes of life on the streets, evolves with a level of innocence that makes it more appropriate for younger readers. Irena's descriptions of people and scenery are filled with poetic phrases that evoke vivid images and enhance the reading experience.
—Wendy Smith-D'ArezzoCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Six months after her mother runs away from home, Irena hitches a ride to Key West to start a new life. After some initial hardship, she lands a job as a chambermaid in a down-at-the-heels motel called the Banyan Tree. Hardworking and conscientious, she's immediately accepted by Carlotta, the motel's Earth-mother proprietor, and her cheerful brother Antonio. Also living with them is the persnickety and pregnant Lynette, a parsimonious young woman who is not delighted at Irena's presence as it means another mouth to feed. In time, Irena comes to share Lynette's financial concerns, as she can't help but notice that the guests are few and far between. This is not a perfect story; some of the action is implausible, the secondary characters don't ring true and the ending, though delightful and charming, is also implausible. Still, it's a very likable piece with a sympathetic heroine, and the central theme-how kindness and tenderness can turn strangers into kin-is enormously appealing. (Fiction. 12-14)

Kirkus Reviews