A Face in Every Window - Hardcover

Nolan, Han

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0152019154 ISBN 13: 9780152019150

Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books, 1999

Synopsis

James Patrick (JP) O’Brien’s once safe and secure world quickly unravels with the death of his beloved grandmother. Grandma Mary had always been the guiding hand of the O’Brien family, lovingly raising his mentally challenged Pap and allowing Mam to remain free of adult responsibility. Soon after Grandma Mary’s death, Mam wins a farmhouse in an essay contest and insists on sharing her good fortune with various neighborhood outcasts. As JP sees both Pap and himself being replaced in his mother’s life by others, his anger pushes his family and friends further away. It’s not until he begins to understand that he must learn to accept differences, human frailties, and the randomness of life that he recaptures his happiness and begins to grow as a person.

About this title

Review:

Life at James Patrick's house is a party that never ends--and he hates it. Grandma Mary was the caring matriarch who previously had held his small family together in a haven of comfort and order, a safe place where no one ever had to grow up. But now that she has died, Mam, his childlike and formerly introverted mother, has become enraptured in newfound self-discovery. After entering a contest and winning a country house, she invites a crowd of young wannabe poets, musicians, and lost souls to move in. All-night fun-a-thons, piano and guitar music, readings, arguments, and cookouts in the snow ensue. "Isn't this so fun?" says Dear Pap, JP's sweet-natured but "mentally challenged" father, as he surveys the scene from the roof (where he hangs out next to life-size Nativity figures). Mam's happy dream of "a face at every window" has come true. But JP wants stasis and order. He's miserable with these people he considers pretentious lunatics in his kitchen, his bedroom, his closet, and he wants his parents back for himself. Even worse, Mam is getting far too cozy with her arrogant friend Dr. Mike, and when she returns from a trip pregnant JP finds it impossible to face her.

Han Nolan, winner of the 1997 National Book Award for Dancing on the Edge, creates complex characters and an outlandish household in this richly textured novel about a young man learning lessons of life, love, and acceptance. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell

Book Description:

Hardcover edition 1999978-0-15-201915-00-15-201915-4
Penguin paperback 2001978-0-14-131218-7 pb0-14-131218-1 pb

About this edition

• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0152019154
• ISBN 13: 9780152019150
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 264