In the Country of Queens - Hardcover

Best, Cari

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374370524 ISBN 13: 9780374370527

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2017

Synopsis

An Amazon Best Book of the Month

Eleven-year-old Shirley Alice Burns lives with her domineering mother, Hurricane Anna, and loving Grandmother. One day she unexpectedly discovers that her beloved father isn’t in Absentia as her family would have her believe, but dead. And she understands all too well why they haven’t told her; she’s always been shy and quiet, and Anna has always been protective of her. But if Shirley doesn’t start speaking up, she isn’t going to be able to do the things she wants to do: go on vacation to Lake Winnipesaukee with her cousins, stop taking ballet lessons, and talk about her father. Through the help of a mouse, her hero Pippi Longstocking, and her cousin Phillie, Shirley finds the strength to give her dreams a voice and convince everyone, even Hurricane Anna, that she doesn’t need to be sheltered, especially from the truth. In the Country of Queens is the debut novel from acclaimed picture-book author Cari Best.

About this title

About the Author:

Cari Best has written many award-winning picture books, including Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, and My Three Best Friends and Me, described by the New York Times as “refreshing” and “exciting.” Her picture book If I Could Drive, Mama was described by Publishers Weekly as “a wonderful tribute to an imagination in perpetual motion.” In the Country of Queens is her first novel. Ms. Best lives in Connecticut.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 4–6—In 1961 Queens, NY, 11-year-old Shirley Alice Burns lives with her overbearing, overprotective mother, Anna, and her affectionate, resourceful Russian grandmother. Shirley's shy and dutiful demeanor begins to change when she discovers that the father she hasn't seen in six years is deceased and her family didn't tell her. Hurt that she wasn't told the truth, disappointed that her cousin's vacations don't include her, unhappy with her mother's demand that she take ballet lessons, and upset over her teacher's false accusation of plagiarism on her Peace Corps essay, Shirley realizes that she must "stand up on her own two feet." Her courage is fueled by the friendship of a mouse and her literary role model, Pippi Longstocking. Shirley's angst is tempered by compassionate, fun-loving cousin Phillie; her classmate Maury; an array of apartment neighbor personalities; and her passion for handball and the French language. Characters are distinct, diverse, and three-dimensional. Extended family relationships are strong. Descriptions and dialogue are vivid, realistic, and echo the 1960s. Though the enigmatic estrangement and death of Shirley's beloved father, the catalyst for her finding her voice, is insufficiently explained, her coming-of-age story is well-paced and will tug at readers' heartstrings. Although quaint references to a Lionel train, an Aurora Road Race set, and a mouse surrogate for her father may seem juvenile to contemporary readers, Shirley embodies a candid and appealing mix of emerging adolescent concerns about her appearance, boys, doing well in school, earning an allowance, participating in clubs and sports, and, most of all, establishing her own identity. VERDICT A fine addition, especially where there is regional interest and where historical fiction is in demand.—Gerry Larson, formerly at Durham School of the Arts, NC

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0374370524
• ISBN 13: 9780374370527
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224