Carlisle's Hope (Carlisle Chronicles, No 1) - Softcover

Johnston, Norma

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553254677 ISBN 13: 9780553254679

Publisher: Starfire, 1986

Synopsis

Upset by the death of her beautiful, talented aunt, Jess uses her class assignment--tracing the family tree--to escape family tensions, but a dark secret from her past threatens her pride in the Carlisle family name

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

In one of the slimmest plots to launch a new series (The Carlisle Chronicles) yet this season, Jessica Carlisle is a part of an old family (and a lot of old family traditions), in whose roots she finds much comfort. Her father, who is with the foreign service, has kept the Carlisles on the move in the last few years, and Jess finds, in the family name, the stability she craves. When her Aunt Faith dies in a car accident, Jess gains access to information which proves that her father is the descendant of an adopted Carlisle, not the real stuff. She's devastated. John Henry, Aunt Faith's 10-year-old son, is temporarily living with the Carlisles while his own father is abroad. Unhappy, he goes back to his family home. His act of running away brings the Carlisles together, and Jess realizes that the boundaries of family love stretch across geography and bloodlines. While readers may find the set-up appealingold family, foreign service, exotic charactersthe plot doesn't generate any real excitement. Jess's battle cry "Up the Carlisles" is uttered far too often, and one never really cares about her problems, of lineage and otherwise.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6 Up If Carlisle's Hope is an accurate indication, adolescent readers have a lot of enjoyment ahead in Johnston's "Carlisle Chronicles" series. The Carlisles are a large, affluent family with a strong sense of tradition. They have lived abroad and are now settled near Washington, D.C. The narration comes from 15-year-old Jess, who is devastated by the accidental death of her beloved young aunt. Falling back on the family roots she treasures, she uncovers a family secret that threatens her entire self-image. This family, although privileged, is real and warm. They interact naturally and believably, and the story flows easily. Johnston writes with a friendly grace, obviously enjoying her characters. She smoothly incorporates material on genealogies and the District of Columbia. The action moves quickly enough to sustain interest, and each episode moves surely into the next. Enjoyable, wholesome fiction that teen readers will eat up. Joyce Adams Burner, formerly at Spring Hill Middle School, Kans.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Starfire
• Publication date: 1986
• ISBN 10: 0553254677
• ISBN 13: 9780553254679
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 166