Second Cousins - Softcover

Hamilton, Virginia

4.02

55 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0590473697 ISBN 13: 9780590473699

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks, 2000

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

The friendship of twelveyearold cousins Cammy and Elodie is threatened when the family reunion includes two other cousins near their age and Elodie is tempted to drop Cammy for a new companion. Reprint.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

Building upon her 1990 success, award-winning author Virginia Hamilton returns to the endearing main characters of Cousins. In the previous book, Cammy's first cousin Patricia Ann died in a drowning accident while trying to rescue their cousin Elodie. It is now a year later, and the two surviving cousins (Cammy and Elodie) are grappling with their own grief and guilt over the drowning. "For a long time after, all them had this awful kind of hurt look, like it was their fault," writes Hamilton in her confiding, down-home narrative. "They noticed it about each other. And all year it seemed they had to make their way through an aching dark to get to a peaceful day time. That's how Cammy saw it all. They had to go on with what they had to keep looking through." Both girls are distracted from their pain when a huge family reunion in Cammy's hometown unites the cousins with distant relatives, including the wisecracking computer-hound Fractal. Something about Fractal makes Cammy leery--and it's not just her overbearing cockiness. Eventually Fractal leads Cammy into the heart of a long-hidden family secret that threatens to shatter what little stability Cammy has built since her cousin's death. The emotional stakes run high in Second Cousins, but this is when Hamilton is at her best, deftly giving a believable voice to preteen pain and the overriding power of an extended family's love. (Ages 9 and older) --Gail Hudson

About the Author:

Virginia Hamilton (1936-2002) changed children's literature for generations of readers, winning every major award in her field across the globe. Her awards and honors include the Newbery Medal, the National Book Award, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, a MacArthur Fellowship, and four honorary doctorates. Virginia was married to Arnold Adoff, and they have two children and one grandchild.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.