The Sixth Sense and Other Stories

Haas, Jessie

ISBN 10: 0688081290 ISBN 13: 9780688081294

Publisher: Greenwillow, 1988

Synopsis

A collection of interconnected short stories exploring the relationships of people to each other and to the animals in their lives.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6-10 Alternation between two sets of characters gives an unusual structure and interest to this collection of nine short stories about young people and animals. Haas plunges readers straight in with her first story, ``The Wake,'' in which 15-year-old Kris copes with her great-aunt's grief at the death of her ancient cat. Later stories continue to explore Kris' close relationship with Aunt Mil, her fascination with animals and their behavior, and her conflicts with her unbending father. The theme of death reappears when Kris' friend saves a greyhound from the vet's needle. Put all together, these first-person narratives with their intensity of feeling would have made an impressive short novel of a young woman's growth. Haas has chosen, however, to give her book a further dimension by alternating Kris' story with that of college-age James, whose life revolves around horses. (James is the protagonist of Haas' Working Trot Greenwillow, 1983) . Kris and James never meet, yet the interlacing of their two lives adds a richness to the book. Told in the third person, James' story has less impetus, but it is easy to become as fascinated as he is by the delicate relationship between man and horse. The stories are easily read, but their thoughtful, speculative nature makes them more suitable for older readers. This rich collection will leave readers with a lingering sense of excited discovery and of widening horizons. Ruth S. Vose, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

This collection of short stories is arch and populated with over-analytical, talky teenagers. James, with his love of horses, and Kris, who fights with her father constantly over the value of animals as pets, are the main characters in most of the stories. The collection opens when Kris finds her Aunt Mil grief-stricken over the death of a longtime feline companion. The relationship between the girl and her elderly aunt is exquisitely drawn, but unlike the poetic beauty of Cynthia Rylant's Every Living Thing (a book that, like this one, thematically draws on the link between people and animals), these stories try to spell everything out. Much of Kris's dialogue sounds like she's repeating a textbook (which would be all right, since she is studying animal behavior) but it is too stiff for real conversation. In general, the book will please readers who are animal-lovers and who are also trying to articulate their concerns for four-legged friends. Others may be put off by the constant philosophizing and too-ready answers of all the players. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Greenwillow
• Publication date: 1988
• ISBN 10: 0688081290
• ISBN 13: 9780688081294
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 180