Take Me with You - Hardcover

Marsden, Carolyn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0763637394 ISBN 13: 9780763637392

Publisher: Candlewick, 2010

Synopsis

Hopes of adoption test the friendship of two girls-one biracial-in a lyrical novel touching on themes of identity and the meaning of home.

Pina and Susanna. Susanna and Pina. For as long as they’ve lived at the Istituto di Gesł Bambino — a home for babies abandoned after the War — they have been best friends. As children, they played rag dolls under the watchful eyes of the nuns and hide-and-seek among the lemon trees on the rooftop terrazzo overlooking Naples. But now strangers are coming to the chiesa, couples hoping to adopt children. Susanna thinks Pina — pale, pretty Pina with her gleaming yellow braid — will be adopted at once. Susanna, on the other hand, is a mulatta. Her father was an American soldier, a nero. No Italian has hair or skin like hers. But when a surprise visitor comes to the istituto just to see Susanna, will the friends be separated after all? Or will a miracle make both of their dreams come true?

About this title

About the Author:

Carolyn Marsden is the acclaimed author of many novels for young readers. She has a master of fine arts in writing for children from Vermont College and lives in La Jolla, California.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5–8—In this post-World War II novel set in Italy, Susanna and Pina, both 11, have lived at a Catholic orphanage since they were infants. Although the girls consider themselves sorelle (sisters), they still long to be part of a family. Susanna, a mixed-race girl, is sure that high-spirited Pina will be adopted quickly because of her golden beauty, and she is keenly aware that she is unlikely to be chosen. Both girls are shocked to discover that each of them has a living parent. Susanna receives a letter from a black American sailor who suspects he's her father. There are hints that her mother was a prostitute. After a few awkward meetings, she begins to warm up to this earnest man who is determined to bring her up in the U.S. Pina discovers that her mother lives nearby and although she has never visited, she has not relinquished her parental rights. Pina makes a couple of desperate visits to her, but is repeatedly rebuffed. Her mother explains, "I was too young...only sixteen," and she is afraid to reveal her daughter's existence to her husband. After a series of heartrending encounters, she finally frees the girl for adoption. Marsden does an excellent job of creating an unsentimental picture of institutional life where affection from adults is rare, and luxuries even rarer. She unflinchingly presents painful experiences that some adoptees face, such as abandonment, racism, and rejection. Although the ending is ambiguous, it hints that both girls will join loving families. This compelling story will likely appeal to a broad audience.—Deborah Vose, Highlands Elementary School, Braintree, MA
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About this edition

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0763637394
• ISBN 13: 9780763637392
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176