|
Some Things That Stay | 
 enlarge | Author: Sarah Willis
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $3.99
You Save: $10.01 (72%)
New (6) Used (8) from $3.99
Rating:  43 reviews
Sales Rank: 3649
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Paperback
Pages: 288
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5 x 0.8
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
ASIN: B0013L2F08
Publication Date: May 1, 2001
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Promotion: Save $10.00 when you spend $50.00 or more on qualifying items offered by Amazon.com. Enter code BMLSAVES at checkout. Terms and Conditions
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Book Description
Tamara Anderson grew up on the move-crossing the country, leaving behind people and bedrooms and belongings. Now she's turning fifteen, and she wants to stay in Mayville, New York. At first glance, there isn't much to stick around for. But this time Tamara is putting her foot down, and planting it....
Taking us into the heart and mind of an unforgettable young girl, and a unique corner of a rural 1950s America, Sarah Willis presents a "heartfelt first novel [in which] the characters are so vivid and rounded they produce a reflected happiness in the reader" (The Miami Herald).
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 38 more reviews...
 A Nice Coming of Age Story April 16, 2008
G. S. Miller (Texas, USA)
This is a really touching coming of age story in the 50's. The mother has to go to a sanitarium with Tuburculosis. The father is stuck in his own world of painting. There are 2 siblings, Robert and Megan, that are coping in their own ways with the abandoment issues that arise from not only the mother's illness, but the father's inability to handle the situation. Tamara is left basically in charge of everyone. Besides the obvious issues that are going on, there is the storyline of the number of moves the family has endured and how much they are wanting a permanent home.
I enjoyed reading this book very much, but it didn't touch me as much as some of the other coming of age stories like, Whistling in the Dark, The Book of Bright Ideas and Cold Rock River. Those stayed with me after I was done and while I really enjoyed this coming of age story, it's not one that will stay with me like some other ones.
Still it is well worth reading and I highly recommend it.
What a good book! March 24, 2008
D. M. Smith (Ontario, Canada)
This is a story you were waiting to read, full of life-size characters... the type of book you don't want to finish.
And a first novel? ... wow. I can't wait to read her next one!!!!
Just LOVED this book! January 26, 2008
KKay (Williamstown NJ)
I just love Sarah Willis' writing style and felt this book was equally as wonderful as her book: THE SOUND OF US. It didn't take too long for me to be totally drawn into this story of Tamara and I felt myself rather sad at where the story ended. I just wanted to keep knowing about her and her family and how their lives turned out. I highly recommend this book and hope anyone who reads it becomes a Sarah Willis fan. If you haven't yet read THE SOUND OF US, do yourself a favor and read it! It's real good reading. There isn't a single downside to SOME THINGS THAT STAY. I loved Tamara and her view of her world. The characters seemed utterly real and engrossing. The last sentence of the book was the perfect uplifting end to Tamara's story.
A quietly memorable coming-of-age in a bygone era... January 22, 2008
Joanna Mechlinski (CT, USA)
At fifteen, Tamara Anderson hates being different. But thanks to her parents' free-thinking ways and vagabond spirit - totally contrary to the conventional 1950s American lifestyle - Tamara and her younger siblings Robert and Megan start over in a new school each year. In fact, moving every spring is about the only thing the trio CAN count on.
The year of 1954, however, things are different in a way that no one could ever have anticipated. Tamara's mother has become sluggish, no longer seeming to care about her former passions. At night, she coughs incessantly, as the family tries to pretend nothing is wrong.
Meanwhile, the family's acquaintance with their new neighbors, the Murphys, threatens them spiritually and emotionally. The Murphys - especially eldest daughter Helen - are devout Baptists, intent on "saving" the atheist Andersons.
Yet despite her parent's vehement objections, Tamara finds that she's eager to embrace the concept of God. She wonders about his nature, why he would let her mother become ill - and whether God might just be the only thing left to save her family from total disaster.
This quietly-told story of a young girl's coming of age, their struggles to stay afloat both physically and emotionally when they're faced with the possible loss ofo their mother, and the idea of what really constitutes conventionality is bound to leave an impression upon readers' minds.
Great Book Club Selection June 22, 2007
Laurel Bradley (Wisconsin)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
In the spring of 1954, Tamara Anderson is fifteen when her family moves into the pretty farmhouse across the road from the tar-papered house. Tamara is the oldest of three children. Her father is a painter whose landscapes require new locations for inspiration. The family moves yearly arriving weeks before the end of one school year and leaving weeks before the completion of the next.
Some things that stay is a coming of age story in which Tamara faces more than the standard fair of parental misunderstanding, sexual awakening and sibling confrontations. Raised in an extremely liberal, atheist family, Tamara has of none of the body/sex hang-ups so many of us grew up with and her sexual awakening is refreshingly guilt-free. Moving constantly, she dreams of stability and a more-than-fleeting connection into society. In the course of the story, she tries out the Baptist church with the neighbors from the tar-paper house--neighbors who are more than the junky cars littering their front yard. In light of her atheistic upbringing, Tamara's contemplation of God, organized religion, prayer, and fate vs faith adds an interesting layer. She faces ethical dilemmas, maternal illness, paternal selfishness, and, of course, sexual awakening.
A deep, meaty story, Sarah Willis' Some things that stay is a great book club selection. My book club read it and loved it. The concepts raised yielded plenty of spirited conversation. I recommend it.
Reviewed by: Laurel Bradley, Author of A Wish in Time
A Wish In Time
|
|
|
Thank you for browsing ExcelBookstore.com! | |
