[SQ2]∎ [PDF] The Wayward Gifted Broken Point Donna K Childree Mike L Hopper 9781483947822 Books

The Wayward Gifted Broken Point Donna K Childree Mike L Hopper 9781483947822 Books

Download As PDF : The Wayward Gifted Broken Point Donna K Childree Mike L Hopper 9781483947822 Books

The Wayward Gifted Broken Point Donna K Childree Mike L Hopper 9781483947822 Books

This book defies attempts at categorization - by genre, by target audience, or by pretty much any other measure. The best short description I can come up with is this - if Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and William Faulkner had collaborated on the most literate Twilight Zone episode ever conceived, the result might have been something like this. It's very hard to write anything else without touching on possible SPOILERS, but I'll try. (And know this at the outset: this is not anywhere nearing being a standard issue middle grade magical adventure romp, despite the impression that you might get from the brief Amazon description.)

We start with Steuart and Samantha, ten and twelve year old siblings, late at night on the crumbling sleeping porch of the southern mansion they share with their mentally unstable adoptive mother. They have a long, languid, awkward and rambling conversation that establishes their own idiosyncrasies, and firmly places them in an elegant YA southern gothic world. They are innocent lost souls surrounded by confusing adult disharmony. It feels like the first act of a Williams memory play, (and I'm not sure that their surname being "DuBoise" is a coincidence.)

Now, I say "YA", (and Amazon lists this as a "children's" and "coming of age" book), but I don't know if you could call this YA or middle grade just because the protagonists are children. (Is "The Turn of the Screw" a children's book just because children feature so prominently?) It sort of seems young adult or even middle grade because there are no "adult" themes - no sex, no violence, no focus on adult preoccupations. And the point of view is always drawn to and from Steuart and Samantha, with virtually all of the dialogue involving one or the other or both of the children, and everything that happens being filtered through their perceptions.

But that said, the quality of the writing is in a whole different world from anything else I've read recently in the YA/middle grade category. There is elegant word play; there is dialogue as sharp as broken crystal; there is atmosphere, mood, and sly humor. This is demanding and rewarding material. I could see this book captivating a confident and patient young reader. This is a book that could make a lasting impression.

You'll note that I haven't mentioned the plot. Out of deference to its Twilight Zoneness, I would just say that it incorporates, subtly and over the course of the book, the best aspects of the Zone's uncanny, unnerving and vaguely threatening aesthetic in a very satisfying way.

So, it seems to me that a book like this illustrates exactly why one browses through Amazon Kindle freebies and independently published books. This is a book that deserves attention. In that regard, the sample that is available for this book is very generous and will give you a very good idea of what will be in store for you.

Please note that I found this book while browsing Amazon Kindle freebies. I have no connection at all to the author or the publisher of this book.


Tags : The Wayward Gifted: Broken Point [Donna K Childree, Mike L Hopper] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Samantha Leigh and Steuart James DuBoise reside in a complex world of southern love and crazy dysfunction. They snack on cold buttered biscuits,Donna K Childree, Mike L Hopper,The Wayward Gifted: Broken Point,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1483947823,Coming of Age,FICTION Coming of Age,Fiction,Fiction - General,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

The Wayward Gifted Broken Point Donna K Childree Mike L Hopper 9781483947822 Books Reviews

My hat is off to the authors of THE WAYWARD GIFTED for their boundless imagination and their ability to weave a compelling tale of adventure and friendship. Young readers will identify with the bright and sensitive protagonists, Sam and Steuart, adopted children who, in spite of being misunderstood by their thoughtless and self-centered mother, are blessed with a can-do spirit and determined to live their life to the fullest.
This review contains spoilers!

Steuart DuBoise is a young boy with an active imagination. He relies on his imagination to deal with the reality of having to move from his grandmother's big house in the South to an unknown life in the Midwest. Although he's ten, he seems much older than his years. He is able to articule his experiences and feelings better than a typical ten year old. Steuart sometimes speaks in anagrams, and his sister Sam collects colors and plays with them. They don't want to move, but their grandmother tells them to be positive about things, and promises that they will talk. To Steuart and Sam's mother, their grandmother airs her feelings about the move. She doesn't approve, but tells Steuart and Sam to make the best of it and be happy.

They arrive at the new house in the new city, and Steuart and Sam are stunned at the fall colors. They immediately unpack and get their rooms together, and go out and explore their new town. Sam is on a mission to get a leaf from a magnificently colored tree, and gets Steuart to cross railroad tracks and climb a ladder to a tree house.

Steuart and Sam are adopted. They are reminded of this during an annual celebration their mother refers to as "special" day. It is more education than special, where Steuart and Sam are reminded they are adopted, and how lucky they are to have a mother who cares about them. This particular day, Sam is convinced she will get the paints and paper she has been coveting for years. Instead, she gets a book of etiquette, a strange sort of bible their mother consults on a daily basis called Right, Good; and Appropriate. Sam was looking forward to her gift, only to be deeply disappointed. She throws the book across the room, smashing a few crystal pieces in the process. Coupled with Steuart's behavior on the day of the move, their mother, Olivia, takes them to a psychiatrist.

Stueart and Sam are given dolls. The dolls eventually come to life, and lead the brother and sister to an anagrammatic universe. Things are just slightly different here. Sometimes they seem to be better. However, Olivia hates the dolls. Olivia is obessed with perfectionism and craftsmanship. She gets into a heated argument with the children's psychiatrist, about the dolls. They are not ordinary dolls. They talk. The children agree to keep the dolls out of sight, but one day, Sam has laid her doll, named Trista, on her bed. Olivia throws the doll, and ends up smashing Trista's head. Sam gets Trista repaired at a doll hospital, but Trista, even though she looks great, she refuses to talk.

One day, Sam and Steuart find out they can travel to this anagrammatic universe, but something goes wrong and they become separated. Steuart goes missing for a few days, and the search is on. Sam enlists Trista, Ed (Steuart's doll) and a few people they've met in their new town to search for Steuart. They discover that in the anagrammatic universe, a friend who has cancer in one universe is perfectly well in the other. Not surprisingly, Dotsie wants to stay in the anagrammatic universe, where she doesn't have cancer.

I don't have a lot of information about this book, but it looks like this is the first in a series. This book about two rather mature young people, held my attention. That's saying something, because I'm pretty picky. I can't decide if this is a young adult novel featuring a mature young brother and sister, or a novel for grown ups, featuring a mature young brother and sister. While facing some extraordinary circumstances (such as talking dolls and traveling between universes) the brother and sister seem to stay quite calm.

I've never been into anagrams, but those who love them will probably enjoy this book quite a bit. The book is full of vivid detail. It is almost sensual, but never in a sexual way. You too will see the colors, feel the cold, watch the snow float down. This first journey with Steuart and Sam is one you won't be sorry you took.

Reviewed by Gloria Diaz
This book defies attempts at categorization - by genre, by target audience, or by pretty much any other measure. The best short description I can come up with is this - if Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and William Faulkner had collaborated on the most literate Twilight Zone episode ever conceived, the result might have been something like this. It's very hard to write anything else without touching on possible SPOILERS, but I'll try. (And know this at the outset this is not anywhere nearing being a standard issue middle grade magical adventure romp, despite the impression that you might get from the brief description.)

We start with Steuart and Samantha, ten and twelve year old siblings, late at night on the crumbling sleeping porch of the southern mansion they share with their mentally unstable adoptive mother. They have a long, languid, awkward and rambling conversation that establishes their own idiosyncrasies, and firmly places them in an elegant YA southern gothic world. They are innocent lost souls surrounded by confusing adult disharmony. It feels like the first act of a Williams memory play, (and I'm not sure that their surname being "DuBoise" is a coincidence.)

Now, I say "YA", (and lists this as a "children's" and "coming of age" book), but I don't know if you could call this YA or middle grade just because the protagonists are children. (Is "The Turn of the Screw" a children's book just because children feature so prominently?) It sort of seems young adult or even middle grade because there are no "adult" themes - no sex, no violence, no focus on adult preoccupations. And the point of view is always drawn to and from Steuart and Samantha, with virtually all of the dialogue involving one or the other or both of the children, and everything that happens being filtered through their perceptions.

But that said, the quality of the writing is in a whole different world from anything else I've read recently in the YA/middle grade category. There is elegant word play; there is dialogue as sharp as broken crystal; there is atmosphere, mood, and sly humor. This is demanding and rewarding material. I could see this book captivating a confident and patient young reader. This is a book that could make a lasting impression.

You'll note that I haven't mentioned the plot. Out of deference to its Twilight Zoneness, I would just say that it incorporates, subtly and over the course of the book, the best aspects of the Zone's uncanny, unnerving and vaguely threatening aesthetic in a very satisfying way.

So, it seems to me that a book like this illustrates exactly why one browses through freebies and independently published books. This is a book that deserves attention. In that regard, the sample that is available for this book is very generous and will give you a very good idea of what will be in store for you.

Please note that I found this book while browsing freebies. I have no connection at all to the author or the publisher of this book.