In this companion novel, Johnson's fans learn just how Bobby, the single father for whom Marley baby-sits in Heaven, landed in that small town in Ohio. Beginning his story when his daughter, Feather, is just 11 days old, 16-year-old Bobby tells his story in chapters that alternate between the present and the bittersweet past that has brought him to the point of single parenthood. Each nuanced chapter feels like a poem in its economy and imagery; yet the characters—Bobby and the mother of his child, Nia, particularly, but also their parents and friends, and even newborn Feather—emerge fully formed. Bobby tells his parents about the baby ("Not moving and still quiet, my pops just starts to cry") and contrasts his father's reaction with that of Nia's father ("He looks straight ahead like he's watching a movie outside the loft windows"). The way he describes Nia and stands by her throughout the pregnancy conveys to readers what a loving and trustworthy father he promises to be. The only misstep is a chapter from Nia's point of view, which takes readers out of Bobby's capable hands. But as the past and present threads join in the final chapter, readers will only clamor for more about this memorable father-daughter duo—and an author who so skillfully relates the hope in the midst of pain. Ages 12-up. (June)
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Reviewed on: 06/16/2003
Release date: 06/01/2003
Genre: Children's
Prebound-Glued - 132 pages - 9780756939250
Hardcover - 144 pages - 9780689849220
Compact Disc - 2 pages - 9781400090655
Hardcover - 147 pages - 9780786265107
Mass Market Paperbound - 144 pages - 9780689849237
Prebound-Glued - 132 pages - 9781417675760
Downloadable Audio - 1 pages - 9780739345115
Paperback - 131 pages - 9781442403437
Open Ebook - 144 pages - 9781439106587
Hardcover - 241 pages - 9780786273799
Prebound-Sewn - 147 pages - 9781417684441