What Jamie Saw
Carolyn Coman, Author, Handprint, Author Front Street $15.95 (0p) ISBN 978-1-886910-02-7
What third-grader Jamie saw-his baby sister being hurled across the room by his stepfather, Van-is the first image in this heart-wrenching book. What follows are the effects of the incident on the boy: his relief when baby Nin is caught, miraculously, by his mother, Patty; his gratitude and anxiety when Patty moves them out of the abusive household; and, most powerful of all, his underlying fear that Van will find their new home, a friend's trailer, where Jamie, Patty and Nin live like ``sitting ducks.'' Coman so deftly slips into the skin of her main character that he seems almost to be dictating to her. The opening sentence, for example-``When Jamie saw him throw the baby, saw Van throw the baby, saw Van throw the little baby, saw Van throw his little sister Nin, when Jamie saw Van throw his baby sister Nin, then they moved''-reveals Jamie's befuddled state and his efforts to make sense out of inexplicable violence. All of the protagonist's thoughts and reactions ring true. Although its plot is not as far-reaching as that of the author's first novel, Tell Me Everything, this work too seems to spring directly from Coman's heart into the reader's own. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)
Details
Reviewed on: 09/30/1991
Release date: 10/01/1991
Genre: Children's
Downloadable Audio - 1 pages - 9780739367520
Hardcover - 126 pages - 9781886910027
Prebound-Sewn - 128 pages - 9780613033411
Paperback - 126 pages - 9781590786390
Prebound-Sewn - 126 pages - 9780780768635
Paperback - 126 pages - 9780140383355
Prebound-Sewn - 126 pages - 9780606120722
Hardcover - 106 pages - 9781608981373
Paperback - 106 pages - 9781608981380