Abstract
Reviewed by: Season of Ice, and: How Mama Brought the Spring Deborah Stevenson and Jeannette Hulick Les Becquets, Diane Season of Ice. Bloomsbury, 2008 [320p] ISBN 978-1-59990-063-6$16.95 Reviewed from galleys R* Gr. 8-12 Manushkin, Fran How Mama Brought the Spring; illus. by Holly Berry. Dutton, 200832p ISBN 978-0-525-42027-9$16.99 R 5-8 yrs Eight years ago, Jennifer could bear life as a plump and lisping school pariah only because of the staunch friendship of Cameron Quick; Cameron suddenly disappeared from her life just after the two had a disturbing and creepy encounter with his abusive father, and Jennifer was told he was dead. Since then she slimmed down, lost her lisp, and reinvented herself as Jenna, now a popular, seemingly happy seventeen-year-old with a cute boyfriend. The Jenna world is shaken off its foundation, however, when a very much alive Cameron turns up at her door—and at her school, where Jenna's boyfriend becomes increasingly jealous of Jenna's obvious absorption in her rediscovered soulmate. Though this may sound like a story of star-crossed lovers reunited, it's more complicated and interesting than that: Cameron essentially brings up Jenna's own lost self, forcing her to confront the girl she'd been and disowned; also, Jenna's mother's concerned fussing over the boy (who is now a largely homeless emancipated minor) serves to highlight how isolated she left her own daughter when she was most needed. Jenna's narration is poignant in its uncertainty, and her voice is well balanced by the swift, effective characterizations of her friends and family (her kind and concerned stepfather is particularly nicely drawn). A thoughtful investigation of growth, change, and relationships, this will start readers thinking about their own misplaced long-ago friends and selves. Copyright © 2008 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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