The Keening (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781571316929)

"In my fourteenth year the influenza infected my whole world. . . . Seems as though just as the Great War came to a close, the folks of Downeast Maine set to fighting a war of their own."

Born into an artistic and eccentric family, Lyza laments that her only talent is carving letters into wood. At least, that is, until the devastating loss of her mother to influenza during the pandemic of 1918. The illness has settled on their small coastal town in Maine, and the funeral marches pass Lyza's house almost daily. When her unconventional father begins to prepare for the return of his dead wife, Lyza is the only one to protect him from being committed to a nearby work farm. Awash with grief and longing for her mother, Lyza journeys into the thin territory that divides the living from the dead.

Relying on her courage and an undiscovered talent, Lyza must save her father and find her own path. From the celebrated author of Worth, this is a powerful story of love that persists beyond the grave.

Author: A. LaFaye
ISBN-10: 1571316922
ISBN-13: 9781571316929
Publisher: Milkweed Editions
Language: English
Published: 04/13/2010
Pages: 224
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.10h x 5.40w x 0.80d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.4
Point Value: 5
Interest Level: Middle Grade Plus
Quiz #/Name: 137214 / Keening


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 03/22/2010 pg. 70
Kirkus Review - Children 03/15/2010
Booklist 04/15/2010 pg. 57
School Library Journal 06/01/2010 pg. 108
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2010 - Recommended, Satisfactory