A Stranger Here

The ALAN Review - Wendy H. Bell

Readers who enjoyed the movie Ghosts will be bewitched by the lightweight but appealingly-charactered plot of Wyss' second novel. Sent to help out her hypochondriac Aunt May for the summer, sixteen-year-old Jada Sinclair discovers unexpected romance when she falls in love with the spirit of Starr Freeman, the handsome World War II hero who never returned to marry Jada's cousin, Rosanne. Jada, whose curly hair, height, and love of poetry set her apart (in her eyes) from her more conventional family, is confused about her true identity and her plans after graduation. Aria-singing Uncle Mac; persistent flesh-and-blood suitor, Daniel Bates; and Starr, himself, indirectly help Jada realize who she is and what she wants from her future. This novel is a fine, easy-to-read independent choice for units on self-discovery, family alienation, or just plain romance.

Stephanie Zvirin

Sixteen-year-old Jada Sinclair sees herself as too much of a misfit to be part of the Sinclair family. Despite a practical streak, she's a dreamer and an outsider, surrounded by people who always seem to know their place. While most girls fill their Fourth of July hampers with fried chicken, Jada packs new peas to be shelled; while others embroider dish towels for their hope chests, Jada writes poems, which she keeps in a box under her bed. Perhaps it's because she feels alien herself that she so calmly accepts, then falls in love with, the ghost of Starr Freeman (a World War II flyer killed in action on the day Jada was born), who appears to her while she's spending the summer helping her aunt and uncle. Though there are a few moments of romantic longing, this isn't one of those old-fashioned, predictable stories of sentimental love. Instead, it's a rather mercurial combination of the real and the illusory, full of surprises and laced with wry comedy. Starr appears and disappears with little of the expected hoopla and virtually no explanation, and he's not particularly interesting even when he's around. But Jada, caught between uncertainty about who she is and her desire to be different, and Wyss' other characters are beautifully drawn (Aunt May is a wonderful "invalid," while Daniel, Jada's bossy would-be boyfriend, is a perfect buffoon). They give the book a fresh and funny flair that will leave readers delighted.