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Overview
Eleven-year-old Toby Steiner wants to do normal things on his vacation. He wants to hike and race his bike down the hill. He wants to learn to fish out on the lake. He doesn’t want to return to the children’s hospital where his painful cancer treatment finally ended. When Toby starts spending time with Pearl, a spunky old woman who lives on a nearby farm, and Blossom, her broken-down cow, he sees all the more reason to keep the new lump on his side a secret from his parents. From Pearl he discovers the beauty of poetry, and from Blossom he just might uncover the meaning of life.
Synopsis
Eleven-year-old Toby Steiner, battling cancer, finds inspiration from an old woman and strength from a broken-down cow.
Jennie Dutton - Alan Review
Deceptively simple, Defiance is an exercise in growth. Toby finds another lump in his battle with cancer and befriends a cow and a crazy/sane woman all in the same summer. The title Defiance might come from any number of sources: the poetry the woman has Toby read, the cow's decision about death, Toby's changing relationship with his parents, and Toby's own decision concerning his mortality. This story ranks as a shining example of a gloriously powerful book that will be impossible to book talk to anyone, that will be hard to get in boys' hands, and that will be difficult to get out of girls' minds. 2005, Farrar Straus and Giroux, 116 pp., Ages young adult.
Editorials
From The Critics
Deceptively simple, Defiance is an exercise in growth. Toby finds another lump in his battle with cancer and befriends a cow and a crazy/sane woman all in the same summer. The title Defiance might come from any number of sources: the poetry the woman has Toby read, the cow's decision about death, Toby's changing relationship with his parents, and Toby's own decision concerning his mortality. This story ranks as a shining example of a gloriously powerful book that will be impossible to book talk to anyone, that will be hard to get in boys' hands, and that will be difficult to get out of girls' minds. 2005, Farrar Straus and Giroux, 116 pp., Ages young adult.—Jennie Dutton
Children's Literature
While vacationing in the country, eleven-year-old Toby, a cancer patient, learns some important lessons about living and dying from an elderly poet and her cow. Toby wants to do normal things on his vacation: he wants to hike and race his bike down the hill and learn to fish out on the lake. He tries to keep the new lump on his side a secret from his parents. He does not want to return to the children's hospital and the painful cancer treatments. His parents want him to be careful and rest. Toby spends time with Pearl, a spunky old woman, on a near-by farm. She helps him discover the beauty of poetry. He learns to love the cow, Blossom, as much as Pearl does. This love and encouragement helps him uncover the meaning of life. He is able finally to go on his way in life with treatment and a career, becoming a medical researcher. The book could serve as a resource for children and young people who need to know that there are others like them. Skillful librarians, teachers, and parents who need this kind of material will get it into the right hands. 2005, Frances Foster Books/Farrar Strauss Giroux, Ages 8 to 12.—Naomi Butler