Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
Thirteen-year-old Nyle learns about relationships and death when fifteen-year-old Ezra, who was exposed to radiation leaked from a nearby nuclear plant, comes to stay at her grandmother's Vermont farmhouse.Thirteen-year-old Nyle learns about relationships and death when fifteen-year-old Ezra, who was exposed to radiation leaked from a nearby nuclear plant, comes to stay at her grandmother's Vermont farmhouse.
Synopsis
An accident at a nuclear power plant ignites a story of loss, love, and courage.
Publishers Weekly
After a catastrophic accident at a nuclear power plant not far from their small New England sheep farm, 13-year-old Nyle Sumner and her grandmother slowly discover they have been spared from direct radiation. Gran decides to take in two evacuees, 15-year-old Ezra Trent and his mother, both of whom are severely ill. Nyle, obliged to monitor her surroundings with a radiation detector, wishes there were also some way to measure the Trents' ability to cause her pain: she hasn't entirely recovered from the deaths of her mother and grandfather years earlier, nor from her father's abandonment, and she must overcome her terror of growing attached to the refugees. As if to counteract the potential for sensationalism or dystopic fantasy, Hesse ( Letters from Rifka ) grounds her story with keen observations of the natural world--e.g., Nyle describes training a sheep dog, working in the pasture, farm work (``I like spring . . . when the grass greens up and the lambs come''). She also invests her characters with a certain formality. Nyle and Gran both demonstrate an archetypal New England self-containment and self-sufficiency; Mrs. Trent, raised in Israel and therefore no Yankee, is equally measured and reserved; Ezra, too, rarely voices his feelings. The author's understated approach heightens the emotional impact of her searching and memorable tale. Ages 11-13. (June)
Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
After a catastrophic accident at a nuclear power plant not far from their small New England sheep farm, 13-year-old Nyle Sumner and her grandmother slowly discover they have been spared from direct radiation. Gran decides to take in two evacuees, 15-year-old Ezra Trent and his mother, both of whom are severely ill. Nyle, obliged to monitor her surroundings with a radiation detector, wishes there were also some way to measure the Trents' ability to cause her pain: she hasn't entirely recovered from the deaths of her mother and grandfather years earlier, nor from her father's abandonment, and she must overcome her terror of growing attached to the refugees. As if to counteract the potential for sensationalism or dystopic fantasy, Hesse Letters from Rifka grounds her story with keen observations of the natural world--e.g., Nyle describes training a sheep dog, working in the pasture, farm work ``I like spring . . . when the grass greens up and the lambs come''. She also invests her characters with a certain formality. Nyle and Gran both demonstrate an archetypal New England self-containment and self-sufficiency; Mrs. Trent, raised in Israel and therefore no Yankee, is equally measured and reserved; Ezra, too, rarely voices his feelings. The author's understated approach heightens the emotional impact of her searching and memorable tale. Ages 11-13. JuneSchool Library Journal
Gr 6–8—The dangers of nuclear power are explored in this environmental drama Holt, 1994 by award-winning author Karen Hesse. Nyle, 13, lives on a Vermont sheep farm with her grandmother. She's no stranger to loss—her father disappeared and her mother died when she was young. But when the Cookshire nuclear power plant experiences a radiation leak, the effect on her Vermont community is tragic. Nyle trudges through the hills in a radiation mask and the teachers at school discuss the devastating dangers of the meltdown. Only a quirk of fate and a prevailing wind saved Nyle's farm. When Nyle's grandmother takes in refugees from the disaster—the plant manager's wife and son—Nyle learns that forgiveness and kindness are the keys to moving on from tragedy. Julia Whelan does an admirable job of infusing the characters with distinct personalities. The message is an important one, but the story is relentlessly grim for the first few hours, making for a depressing listening experience. Those who persevere to the end will find hope as Nyle comes to the conclusion that her generation must fight for change.—Tricia Melgaard, Centennial Middle School, Broken Arrow, OKFrom the Publisher
"Hesse portrays her characters' anguish and their growing tenderness with such unwavering clarity and grace that she sustains the tension of her lyrical, understated narrative right to her stunning, beautifully wrought conclusion."—Kirkus, pointer"Hesse has displayed considerable skill in creating a contemporary tale of hope and love rising, like a phoenix, from destruction and despair."—School Library Journal, starred review
"After a catastrophic accident at a nuclear power plant not far from their small New England sheep farm, 13-year-old Nyle Sumner and her grandmother slowly discover they have been spared from direct radiation.... The author’s understated approach heightens the emotional impact of her searching and memorable tale."—Publishers Weekly, starred review