This is a review of the audio book.
Author: K. L. Going
Reader: Allyson Ryan
Producer: Random House
Production Year: 2007
Lexile: Unavailable
Most of the listeners will be: Late elementary age girls.
Listener's Advisory: For another audio book on death and strange places, listen to Jodi Lynn Anderson's May Bird and the Ever After (reviewed on March 25, 2008).
Summary: After Evie's mom dies, she and her dad move to a dead apple orchard in Beaumont, New York. While her father tries to bring the trees back to life, Evie plays with Alex, a young boy about her age who died of cancer a week before she moved to town. Evie does and doesn't believe that Alex is a ghost, but they become friends anyway. On her birthday, Evie gets a strange present from Maggie, the sister of the old man who previously owned their house and orchard. It is a seed. Evie comes to believe that this seed is from the Garden of Eden, and has the power to take her to another place. On a cold Beaumont afternoon, she and Alex find out exactly what the seed can do.
My favorite passage:
When Evie first meets Alex she thinks to herself that when her mom was alive she could have believed in ghosts (she could have believed in a lot of things), but now, she just can't. (Disc 1)
What I really think:
This is a great book for a child dealing with loss. Evie wants so badly to be with her mother that it takes almost getting stuck in the magical garden forever to make her realize all the wonderful things she still has in her life, including her father. Adam struggles with the loss of his brother. He would rather be the ghost of Alex, than be Adam and live without Alex.
Not all of Alyson Ryan's voices are super distinct. But her voice for Alex/Adam is amazing. He really sounds like a bratty little New York boy.
Reader: Allyson Ryan
Producer: Random House
Production Year: 2007
Lexile: Unavailable
Most of the listeners will be: Late elementary age girls.
Listener's Advisory: For another audio book on death and strange places, listen to Jodi Lynn Anderson's May Bird and the Ever After (reviewed on March 25, 2008).
Summary: After Evie's mom dies, she and her dad move to a dead apple orchard in Beaumont, New York. While her father tries to bring the trees back to life, Evie plays with Alex, a young boy about her age who died of cancer a week before she moved to town. Evie does and doesn't believe that Alex is a ghost, but they become friends anyway. On her birthday, Evie gets a strange present from Maggie, the sister of the old man who previously owned their house and orchard. It is a seed. Evie comes to believe that this seed is from the Garden of Eden, and has the power to take her to another place. On a cold Beaumont afternoon, she and Alex find out exactly what the seed can do.
My favorite passage:
When Evie first meets Alex she thinks to herself that when her mom was alive she could have believed in ghosts (she could have believed in a lot of things), but now, she just can't. (Disc 1)
What I really think:
This is a great book for a child dealing with loss. Evie wants so badly to be with her mother that it takes almost getting stuck in the magical garden forever to make her realize all the wonderful things she still has in her life, including her father. Adam struggles with the loss of his brother. He would rather be the ghost of Alex, than be Adam and live without Alex.
Not all of Alyson Ryan's voices are super distinct. But her voice for Alex/Adam is amazing. He really sounds like a bratty little New York boy.
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