Status
Available
Call number
Call number
F Pea
Collection
Publication
New York : Henry Holt, 2005.
Description
To escape a miserable existence taking care of her alcoholic mother, seventeen-year-old Zoe rents a room from an eccentric woman, but her earnings as a waitress after school are minimal and she must go to extremes to cover expenses.
Subjects
Original publication date
2005-05-12
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User reviews
LibraryThing member Whisper1
Mary E. Pearson is the author of The Adoration of Jenna Fox, which is one of my favorite books.
This book is right on the mark regarding a child of an alcoholic and the emotions as a result of a highly dysfunctional adult-- the guilt, the anger, the abandonment, the overwhelming struggle of sadness.
When seventeen year old Zoe simply can no longer accept the terrible life of enabling and taking care of her alcoholic mother, somehow she finds the courage to rent "a room of her own."
Both mother and father were alcoholics. When her father dies, her mother spins more and more out of control. Responsible for her little brother, Zoe's heart aches when he is taken away and raised by family members who want him, but claim there is no room for her. Left behind, Zoe's grandmother demands that Zoe be responsible for Zoe's mother.
The grandmother is a real piece of work -- a manipulator, a user and abuser. Emotionally trying to thwart Zoe's independence, Zoe remains strong.
This is a wonderful story of hope, of struggle and of courage. Zoe longed for things many children take for granted. She desperately wanted not to pay the bills for her mother. She wanted a mother who could go to work and function. She wanted a parent to attend school functions. She wanted someone to love her, to listen to her rather than self absorption and neglect.
Zoe is strong. She is a survivor. I loved and related to Zoe.
This is well written and highly recommended!
Five Stars
This book is right on the mark regarding a child of an alcoholic and the emotions as a result of a highly dysfunctional adult-- the guilt, the anger, the abandonment, the overwhelming struggle of sadness.
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Writing with this depth of power and knowledge is difficult to portray without experience, and therefore I believe the author might have real life experience regarding this complicated issue.When seventeen year old Zoe simply can no longer accept the terrible life of enabling and taking care of her alcoholic mother, somehow she finds the courage to rent "a room of her own."
Both mother and father were alcoholics. When her father dies, her mother spins more and more out of control. Responsible for her little brother, Zoe's heart aches when he is taken away and raised by family members who want him, but claim there is no room for her. Left behind, Zoe's grandmother demands that Zoe be responsible for Zoe's mother.
The grandmother is a real piece of work -- a manipulator, a user and abuser. Emotionally trying to thwart Zoe's independence, Zoe remains strong.
This is a wonderful story of hope, of struggle and of courage. Zoe longed for things many children take for granted. She desperately wanted not to pay the bills for her mother. She wanted a mother who could go to work and function. She wanted a parent to attend school functions. She wanted someone to love her, to listen to her rather than self absorption and neglect.
Zoe is strong. She is a survivor. I loved and related to Zoe.
This is well written and highly recommended!
Five Stars
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LibraryThing member edspicer
Zo—eeeee has an alcoholic mother who forgets a lot of little details, like paying rent. “A real room with real floors and walls. A room for sleeping and reading and dancing and…in her imaginations she has pictured the room, but she has never seen herself in it.” (p. 22). Zoe is forced to
When Zoe decides to rent a room of her own,
“She pauses, startled, but absorbed in the simple sensation of her feet on a smooth, clean floor. She looks around the room. Is it really hers? Clean. Empty of past. She sits on the window seat and props her feet on a lavender pillow. Before laundry, before anything, she needs to sit. She needs to be. Just be. She closes her eyes, leaning back against the alcove. Zoe. Zoe listening to evening chirps through an open window. Zoe fingering a golden tassel. Zoe tasting space. Zoe owning the room.” (p. 113).
Zoe quickly discovers, however, that distancing herself physically from her family does NOT distance her emotionally and now she has rent to pay on top of all her emotional luggage. Pearson’s book sings. Its exquisite language paints rooms and characters with vivid three-dimensional colors making it difficult to believe that we are reading fiction. A Room on Lorelei Street is a must buy for sophisticated high school readers and one of my early favorites for Printz consideration.
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deal with details. She pays the bills. She takes care of the car registration. She deals with the people who haven’t been paid. And she is tired of being the adult. When Zoe decides to rent a room of her own,
“She pauses, startled, but absorbed in the simple sensation of her feet on a smooth, clean floor. She looks around the room. Is it really hers? Clean. Empty of past. She sits on the window seat and props her feet on a lavender pillow. Before laundry, before anything, she needs to sit. She needs to be. Just be. She closes her eyes, leaning back against the alcove. Zoe. Zoe listening to evening chirps through an open window. Zoe fingering a golden tassel. Zoe tasting space. Zoe owning the room.” (p. 113).
Zoe quickly discovers, however, that distancing herself physically from her family does NOT distance her emotionally and now she has rent to pay on top of all her emotional luggage. Pearson’s book sings. Its exquisite language paints rooms and characters with vivid three-dimensional colors making it difficult to believe that we are reading fiction. A Room on Lorelei Street is a must buy for sophisticated high school readers and one of my early favorites for Printz consideration.
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LibraryThing member MeriJenBen
A young woman saddled with acting as caretaker for her alcoholic mother struggles to create a place and life of her own in a rented room.
Zoe may only be seventeen, but she is old before her time. Having long ago assumed the role of parent for her fading, but still pretty mother, she struggles with
This book is very beautifully written. Zoe's voice is authentic, and the situation she finds herself in is heartbreakingly realistic. My main problem with this book is how predictable it was. I didn't feel surprised or shocked by any of Zoe's choices or the situation she found herself in; instead, there was just a sense of "it figures". As far as Teen Problem Novels go, you could do much worse, but don't spend a lot of time looking for novelty here.
Zoe may only be seventeen, but she is old before her time. Having long ago assumed the role of parent for her fading, but still pretty mother, she struggles with
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wanting to be free of the responsibility and her need to make sure her mom is O.K. Coupled with her invisibility to other family members and guilt about her father's death, Zoe feels the need to make herself seen. This leads to self-destructive behaviors (like smoking and sleeping around) and impulsive actions when things get to be too much. One such action is renting a room from a friendly eccentric, which Zoe sees as a haven. However, it's hard for a seventeen year old with a part time job to live on her own, and bad decisions soon find Zoe broke and desperate.This book is very beautifully written. Zoe's voice is authentic, and the situation she finds herself in is heartbreakingly realistic. My main problem with this book is how predictable it was. I didn't feel surprised or shocked by any of Zoe's choices or the situation she found herself in; instead, there was just a sense of "it figures". As far as Teen Problem Novels go, you could do much worse, but don't spend a lot of time looking for novelty here.
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LibraryThing member kitchenwitch04
I have found that I am really getting interested in reading YA lately. And that being said, I really hit the jackpot with this one. This book was such an emotional read that at times I felt like I was almost holding my breath. The main character went through so much in her mere seventeen years of
A Room on Lorelei Street takes place in a town called Ruby, Texas. It is a tired, small town full of basically nothing, where Ruby is living with her alcoholic mother as the book begins. Zoe has never really had the chance to be a child. Her father died mysteriously - hinting at a possible suicide, her mother crawled inside a bottle, and her beloved brother is sent to live with her aunt and uncle who have no room for her. Her grandmother is overbearing and manipulative, and Zoe is thrown into a life of being a caretaker to her mother. The author, Mary E. Pearson unfolds this hauntingly beautiful story of Zoe's life with such raw emotion that I will definitely not forget for a long time.
Zoe's life is one that no teenager should have to endure. Trying to take care of her mother, while working at the local diner and attending school proves to be more than Zoe can handle one day when a teacher mispronounces her name and Zoe blows a major gasket. It is at this point that Zoe realizes she has to make some changes if she is ever going to survive this life. She comes upon a house on Lorelei Street where she sees a room for rent sign. She keeps stopping by every day just to dream about the room and what it would be like to have someplace to call her own. One day she talks to the owner, and elderly woman named Opal. Opal is quite a character and I found her fast-becoming my favorite. She talks Zoe into taking the room, and the rest of the story is about Zoe's new struggle of how to make it on her own.
I can't think of anyone who would not fall in love with this story. I was captivated every second until I closed the back cover. It is a beautiful coming-of-age tale of a teenager's struggle to overcome the hand that life has dealt to her. The book is very well-written, and I can definitely understand why the author won the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Award for fiction for this wonderful book. I highly recommend this book.
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living, and her struggle completely broke my heart.A Room on Lorelei Street takes place in a town called Ruby, Texas. It is a tired, small town full of basically nothing, where Ruby is living with her alcoholic mother as the book begins. Zoe has never really had the chance to be a child. Her father died mysteriously - hinting at a possible suicide, her mother crawled inside a bottle, and her beloved brother is sent to live with her aunt and uncle who have no room for her. Her grandmother is overbearing and manipulative, and Zoe is thrown into a life of being a caretaker to her mother. The author, Mary E. Pearson unfolds this hauntingly beautiful story of Zoe's life with such raw emotion that I will definitely not forget for a long time.
Zoe's life is one that no teenager should have to endure. Trying to take care of her mother, while working at the local diner and attending school proves to be more than Zoe can handle one day when a teacher mispronounces her name and Zoe blows a major gasket. It is at this point that Zoe realizes she has to make some changes if she is ever going to survive this life. She comes upon a house on Lorelei Street where she sees a room for rent sign. She keeps stopping by every day just to dream about the room and what it would be like to have someplace to call her own. One day she talks to the owner, and elderly woman named Opal. Opal is quite a character and I found her fast-becoming my favorite. She talks Zoe into taking the room, and the rest of the story is about Zoe's new struggle of how to make it on her own.
I can't think of anyone who would not fall in love with this story. I was captivated every second until I closed the back cover. It is a beautiful coming-of-age tale of a teenager's struggle to overcome the hand that life has dealt to her. The book is very well-written, and I can definitely understand why the author won the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Award for fiction for this wonderful book. I highly recommend this book.
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LibraryThing member edspicer
It is an easy read. It really pulls you in and makes you want to figure out where Zoe’s story is going to go. You’ll have hope for Zoe the whole time. I read this book because it was recommended to me and it appealed to me.
LibraryThing member susan259
Almost perfect. Beautiful. I can really feel the character's feelings nad see the places and setting the author describes.
LibraryThing member susan259
Almost perfect. Beautiful. I can really feel the character's feelings nad see the places and setting the author describes.
LibraryThing member susan259
Almost perfect. Beautiful. I can really feel the character's feelings nad see the places and setting the author describes.
Pages
266