Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Scholastic Inc.
Pages
297
Description
"Two girls on opposite sides of the planet connect through a mysterious book, whose phantom narrator guides them into spinning a story about the past that will affect their futures"--
Description
Lisa Papademetriou’s magical, page-turning tale for readers of all ages is now in paperback! This heartfelt, vividly told multicultural story about fate shows readers the power of destiny, and the invisible threads that link us all, ultimately, to one another.
Kai and Leila are both finally having an adventure. For Leila, that means a globe-crossing journey to visit family for the summer in Pakistan; for Kai, it means being stuck with her crazy great-aunt in Texas while her mom looks for a job. In each of their bedrooms, they discover a copy of a blank, old book called The Exquisite Corpse. Kai writes three words on the first page—and suddenly, they magically appear in Leila’s copy on the other side of the planet. Kai’s words are soon followed by line after line of the long-ago, romantic tale of Ralph T. Flabbergast and his forever-love, Edwina Pickle. As the two take turns writing, the tale unfolds, connecting both girls to each other, and to the past, in a way they never could have imagined.
Kai and Leila are both finally having an adventure. For Leila, that means a globe-crossing journey to visit family for the summer in Pakistan; for Kai, it means being stuck with her crazy great-aunt in Texas while her mom looks for a job. In each of their bedrooms, they discover a copy of a blank, old book called The Exquisite Corpse. Kai writes three words on the first page—and suddenly, they magically appear in Leila’s copy on the other side of the planet. Kai’s words are soon followed by line after line of the long-ago, romantic tale of Ralph T. Flabbergast and his forever-love, Edwina Pickle. As the two take turns writing, the tale unfolds, connecting both girls to each other, and to the past, in a way they never could have imagined.
Collection
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
297 p.; 7.6 inches
ISBN
9781338030709
Similar in this library
Lexile
710L
User reviews
LibraryThing member GretchenLynn
My 10 year old read this and enjoyed it and passed it on to me to read. In the book, two characters in different situations discover the same book, a book with a touch of magic to it that starts telling them a story as they write in it. Both girls are visiting relatives in unfamiliar places, and
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are learning about the places and about themselves as they go. Then the book starts telling them an old story - part love story, part dark mystery - that links them together and inspires both girls to search for the truth. It was a fairly quick read, but nice to see the girls learning and growing and standing up for themselves while wrapped up in an intriguing story. Show Less
LibraryThing member roses7184
So, this was a tough one to rate. We all know that I'm a sucker for magical realism, and that nine times out of ten I end up loving books that fall into this category madly and deeply. A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic was, well, unusual. While the magic and mystery were definitely there, it felt
Let's start with the good. First of all, Leila's character is more than enough reason to read this story. Leila is a girl between worlds. Not at home in the U.S., where her Pakistani roots make her stand out. Not at home in Pakistan, where her upbringing keeps her from fitting in. Although I never had it quite as bad as Leila, I still saw myself in her. Growing up I always felt like I never quite fit in with my extended family, because of the way I was raised. I know there are other kids out there like that too, and they'll instantly take a liking to Leila and her battle to find where she fits in.
In fact, the settings that this book take place in are the other part of this that I loved. Leila spends the story in Pakistan, and Kai spends it in Texas. Watching these two go through such similar problems, in such different locales, was interesting. Lisa Papademetriou hits the trials of growing older right on the head. The bullies. The friends. The family interactions. As separate characters, these two were adorable.
So why the three stars? As I mentioned above, it was really the way that the story was told. The magical book that tied these two together, and the mystery that surrounded it all, felt off. It almost felt too surreal to really fit in with everything else that was going on. Plus, there were never any really tight resolutions. I kept wanting to see something good happen to our girls, but it never did. While this is a pretty solid coming of age story, it lacked the pieces to make it feel like it was really steeped in magic.
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bogged down by the way that it was told. So much promise, but the way it played out didn't quite hit the mark.Let's start with the good. First of all, Leila's character is more than enough reason to read this story. Leila is a girl between worlds. Not at home in the U.S., where her Pakistani roots make her stand out. Not at home in Pakistan, where her upbringing keeps her from fitting in. Although I never had it quite as bad as Leila, I still saw myself in her. Growing up I always felt like I never quite fit in with my extended family, because of the way I was raised. I know there are other kids out there like that too, and they'll instantly take a liking to Leila and her battle to find where she fits in.
In fact, the settings that this book take place in are the other part of this that I loved. Leila spends the story in Pakistan, and Kai spends it in Texas. Watching these two go through such similar problems, in such different locales, was interesting. Lisa Papademetriou hits the trials of growing older right on the head. The bullies. The friends. The family interactions. As separate characters, these two were adorable.
So why the three stars? As I mentioned above, it was really the way that the story was told. The magical book that tied these two together, and the mystery that surrounded it all, felt off. It almost felt too surreal to really fit in with everything else that was going on. Plus, there were never any really tight resolutions. I kept wanting to see something good happen to our girls, but it never did. While this is a pretty solid coming of age story, it lacked the pieces to make it feel like it was really steeped in magic.
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Awards
South Asia Book Award (Highly Commended — 2016)
Call number
J4A.Pap