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Summary
Summary
Mandy awoke in darkness. For a moment she didn't remember that Angel was gone, that she would not be coming back, and then the pain hit her like a physical blow.For the first time in her eleven years, Mandy is alone. Through a series of miscommunications, her entire family has left her by herself in their big house on Lake Michigan. But it's the absence of her twin sister, Angel, that she feels the most. One year ago Angel died, and Mandy's life has been at a standstill ever since. While the rest of her family has moved on, Mandy still clings to the pain of her loss.At first, Mandy is almost relieved to have the time to herself. But quickly the loneliness consumes her -- until she stumbles upon two boys, one her age, the other not yet two, who are also on their own. Running away from men who wish to do them harm, the boys turn to Mandy for help. But what can she do for these boys when she can barely take care of herself? If only Angel were here, she would know what to do.But Angel isn't here, and Mandy can't let the men hurt these boys. So she takes them in, and in turn, makes a remarkable discovery about herself, her sister, and the very special bond they shared.
Author Notes
Author Willo Davis Roberts was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on May 29, 1928. Her first novel, Murder at Grand Bay, was published in 1955. The View from the Cherry Tree was originally meant to be an adult novel, but was then sold as a children's book; it was published in 1975 and started her career as a children's mystery writer. Roberts wrote a total of ninety-nine children and adult books during her lifetime and won numerous awards including the Mark Twain award for The Girl with the Silver Eyes (1980) and Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job (1985) and the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Megan's Island (1988), The Absolutely True Story of My Visit to Yellowstone with the Terrible Rupes (1994), and Twisted Summer (1996). She died on November 19, 2004 from congestive heart failure.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-7-Feeling as though the rest of her large family has moved on, 11-year-old Mandy continues to struggle with the death of her twin. Left alone in her house over a long weekend, she pretends that Angel is still with her, but it "no longer worked to pretend anything beautiful, or exciting, or magical. Without Angel to share, Mandy felt broken, destroyed." Midway through the weekend, she discovers a runaway boy, Zander, who has broken into her house. Fugitives from a kidnapping plot, the teen and his toddler brother seek her help, and now she, and not her daring twin, must become courageous and independent. While the story seems slight, Roberts's characters possess an emotional immediacy that is hard to deny. Mandy and Zander face troubles that leave them incomplete, and the drama of outthinking and outrunning the kidnappers imbues what might otherwise be just an "issue book" with page-turning pacing. Give this quick read to girls not quite ready for Caroline Cooney or Lurlene McDaniel.-Caitlin Augusta, The Darien Library, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The late Roberts's final book does not seem up to her previous high standards, yet it is a pageturner nonetheless. Eleven-year-old Mandy, part of a large and busy family, is invited by her various older siblings to come along with each of them and their friends for Labor Day weekend (her parents are away celebrating their anniversary). But not having committed to any of them, she finds that everyone has dispersed and inadvertently left without her. For Mandy, this is an opportunity to make herself take some risks on her own, the kind that Angel, her twin sister who died the year before, was always the first to take. The first third of the book progresses rather slowly, absent of the author's usual dialogue, but when Mandy finds two young runaways in the woods, the pace picks up. Mandy must decide whom she can trust, and how best to keep them all safe from would-be kidnappers and possible killers. Roberts successfully portrays Mandy's grief for her lost twin and her alarm as a suspicion takes hold that someone else has been in the house. Even though the denouement may feel anticlimactic and somewhat contrived, the heroine's wavering about what to do with the two boys is genuine, and in the end, she is able to act decisively when necessary. Ages 8-12. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Review
Eleven-year-old Mandy has been left behind in an empty house; each member of the family thinks she's with another. But this kind of aloneness is nothing compared to the abandonment she feels at the loss of her sister Angel, who died a year ago. She has always believed that Angel was smarter and prettier, even though they were identical twins. During this eventful weekend, Mandy meets Zander and his little brother who are hiding from would-be kidnappers. As the adventure unfolds, she questions her ability to cope and wonders what her sister would do. As she gains confidence, she realizes that her memories of Angel will always be there to guide and reassure her. If Roberts's plot is a bit convoluted and contrived, she has created a sweet, sensitive child dealing with issues of grief and loss in her own way. Published posthumously. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 4-7. When her parents go out of town, a miscommunication leaves Mandy home alone for an entire weekend. Not that she cares much anyway. Since losing her vivacious twin sister, Angel, nearly a year ago, the 11-year-old drifts through the days, aching for her dead sister's company. But when someone breaks into the house and steals food, Mandy snaps into action and investigates what might be going on, drawing courage from how she thinks Angel would have acted. Soon she discovers teenage Zander and his toddler brother, squatting in an abandoned cottage up the road. The older boy claims to be fleeing two would-be kidnappers who plan to hold the little one for ransom; it's up to Mandy to determine the truth behind his claims. The suspense mounts to a desperate climax before all is resolved safely. An introspective page-turner by the late Roberts, a three-time Edgar Award winner. --Anne O'Malley Copyright 2006 Booklist
