by Polly Horvath (Author)
By the Newbery Honor author, Polly Horvath, comes a sequel to her popular Pine Island Home about orphaned sisters who find a way to make a new family.
Fiona, Marlin, Natasha, and Charlie McCready have been adopted by their unlikely guardian, Al, and finally settled into their new home on Pine Island in British Columbia.
Then they receive a letter from Mrs. Witherspoon who took care of them after their parents died telling them that she is coming to visit for three months--an inordinate amount of time for a houseguest. Accommodating a fifth person in the tiny house is hard enough, but to their horror, Mrs. Weatherspoon arrives with a companion, her childhood friend, Jo.
Jo has opinions about everything--what they should eat, how they should behave--and she doesn't hesitate to express them. And sweet Mrs. Witherspoon seems to have fallen under her spell. When she and Jo announce that they are going to extend their stay even longer, Fiona and Marlin are beside themselves. Fiona hates rocking the boat, but there must be a way to get rid of these grown-up bullies so she and her sisters can have the life they wish to lead.
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In this character-focused sequel to Pine Island Home by Horvath, the orphaned McCready sisters have just begun adjusting to their life on British Columbia's Pine Island with new guardian Al. Al mostly leaves Charlie, Fiona, Marlin, and Natasha to their own devices, and while the girls enjoy their independence and newfound security, each longs to move on from their past and build bright futures. Fifteen-year-old Fiona seeks to make things right with a boy she stood up the previous year; Marlin, 13, strives to become a published cookbook author; Natasha, 10, endeavors to learn how to play violin; and youngest child Charlie, eight, determinedly advocates for a dog. When the siblings' first guardian, Mrs. Witherspoon, along with her bossy, ill-tempered childhood friend Jo, arrive for a three-month visit, the sisters struggle to navigate this change. Frequent clashes between Jo and the girls, especially after Jo and Mrs. Witherspoon extend their stay to start a church, prompt the McCready clan to drive out their unwanted guests. Through steady, sober prose and the protagonists' complex relationships, Horvath creates successfully strained situations, giving way to gratifying resolutions that offer a comforting reassurance that bad times don't last forever. Ages 9-12. (Oct.)
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