Touchblue. By Cynthia Lord. Scholastic Press, 2010. 192 pages. Tr. $16.99 ISBN 978-0545035316
Summary: Bethsaida’s Island school in Maine is about to close, due to lack of enrollment. Reverend Beal’s ideal to take in foster children to boost enrollment is taken over by the local community. Eleven-year-old Tess Brooks’ family fosters a thirteen-year-old boy named Aaron, and Tess finds reason to be hopeful. Aaron misses the mainland, dislikes lobster fishing, abhors reading, and prefers being in his room to playing board games. Will Aaron remain with Tess’s family, or will he return his mother, forcing the island school to close?
Summary: Bethsaida’s Island school in Maine is about to close, due to lack of enrollment. Reverend Beal’s ideal to take in foster children to boost enrollment is taken over by the local community. Eleven-year-old Tess Brooks’ family fosters a thirteen-year-old boy named Aaron, and Tess finds reason to be hopeful. Aaron misses the mainland, dislikes lobster fishing, abhors reading, and prefers being in his room to playing board games. Will Aaron remain with Tess’s family, or will he return his mother, forcing the island school to close?
Critical Review: Lord’s novel evocatively portrays life in coastal Maine through the lens of an eleven-year-old girl. Tess loves living on an island, and tries to pass this love along to her foster brother. It takes some time for Aaron to trust the Brooks, for he’s built up a lot of resentment for being removed from his alcoholic mother and being placed in an endless-stream of foster homes. Tess and her parents accept Aaron like a brother or son, showing him that there are people that care about him. Meanwhile, Tess learns that while plan may not work as expected, there are other roads that lead to the same destination. Aaron adapts to life on the island, saving the island school and forming a lasting relationship with Tess.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Reading/Interest Level: 10-14 years
Reviews: School Library Journal (2010, September 1); Publishers Weekly (2010, August 9); Booklist (2010, August 1)
Similar Materials: Jennifer L. Holm’s Turtle in Paradise; Charlotte Agell’s The Accidental Adventures of India McAllister
Subjects/Themes: foster homes and children; Maine; islands; schools and education; musicians; bibliomania; lobster fishing; board games; superstitions; alcoholism
Character Names: Tess Brooks; Aaron Spinney; Mr. and Mrs. Brooks; Mrs. Coombs; Eben Calder; Reverend Beal; Mr. and Mrs. Brooks
Author Website: http://www.cynthialord.com/
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