  | Drop of hope Author: Calabrese, Keith | |
| Price: $6.50 | ||
Summary:
Times are tough in the small town of Cliffs Donnelly, Ohio (sarcastically called If Only) especially for some of the kids at Rod Serling Middle School, but then an old dry well suddenly begins to grant wishes, or so it seems--three of the students, Ernest Wilmette, Ryan Hardy, and Lizzy MacComber, know what is happening (but do they really?), because sometimes a good deed can make magic happen.
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| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 5.20 Points: 9.0 Quiz: 500667 | Reading Counts Information: Interest Level: 3-5 Reading Level: 5.30 Points: 14.0 Quiz: 75843 | |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (-) (11/15/18)
School Library Journal (11/01/18)
Booklist (12/01/18)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/02/19)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 12/01/2018 As this chapter book opens, sixth-graders Ryan, Ernest, and Lizzy aren’t exactly friends, but soon they’re drawn together by a shared secret: the town’s decrepit wishing well is actually working. After Ernest fulfills his dying grandfather’s request that he give away certain objects in the attic, they become instrumental in granting wishes and making things better for people in the community, where the dwindling economic base has eroded hope. The story features a large cast of tweens and adults, and the third-person narrative shifts its focus from one to another, short chapter by short chapter, always returning to the central trio of kids. But even secondary characters are sustained by their increasing connections with others, and one person’s story dovetails unexpectedly with another. A screenwriter, Calabrese portrays the tweens both independent of and within their families, whether supportive or dysfunctional. The momentum steadily builds as readers get to know the characters and care about their individual, yet increasingly interwoven, concerns. A promising first novel that delivers its own measure of hope. - Copyright 2018 Booklist.
