One Square Inch
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Cooper's grandfather gives him and his little sister, Carly, deeds to square inches of land in the Yukon. Carly uses them to invent her own imaginary kingdom of Inchland—far away from the silence of their home, where their single mother stays in bed all day. When their mom comes out of her season of sadness bursting with sometimes frightening energy, Carly retreats into Inchland, while sixth-grader Cooper tries to control the chaos. But can Cooper really keep Carly—and himself—safe?
In One Square Inch, Claudia Mills weaves a story that is "Believable and deeply moving" (Publishers Weekly).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mills (How Oliver Olson Changed the World) delivers a compassionate story about life with a bipolar parent. Eleven-year-old Cooper and his younger sister, Carly, consider their life in Colorado "normal" until their widowed mother begins to sleep all day. After seeing a psychiatrist, she seems to get better, only to swing to the opposite end of the spectrum. Organized and perceptive, Cooper tries to ignore the unpaid bills, power outage, endless projects, and "unbelievable mess," but his mother's behavior embarrasses and angers him ("I started trying to clean up the kitchen.... If the house looked less crazy, it might make her be less crazy, too"). Not knowing where to turn, he and Carly find escape and comfort imagining a place called Inchland, inspired by their grandfather's collection of Quaker Oats deeds to land in the Yukon. Though Cooper's narration at times feels excessively sensitive ("She reached out and gave me a long, enfolding hug. I fought tears as I hugged her back"), the twist of his emotions and depth of his concern for his mother and sister are believable and deeply moving. Ages 10 14.
