Just Under the Clouds
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Can you still have a home if you don't have a house? In the spirit of The Truth About Jellyfish and Fish in a Tree comes a stunning debut about a family struggling to find something lasting when everything feels so fleeting.
Always think in threes and you'll never fall, Cora's father told her when she was a little girl. Two feet, one hand. Two hands, one foot. That was all Cora needed to know to climb the trees of Brooklyn.
But now Cora is a middle schooler, a big sister, and homeless. Her mother is trying to hold the family together after her father's death, and Cora must look after her sister, Adare, who's just different, their mother insists. Quick to smile, Adare hates wearing shoes, rarely speaks, and appears untroubled by the question Cora can't help but ask: How will she find a place to call home?
After their room at the shelter is ransacked, Cora's mother looks to an old friend for help, and Cora finally finds what she has been looking for: Ailanthus altissima, the "tree of heaven," which can grow in even the worst conditions. It sets her on a path to discover a deeper truth about where she really belongs.
Just Under the Clouds will take root in your heart and blossom long after you've turned the last page.
"[A] heartbreaking yet hopeful story of a family searching for a place to belong." --Publishers Weekly
"[A] thought provoking debut about the meaning of home and the importance of family."--Horn Book Magazine
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sarno's debut novel relays the heartbreaking yet hopeful story of a family searching for a place to belong. Alongside their mother, 12-year-old Cora and her younger sister, Adare, have lugged their meager possessions from one Brooklyn address to another since their father's death. Now, living in a shelter, Cora muses, "We're homeless. For real." While her mother works long hours as a store clerk, Cora looks after keenly intuitive Adare, who was "born special" and constantly smiles but rarely speaks. Cora is a zealous tree climber and lover of all growing things; she treasures her Tree Book, in which her gardener father meticulously recorded his field notes, and she now documents the trees surrounding every place she lives. As Cora sees Brooklyn from a variety of perspectives (the trees she climbs, a shelter, a fancy high-rise) and her family looks for a place to stay, she considers the meanings of belonging and home. Sarno easily pulls readers into the tangled lives of her credible characters and their struggles to put down roots in this exploration of family and friendship, loss and resilience. Ages 8 12.
Customer Reviews
Just Under the Clouds
This book is such a great book!
Cora’s father told her two feet one hand. Two hands one foot. That was all Cora needed to know to climb the trees of Brooklyn.
But now Cora is a middle schooler, a big sister, and homeless. Her mother is trying to hold the family together since her fathers death, and Cora must look after her sister, Adare, who’s just ... different, their mother insists. Quick to smile, Adare Hates wearing shoes, rarely speaks, and appears untroubled by the question Cora can’t help but ask: How will they find a place to call home? After their room at the shelter is ransacked, Cora’s mother looks to an old friend for help. But even with a new place to live it’s Cora’s discovery of Ailanthus altissima, “ the tree of heaven”, which can grow in even the worst conditions, that sets her on a path to discover a deeper truth about where she really belongs. I hope you have enjoyed this book or will enjoy this book!