Eggs

Jerry Spinelli

Book - 2007

Mourning the loss of his mother, nine-year-old David forms an unlikely friendship with independent, quirky thirteen-year-old Primrose, as the two help each other deal with what is missing in their lives.

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Subjects
Published
New York : Little, Brown 2007.
Language
English
Main Author
Jerry Spinelli (-)
Edition
1st ed
Physical Description
220 p. ; 20 cm
ISBN
9780316166461
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Nine-year-old David has been living with his grandmother since his mother's accidental death. Still in pain, he's determined not to make friends in his new town and not to make nice with his grandmother. Slowly, though, he forms a close albeit abrasive relationship with 13-year-old Primrose, whose single parent barely seems to notice when she moves into a nearby abandoned van. More kinship than friendship, the kids' bond draws them together and thrusts timid David into adventures from late-night treasure hunts in the neighbors' trash, to a highly competitive search for night crawlers, to an overnight hike to (or at least toward) Philadelphia. Funny, startling, and touching in turn, Spinelli's novel portrays two children, bereft and secretive, hurt and angry, who manage to give each other things that they need and cannot get--or won't accept--from the adults in their lives. The occasional reflections of adult characters seem out of place, but readers will find some of the scenes between David and Primrose vivid and memorable. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2007 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In Spinelli's (Maniac Magee) latest novel, the Newbery Medalist falls slightly short of the high standard he's set in some of his previous books. The conceptually appealing story starts out with a bang as readers are introduced to David, a vulnerable nine-year-old boy whose mother died by slipping on wet pavement and falling down the stairs. He lives with his grandmother, whom he finds nagging and annoying, and his absent father, who is only around on weekends. One day while begrudgingly participating in a neighborhood Easter egg hunt with his grandmother, David stumbles upon 13-year-old Primrose under a pile of leaves-she is pretending to be dead. Coincidentally, her father is out of the picture as well, and she lives alone with her kooky, fortune-telling mother. David and Primrose become fast friends, sneaking out at night and generally ignoring their guardians. Whatever potential this "kids against the world" setup has quickly dissipates, unfortunately. The two befriend a crafty mechanic down the street named Refrigerator John, call each other names and run away from home a few times, but they don't do much else. While readers will likely get a kick out of David and Primrose's quirky behavior, they might also want to move beyond the kids' bickering into deeper, meatier territory, such as death, fear and healing-issues that clearly affect them both. While Spinelli does touch on these themes throughout, the attention given them seems only to scratch the surface. Ages 8-12. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-8-Since David's mother died in a freak accident, the boy and his father have lived with David's grandmother in Pennsylvania. His father, who works in Connecticut, is gone all week, causing the nine-year-old to turn his grief and loneliness into anger directed at his grandmother. The symbolism of the title is apparent throughout the story, beginning when David sarcastically and rudely refuses to go to the annual Easter egg hunt in the park. Yet it is here that he meets Primrose Dufee, a quirky, equally lonely, and sarcastic 13-year-old girl whose glittery purple eyelids remind him of tiny birds' eggs. Primrose has defiantly moved into an abandoned van to separate herself from her childlike, eccentric fortune-teller mother. The two form a combative yet necessary relationship played out late at night when David sneaks out to help Primrose gather "junk" to sell at a flea market. Refrigerator John, Primrose's neighbor, serves as a safe, responsible, unassuming father figure, helping the youngsters understand themselves and sort through their losses. Spinelli's offbeat characters, wit, and unlikely circumstances are engaging yet the banter between David and Primrose and his rejection of his grandmother are at times extreme. Visual metaphors figure prominently in the multilayered plot while cracking the defensive shells built by these wounded young people.-D. Maria LaRocco, Cuyahoga Public Library, Strongsville, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

(Intermediate) During an Easter egg hunt, nine-year-old David finds a girl's dead body at the park. At least, he's sure it's a dead body until two months later when he sees the girl, thirteen-year-old Primrose, at the library very much alive. So begins the unique, volatile friendship at the core of Spinelli's uneven yet moving novel. Both children have absent parents: since his mother's accidental death, David's been living with his grandmother while his father apparently buries himself in his work; Primrose's father left when she was a baby, and while her mother, a fortuneteller, always predicts a ""long and happy life"" for her customers, she doesn't seem to care much about her own daughter's happiness. Spinelli skillfully portrays David and Primrose's fragile psyches, leading them to simultaneously cling to and lash out at one another. He also sets up an almost magical nighttime world for the two. They regularly meet up after dark, sifting through trash for ""treasures,"" eating at Dunkin' Donuts, and hunting nightcrawlers in a vacant lot. The narrative weakens when Spinelli shifts to the perspectives of adult characters, such as local eccentric Refrigerator John, whose house the kids gravitate toward to watch late-night TV. In the end, the children's psychological wounds might heal a little too cleanly, but their fierce devotion to each other compensates for that, making everything they do seem possible. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

It started with eggs--nine-year-old David on his way to an Easter egg hunt with his grandmother, 13-year-old Primrose living in an old Dodge van egged by local teenagers. And it ends, almost, with a sunrise "beautiful and smooth as a painted egg." In between, it's the story of a boy who has lost his mother and wants her back, and a girl who has a mother and moves out to get away from her. Together, they build a friendship watching late shows on TV, picking through trash, dining at Dunkin' Donuts, hanging out with Refrigerator John and running away to Philadelphia. With strong characterization of major and minor characters and a light, poetic touch, Spinelli deftly handles themes of friendship, family, loss and resilience in a story that will long linger in the hearts of readers. Elegant and memorable. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.