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Children's Fiction Runaways

True Confessions of a Heartless Girl

by (author) Martha Brooks

Publisher
Farrar Straus & Giroux
Initial publish date
Mar 2003
Category
Runaways
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780888995698
    Publish Date
    Oct 2003
    List Price
    $14.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781554980468
    Publish Date
    Oct 2002
    List Price
    $9.95
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780374378066
    Publish Date
    Mar 2003
    List Price
    $18.5

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Where to buy it

Out of print

This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.

Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels

  • Age: 0
  • Grade: p to 12
  • Reading age: 0

Description

“A quietly astonishing work of art.” – Starred, Quill & Quire

In the midst of a heaven-rattling summer storm a young stranger blows into a small prairie town. On the run after taking her latest boyfriend’s truck, with a pocketful of stolen money and a heart full of pain, seventeen-year-old Noreen Stall seems to invite trouble. And trouble comes soon enough as Noreen’s new mistakes trigger calamities that shake the lives of the residents of Pembina Lake: Lynda Bradley, a divorced mother and owner of a failing café who’s given upon life and love; Dolores Harper, the village elder who, in spite of her signature sweatshirt that says MEDDLING FOR JESUS, has lost her enthusiasm for helping others; and Del Armstrong, a middle-aged bachelor farmer who is still paying for the tragic events of his own seventeenth summer.

Set against the vast skies of a prairie landscape, with a rich cast of unforgettable characters and an unlikely heroine as endearing as she is tough, this affecting novel reminds readers that it’s never too late for forgiveness – and that sometimes the most unlikely messenger can deliver a small miracle.

About the author

Martha Brooks lives in Winnipeg. Her book Traveling on into the Light was named to the international 1996 IBBY Honour List and is an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults. Two Moons in August and Paradise Caf and Other Stories were Governor General’s Award nominees; the latter also received the 1991 Boston Globe Horn Book Award for distinguished children’s fiction. When not writing, Martha can be found performing in local jazz clubs. Maureen Hunter is one of Canada’s most successful playwrights. Her work has been produced extensively on Canada’s major stages, in the United States, and Britain, and by CBC and BBC Radio. Atlantis was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award and Transit of Venus, premiered by the Manitoba Theatre Centre, became the first Canadian play ever staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company of Britain. A native of Saskatchewan, Maureen now lives on the banks of the Red River in Winnipeg.

Martha Brooks' profile page

Awards

  • American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
  • Texas TAYSHAS High School Reading List
  • Horn Book Magazine Fanfare List
  • School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
  • Booklist Editors' Choice
  • Amazon.com Top 10 Editor's Picks: Teens
  • Kirkus Reviews Editor's Choice
  • NYPL Books for the Teen Age

Editorial Reviews

"This beautifully written story explores the effect of a stranger on a small town. [Brooks] shares her vision of the richness of ordinary life in all its pain and glory." --Starred,Kirkus Reviews

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