The Reason for Janey

Synopsis

Philly’s life changes greatly when, after her parents' divorce, her mother takes in Janey, a retarded adult, to live with them. "I like to know the reasons for things,” says Philura Higley Mason. “When I know the reason for something, it fits. I can manage it.” She especially wants to know why Janey, a mentally retarded woman who moved in four months ago, fits into the family better than Dad, who moved out three years ago. After all, what makes a family a family? Last year, Philly won first prize at the fifth-grade science fair, so this year, superbrain Danny Stapleton is determined to outdo her. But Philly can’t even choose a topic. She’s wondering instead about Janey--that little-girl locket she wears, that mismatched pack of cards she carries, and that place she lived that makes Mom strangely angry: the Morrisville State School for the Mentally Retarded. And when Janey’s mother died, what happened to her father? As Philly uncovers Janey’s past, she unexpectedly collides with her own. Suddenly she must confront new truths about Dad, about Mom, and about herself. (She even makes some discoveries about Danny Stapleton.) The author of Bringing Nettie Back (also Macmillan U.S.A.) has artfully interwoven such complex issues as divorce, mental retardation, keeping secrets, and what it really means to be a family.

Copyright:

1994

Book Details

Book Quality:

Excellent

Book Size:

160 Pages

ISBN-13:

9780027931273

Publisher:

Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Date of Addition:

09/14/21

Copyrighted By:

Nancy Hope Wilson

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Children's Books, Disability-Related, Literature and Fiction, Parenting and Family

Grade Levels:

Fifth grade

Reading Age:

4–12

Submitted By:

Larry Lumpkin

Proofread By:

Lissi

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.