Watching Jimmy

June 1, 2009
Gr 5-8-In Canada, in 1958, 11-year-old Carolyn Jamieson has seen too much travail come to the people she loves. Her mother works overtime to scrape together enough to live on; her neighbor "Aunt Jean" struggles to afford medical care; and her friend Jimmy, Jean's son, is transformed into a drooling, challenged, diaper-wearing young man as the result of an accident. Worst of all, contrary to what everyone is led to believethat Jimmy fell from a swingCarolyn knows the truth of happened to him at the hands of his abusive, drunkard uncle. Like a steady beat that pulses louder and louder, the story unfolds against a backdrop of postwar social and political concerns and Remembrance Day. Carolyn is a passionate and feisty character, delineated with love and precision, and readers will be drawn to her. A compelling and satisfying novel."Emily Chornomaz, Brooklyn Public Library, NY"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2009
Grades 5-8 Despite the sudden emergence of a social agenda toward the end, this short tale of a Canadian preteen whose life centers around protecting her brain-damaged friend recalls Carolyn Comans What Jamie Saw (1995) in theme, tone, and its ability to hold readers. Obnoxious, abusive Uncle Ted denies responsibility for Jimmys accident, but next-door neighbor Carolyn saw it happen and has dedicated herself to keeping Ted away from her now barely functional friend. Meanwhile, Jimmys single mother hovers on the edge of poverty, unable to afford the surgery that her son needs. Carolyn puts up a stout defense against Teds attentions toward both herself and Jimmy, but its not until she falls in with some wise and savvy adults at a new church that she gains the confidence she needs to blow the whistlewhich she does in the course of a passionate Remembrance Day speech arguing for universal health care. That speech is the only off-key note in this otherwise absorbing read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)