Rear-View Mirrors

April 1, 1986
After ignoring Olivia for most of her 16 years, her father summons her to his rural New Hampshire home. She leaves her mother's California house to meet him, understanding neither his reclusion ("If it was true that no man is an island, my father was at least a peninsula,'') nor his need to see her. The summer passes, and while they spend much of their time exchanging barbs, Olivia and her father soften their feelings toward each other. She learns that she has an extended family, a new set of relatives, feeling no longer like a star, but part of a constellation. A year later, after her father's sudden death, Olivia returns to his home which will be hers when she is older. She reflects on the past, on those parts of herself that come from her mother or father, and those parts that are uniquely hers. Her father has given her the ability to see where she is going and where she has been at the same time. Olivia's emotional growth and eventual calm become the reader's own; Fleishman's gift for packing each sentence with both obvious and reflective meaning is evident here. The adolescent view is intelligent, mature and believable.

August 1, 2013

Gr 8 Up-The audiobook version of Fleischman's book (HarperCollins, 1986) about a girl trying to live up to the expectations of her father, whom she hasn't seen since she was a baby, is brief and touching, but slightly flat on occasion. This is a result of the brevity of the story itself as well as Monica Willey's narration. The story is told alternately in present tense and flashbacks. Listeners realize that there will be an emotional encounter between Olivia and her somewhat disaffected father after she receives a letter from him inviting her to visit for the summer. When Olivia arrives at her father's home, she learns that he's trying to determine if she is worthy of inheriting his legacy. The story weaves back and forth between that summer and the current one during which Olivia is determined to complete the exact biking trip her father had taken. The pacing of the narration is measured and the transitions between past and present are well done. The emotional transitions are less clear and at times seem off-balance. There are gaps in the story left intentionally by the author, but they also leave the narrator and listeners less engaged in what should have been a poignant journey of self-discovery and healing. Purchase only if the print book is still in your collection.-Stephanie A. Squicciarini, Fairport Public Library, NY

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