The Collected Works of Gretchen Oyster

July 1, 2019

Gr 5 Up-Ever since his brother Jackson ran away, Hartley Staples has a hard time getting interested in anything. His friend Zack wants nothing to do with him anymore and walks away whenever he tries to talk to him. His parents and siblings are barely holding it together. When Hartley finds a postcard that seems to speak directly to him and what he's going through, he becomes fascinated. He soon spots another and becomes obsessed with finding out the identity of whoever created them. Who is G.O., and why are they creating the postcards? Will he find a topic to do for his final project and pass middle school? Told through alternating points of view, readers will relate to the characters and their struggles to fit in and find peace with themselves. The plot is well- developed and easy to follow. Characters are realistic and engaging, and authentic postcard illustrations add color and depth to the story. VERDICT Recommended for library collections where realistic fiction centering issues of family, friendship, and self-discovery are popular.-Kira Moody, Salt Lake County Library Services

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2019
Hartley, floundering at home and school from a family trauma, finds a strange artistic postcard--and then another, and another. Ever since Hartley's older brother, Jackson, ran away, his parents are breaking down and his older sister's become insufferable. Only baby brother George, a sweet and funny kid, seems to be thriving. In his discombobulated state of mind, how can Hartley come up with a topic for the big (extremely undirected and undersupervised) middle school final project? But amid Hartley's eighth grade disorientation, he finds a quirky, collaged postcard. It bears a picture of fish and an offbeat, typewritten phrase, is numbered "1," and is signed "g.o." in the corner. Not long after, he finds a second postcard, equally quirky, numbered "2." Thus begins Hartley's quest to find all the postcards in the series as well as the artist, the mysterious g.o. Interwoven between some of Hartley's chapters are interludes from the point of view of one Gretchen Oyster, a blue-haired, skateboarding high school girl with an artistic project. Despite choppy prose characterized by a plethora of one-sentence paragraphs and a setting that ranges from humorously absurd to simply implausible, the spare text and compelling illustrations of the postcards combine to make an appealing whole. Hartley's white; Gretchen was adopted from China as a baby and is subject to racist and anti-adoption bullying. A charmingly eccentric tale of briefly intersecting lives making meaning from art. (Fiction. 11-13)

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October 28, 2019
Since his older brother, Jackson, ran away from home nine months earlier,13-year-old Hartley Staples’s life has only gotten worse. Jackson’s behavior was always erratic, but Hartley cannot fathom why he left. In addition to his deeply sad parents and hostile twin sister, he’s coping with a best friend who has suddenly withdrawn. Preoccupied with his search for answers, Hartley struggles to focus on his year-end school project, and he suffers from stomachaches. Then he finds an artistic postcard stating, “i hate all kinds of flags except pirate flags,” signed “G.O.” When another, similar card appears, he becomes wrapped up in the mystery of who is creating the cards and why they are appearing around town. Fagan (Mort Ziff Is Not Dead) tells a moving story about the happiness found in small moments and art’s power to connect people. A few chapters are told from G.O.’s point of view, and full-page illustrations show the whimsical, philosophical postcards. Hartley is a chatty narrator who frequently addresses the reader, and his longing and grief feel authentic, as does his gradual lift in spirits. Ages 10–14.

September 1, 2019
Grades 4-8 Fagan (Wolfie & Fly, 2017) has turned out an odd, yet sweet, little novel of self-discovery and family dynamics, frankly narrated by eighth-grader Hartley Staples. It's been several months since his older brother, Jackson, ran away without a trace, and the Staples family is still struggling to reclaim a sense of normalcy. As the end of the school year approaches, Hartley should be thinking of a topic for his final project, but his attention is instead focused on the curious postcards, signed G.O., he's finding around town. He's captivated by their collaged art and philosophical musings and gripped by a need to find out who is making them. Jackson's disappearance is a background ache throughout the narrative, periodically breaking through as a panic attack or therapy session; it also plays a role in Hartley's motivation to collect all the postcards. The mysterious G.O. narrates a few chapters, opening up the story to her own struggles, and color illustrations of her artistic creations add to the book's unique feel. Quietly thought-provoking and hopeful.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)