Book Description:
Lori is fourteen to Petey's eleven. Way too old for him to be needing her hand to cross the trestle. Petey has an "unnatural" fear of heights, but he knows he has to put his mind to crossing that trestle by himself because Loni insists there's no way she's returning to school in the fall. Since the car accident that killed their father and left Loni without an eye, she pretends not to care how she looks, but Petey notices that she has been wearing her eye patch regularly since they met Stone.
Stone lives in the old carriage house on Gen Geeter's farm, near the little house that the kids and their mother rent from Gen. Stone is on permanet disability from the military, staying in their small steel-mill town in West Virginia, hired by the mill owner to paint a mural. Loni and Petey visit Stone's studio for art lessons, and Loni thrives on the encouragement that Stone gives her on her drawing. Petey just thrives on Stone's caring. Both kids are happy about the friendship developing between their mom and Stone.
Still, everyone seems to be struggling with some kind of fear. Petey struggles to cross the trestle alone and face the bully that is pushing him around. Loni agonizes over the possibililty of a new plastic eye replacement that her mom and Stone have arranged. And Stone, too, wrestles with anguish leftover from his torgurous time overseas. Meanwhile, Gen Geeter, out of jealousy, suggests in a letter to their mother that he's witnessed Stone being "personal" with Loni - Petey defends him but is confused by the accusations.
Layer by layer, fears and feelings unravel and relatinships alter and develop in this heart-warming presentation of a family whose lives are profoundly affected - in both positive and negative ways - by the aftermath of war. Achingly honest and full of emotion, the final layer reveals a story of triumphs - over fears, over pain, and over time.
Lori is fourteen to Petey's eleven. Way too old for him to be needing her hand to cross the trestle. Petey has an "unnatural" fear of heights, but he knows he has to put his mind to crossing that trestle by himself because Loni insists there's no way she's returning to school in the fall. Since the car accident that killed their father and left Loni without an eye, she pretends not to care how she looks, but Petey notices that she has been wearing her eye patch regularly since they met Stone.
Stone lives in the old carriage house on Gen Geeter's farm, near the little house that the kids and their mother rent from Gen. Stone is on permanet disability from the military, staying in their small steel-mill town in West Virginia, hired by the mill owner to paint a mural. Loni and Petey visit Stone's studio for art lessons, and Loni thrives on the encouragement that Stone gives her on her drawing. Petey just thrives on Stone's caring. Both kids are happy about the friendship developing between their mom and Stone.
Still, everyone seems to be struggling with some kind of fear. Petey struggles to cross the trestle alone and face the bully that is pushing him around. Loni agonizes over the possibililty of a new plastic eye replacement that her mom and Stone have arranged. And Stone, too, wrestles with anguish leftover from his torgurous time overseas. Meanwhile, Gen Geeter, out of jealousy, suggests in a letter to their mother that he's witnessed Stone being "personal" with Loni - Petey defends him but is confused by the accusations.
Layer by layer, fears and feelings unravel and relatinships alter and develop in this heart-warming presentation of a family whose lives are profoundly affected - in both positive and negative ways - by the aftermath of war. Achingly honest and full of emotion, the final layer reveals a story of triumphs - over fears, over pain, and over time.
