Reviewed by Mechele R. Dillard for TeensReadToo.com
Twelve-year-old Roz Jacoby is mourning the loss of her mother, Ellie, who fell off the side of their secluded mountain as she tried to help a boy, lost in the freezing weather. Now, Roz lives with her uncle, Mike, and is enrolled in public school for the first time, where she spends the day spinning fantastic yarns centered around the death of her mother, such as making Ellie one of the astronauts lost on the space shuttle Challenger for a class presentation about heroes. Every day is a battle for Roz, as she attempts to adapt to her new life off the mountain, without her mother.
Coman is a Newbery Honor-winning author (WHAT JAMIE SAW, Hand Print, 1991), and TELL ME EVERYTHING is a poignant tale of a young girl struggling to understand the harshness of life juxtaposed with the awe and wonder of true faith. But the tale seems a little short on actual tale: The storyline never really gels. There are a lot of interesting, important revelations, but these series of events do not develop into a clear, compelling picture of Roz's life until close to the end, and many readers may lose interest and put the book down long before then.
Abandoning TELL ME EVERYTHING, however, would be a mistake. Roz is lost and searching, floating through a sea of confusion about her mother's death, her uncle's indifference to everything, and her own struggles to form personal ideas and beliefs -- struggles with which most readers, in their respective situations, will likely identify.
Coman's story may not be cohesive at first glance, and it is not an easy read, but it is worth the time of the reader to hang in, connect the pieces, and understand what Roz finally realizes: "You find something out, and then you go on" (p. 138).
Twelve-year-old Roz Jacoby is mourning the loss of her mother, Ellie, who fell off the side of their secluded mountain as she tried to help a boy, lost in the freezing weather. Now, Roz lives with her uncle, Mike, and is enrolled in public school for the first time, where she spends the day spinning fantastic yarns centered around the death of her mother, such as making Ellie one of the astronauts lost on the space shuttle Challenger for a class presentation about heroes. Every day is a battle for Roz, as she attempts to adapt to her new life off the mountain, without her mother.
Coman is a Newbery Honor-winning author (WHAT JAMIE SAW, Hand Print, 1991), and TELL ME EVERYTHING is a poignant tale of a young girl struggling to understand the harshness of life juxtaposed with the awe and wonder of true faith. But the tale seems a little short on actual tale: The storyline never really gels. There are a lot of interesting, important revelations, but these series of events do not develop into a clear, compelling picture of Roz's life until close to the end, and many readers may lose interest and put the book down long before then.
Abandoning TELL ME EVERYTHING, however, would be a mistake. Roz is lost and searching, floating through a sea of confusion about her mother's death, her uncle's indifference to everything, and her own struggles to form personal ideas and beliefs -- struggles with which most readers, in their respective situations, will likely identify.
Coman's story may not be cohesive at first glance, and it is not an easy read, but it is worth the time of the reader to hang in, connect the pieces, and understand what Roz finally realizes: "You find something out, and then you go on" (p. 138).
