Quicksand Pond

Written by Janet Taylor Lisle

Narrated by Nina Alvamar

Newbery Honor winner Janet Taylor Lisle's gorgeous and profound new novel about a pivotal summer in two girls' lives explores the convictions we form, the judgments we make, and the values we hold. The pond is called Quicksand Pond. It's a shadowy, hidden place, full of chirping, shrieking, croaking life. It's where, legend has it, people disappear. It's where scrappy Terri Carr lives with her no-good family. And it's where twelve-year-old Jessie Kettel is reluctantly spending her summer vacation. Jessie meets Terri right away, on a raft out in the water, and the two become fast friends. On Quicksand Pond, Jessie and Terri can be lost to the outside world-lost until they want to be found. But a tragedy that occurred many decades ago has had lingering effects on this sleepy town, and especially on Terri Carr. And the more Jessie learns, the more she begins to question her new friendship-and herself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781501956959

Janet Taylor Lisle

Janet Taylor Lisle (b. 1947) is an author of children’s fiction. After growing up in Connecticut, Lisle graduated from Smith College and spent a year working for the volunteer group VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) before becoming a journalist. She found that she loved writing human interest and “slice of life” stories, and honed the skills for observation and dialogue that would later serve her in her fiction. Lisle took a fiction writing course in 1981, and then submitted a manuscript to Richard Jackson, a children’s book editor at Bradbury Press who was impressed with her storytelling. Working with Jackson, Lisle published her first novel, The Dancing Cats of Applesap, in 1984. Since then she has written more than a dozen books for young readers, including The Great Dimpole Oak (1987) and Afternoon of the Elves (1989), which won a Newbery Honor. Her most recent novel is Highway Cats (2008).

Reviews for Quicksand Pond

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Newbery Honor winner Janet Taylor Lisle brings to life a story of summer friendships, small town preconceptions, and the choices that define us. Jessie Kettel's father is determined to make the most out of their summer vacation by uprooting his kids from the city and renting out a decrepit old cabin by a dingy old pond for a few weeks. Jessie is immediately entranced by the pond and finds an old raft on which to explore the secrets of the swampy land. It's there she discovers Terri and the two become inseparable, fixing the raft and learning about each other. The more Jessie gets to know Terri though, the more concerned she becomes. Terri is from a no good family and everyone knows that they're always in trouble. As things start to fall apart, Jessie starts distancing herself and begins questioning her own feelings and convictions. Although intended for a middle grade audience, the novel reads more mature and may lose younger readers. The story isn't very fast paced, but there is rich character development with Jessie and Terri. The narrator's youthful voice helps capture the innocence and excitement of the young girls. Not for everyone but will appeal to more mature middle school readers, not for content but for plot, dialogue, and character development.

[bnbookgirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When reading the dust jacket of this one I really thought I was going to like the story. It had a great setting and a great premise. However, this story was very disjointed. Too many stories being told, especially for a young reader. This book does have some interesting characters but the reader does not get to know them really well because of the way the story is told. I was very disappointed in this one.