My rating:
add to my books
Loading...
Missing Sisters
She's a skinny orphan. She's never been able to hear too well. And she can't speak too well, either. The only person who seems to care for her—one of the nuns at the orphanage—gets taken away from Alice in a freak accident.
And then one day somebody calls Alice by the wrong name.
Miami, she says.
Miami Shaw.
Miami Shaw, who may be Alice's twin sister.
Who lives only a few
...moreHardcover, 180 pages
Published
July 1st 2009
by HarperCollins
(first published May 1st 1994)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
359)
This book is about two young girls in 1960’s New York. Alice has a hearing loss and a speech impediment, and she lives in a Catholic home for orphans. Miami has been adopted into a crowded but happy home. Neither of them know about the other, and this book is about them finding each other again.
Oh, man. My faith in YA lit and Gregory Maguire are equally restored. I’ve found the first recently rather dull, and the second frustratingly unwilling to pull his endings through.
...more
Oh, man. My faith in YA lit and Gregory Maguire are equally restored. I’ve found the first recently rather dull, and the second frustratingly unwilling to pull his endings through.
...more
In an orphanage in upstate NY, twelve-year-old Alice lives her life among the stern nuns that share her home. She's not like the rest of the little girls, she can't hear very well, and she has a speech impediment that makes it hard for her to talk. Sister Vincent de Paul befriends Alice and becomes her closest friend, patiently listening to her every word, trading secrets in the kitchen. Sister Vincent de Paul is a bit of a misfit herself, having a deformed foot that hinders her walking, but thi...more
Genre: Contemporary Fiction (bibliotherapy)
Grades: 5-6
This book is about a girl names Alice who is in a Catholic orphanage. She has speech and hearing problems, and only one of the nuns can really understand her. At the beginning of the book, there is a fire and her favorite nun is severely burned. The nun is moved into a nursing home, and Alice vows that until she sees her she will not go with a family to be adopted. All the children are sent to camp over the summer far a wee...more
Grades: 5-6
This book is about a girl names Alice who is in a Catholic orphanage. She has speech and hearing problems, and only one of the nuns can really understand her. At the beginning of the book, there is a fire and her favorite nun is severely burned. The nun is moved into a nursing home, and Alice vows that until she sees her she will not go with a family to be adopted. All the children are sent to camp over the summer far a wee...more
I've enjoyed Maguire's adult novels, so thought I'd give this one a try. Well written and one I will recommend to some of the younger readers I know. Twin sisters separated at birth discover each other at a summer camp when they are 12. (Think "The Parent Trap" without all of the corny humor). One sister has been raised in an orphanage by nuns and the other has been adopted twice. The storyline is not new, but the take on it is.
This book caught me by surprise. I was charmed by it! I had read a bunch of Gregory Maguire, and was thrown by the stories that weren't Oz/fairy tale related. This book, however, stood just fine on its own, with no fairy tale needed.
The story of an orphan in upstate NY (Albany/Troy) it also was "close to home" for me, which doesn't hurt!
The story of an orphan in upstate NY (Albany/Troy) it also was "close to home" for me, which doesn't hurt!
This is a very special little gem of a book. I thought I knew Gregory Maguire, the man who made me root for the Wicked Witch of the West and understand the stepsisters some called ugly. But until now I have never read his children's/YA fiction, and "Missing Sisters" is something unique. Maguire's voice here reminds you of his adult novels, but there are passages here you feel could be written by a completely different author. The directness Maguire gives here, with his characters of o...more
view 1 comment
I really enjoyed this book when I read it in middle school. Anything with nuns you can pretty much expect to be solid. Interesting that the same author wrote "Wicked"-- two totally opposite ends of the spectrum.
Good for tweens-thought the story was too similar to Parent Trap to have the twins find out about each other at summer camp-even though they were there at seperate weeks-but it was a small part of the story.
not my typical read. It was a gift, and had been lounging around my room for about 5 months, so I just picked it up. not quite what I expected. Definintley meant for the younger reader.
This is a cute, sweet book about orphans written by someone who grew up in an orphanage himself. It was fun, but there isn't a lot there to enjoy it's so light.
A nice little read. Perfect for a summer afternoon.
Not my favorite of his work, but I liked the story
Pretty good, not too exciting.
Lots of local Albany references.
Multicultural Book: Great story
A fun, short read.
Cute kids book.
Not "Parent Trap" but close. Two sisters, one with disabilities left with the nuns, the other without, adopted. Summer camp makes them aware of each other. Some really deep issues just introduced. Over all it left me disatisfied. Not the usual Gregory Maguire.
Cute little story... Great for pre-teen readers...
I've read several of Gregory Maguire's adult novels and thought I'd try a youth novel. This one begins a little slowly, but overall it was quite enjoyable. I was a little disappointed with the ending and was left with many questions about the girls and their futures, but perhaps that was by design.
Alice is a very likable character, and I found myself cheering for her throughout the novel.
Alice is a very likable character, and I found myself cheering for her throughout the novel.
This book was an interesting mix between "Memory Keeper's Daughter" and "Parent Trap". I really liked many parts of this book, especially the bluntness of reality and how the situations weren't sugar-coated. If I ever get to meet Maguire (and as a graduate/former head of my current graduate program I hope I do) I certainly have some pressing questions for him.
There's this girl named Alice and Miami they didn't that they have twins until one day in summer camp they met....I like this book =)
I was expecting so much more from Gregory Maguire. It was an okay little story, but not terribly gripping. I hadn't realized it was a YA (my fault for not checking) so that's part of my reasoning for not enjoying it more I think. I might recommend it to elementary school age readers though.
Loved this book! Gregory Maguire is a wonderful story teller and this is a departure from his re-imagining of fairy tales. Shows he can do it all!
Not the best book. I kept reading because I thought it had a lot of potential, but it just never gave me what I was looking for.
Great little read.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers Also Enjoyed
Gregory Maguire is an American author, whose novels are revisionist retellings of children's stories (such as L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz into Wicked). He received his Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Tufts University, and his B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany. He was a professor and co-director at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children'...more
More about Gregory Maguire...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
