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A Ship of Pearl
by
A 1933 bank failure piles calamity on top of disaster. Separated from his family, 12 year-old Eldie Craine is up to his eyeballs in unfamiliar territory: Someone else's clothes, different faiths, a new school, and new rules. And now there's Cecilea.
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Paperback, 256 pages
Published
September 19th 2016
by Black Tortoise Press
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With Adela's writing, you are immediately transported to the time of the depression and the Craine family's world. She paints a literary picture that is unforgettable. The laughs, the tears, the mischief, the heart ache. I'm hoping there's a sequel so I can find out how this family fared.
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The wonderful thing about hearing a story from a child's perspective is that children have limited awareness of adult troubles. In A Ship of Pearl, Eldie, 12, exists in a time when money is scarce, a house fire has taken his family's home and forced his siblings and parents to board separately with others, and his new living situation means attending a new (and inferior, in Eldie's opinion) school with a new (much less pleasant) teacher. But because Eldie is a child, we as readers escape the pre
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Told from the perspective of twelve-year-old Eldie, "A Ship of Pearl" is a heartwarming, insightful, and hopeful coming of age story. It's a story about memory; an artful demonstration of the magic of a child's perspective. We follow young Eldie as he adjusts to a new life after his family home is burnt down, forcing them to separate and live with different families, presenting new opportunities and challenges. Adela has a magical way of crafting a young character who is both extremely self-awar
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A Masterful Coming of Age Tale
This novel is one of the most hopeful and well written pieces I have read in a long time. Just like the central theme of the poem about the Chambered Nautilus, the novel unfolds one memory at a time, with each piece of the perspective creating the whole. As the teller of the tale, Eldie, embarks on his journey of recollection, the novel almost reads as a connection of vignettes and character studies. However, as the story continues, it maps out a beautiful message a ...more
This novel is one of the most hopeful and well written pieces I have read in a long time. Just like the central theme of the poem about the Chambered Nautilus, the novel unfolds one memory at a time, with each piece of the perspective creating the whole. As the teller of the tale, Eldie, embarks on his journey of recollection, the novel almost reads as a connection of vignettes and character studies. However, as the story continues, it maps out a beautiful message a ...more
A beautifully written story about living through the Great Depression from the eyes of a twelve year old boy. Despite the many challenges and obstacles that this family faces, the main character Eldie continues to have faith and confidence in the future and a deep love for his family. I really enjoyed this book and I found the characters incredibly likable.
Adela Crandall Durkee is a storyteller and her novel A Ship of Pearl is a wonderful addition to my ever growing library of "Books I Want to Re-Read". A book that begs to be read again is one that stays on my bookshelf or, in this case, on my Kindle forever. No clearing it out because it is so well written and so engaging that it begs to be read more than once.
I was thrilled to be able to set aside time to read A Ship of Pearl during some travel time and found myself happy to have a slight flight ...more
I was thrilled to be able to set aside time to read A Ship of Pearl during some travel time and found myself happy to have a slight flight ...more
I fell in love with Adela’s storytelling before I finished the first chapter. Ship of Pearl is so well written. I will probably read it again and again.
My favorite time periods to read are the 1910’s through the 1940’s and this novel is set in the 1930’s. Life was anything but easy during that decade and I am fascinated with any story, fiction or non-fiction that gives me a glimpse into the lives of the children and adults that found a way to scrap by until times got better.
I so admire people t ...more
My favorite time periods to read are the 1910’s through the 1940’s and this novel is set in the 1930’s. Life was anything but easy during that decade and I am fascinated with any story, fiction or non-fiction that gives me a glimpse into the lives of the children and adults that found a way to scrap by until times got better.
I so admire people t ...more
Nov 29, 2016
Adela Durkee
rated it
it was amazing
· (Review from the author)
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Every newspaper should give kids a chance to see their work in print. I love creating stories. My mother captured my stories back then, and taught me to trust myself, while valuing self-editing. Best advice from her? “You owe no one an explanation for who you are or what you do with your life. Live it. It is ...more
Every newspaper should give kids a chance to see their work in print. I love creating stories. My mother captured my stories back then, and taught me to trust myself, while valuing self-editing. Best advice from her? “You owe no one an explanation for who you are or what you do with your life. Live it. It is ...more
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