Corners

by Corrina Austin

Everyone needs their own special corner...


It’s 1969 and ten-year-old Davy is in a predicament. With two weeks remaining of the summer holidays, he’s expelled from the public pool for sneaking into the deep end and almost drowning. How will he break the news to his hard-working single mother? She’s at the diner all day, Davy has no friends, and he’s too young to stay by himself.


The answer lies in his rescuer, mysterious thirteen-year-old Ellis Wynn. Visiting her Grammy for the summer, Ellis offers to babysit Davy. She teaches him about “corners”–forgotten or neglected areas fixed up special. Together, the kids tackle several “corners” and Davy learns what it means to bring joy to others.


Davy begins to wonder, though. Why does Ellis want to be his friend? Why doesn’t she ever smile? And is Davy just one of Ellis’ “corners?”

Genres: Middle Grade

136 pages, Paperback

Published March 6, 2018

Reviews

[Beverly McClure · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, the ‘60s, the Roadrunner and Coyote, Elvis, the Beatles, Connie Frances, polio. If you’re too young to remember those exciting years then cheer up. You can travel back to 1969, along with spending time in the present, in the middle-grade novel CORNERS by Author Corinna Austin.

Told in alternating chapters by the young Davy and the grown David, we meet ten-year-old Davy in 1969. Davy’s life is not easy. He’s different from the other kids. For one thing, he has no friends. Also, in the ‘60s most families had a mother and a father; Davy never met his father. There’s still another thing that makes him different: he can’t swim in the deep water. All he does is sink and nearly drown.

The day thirteen-year-old Ellis, who is spending the summer with her grandmother, saves his life changes everything. She becomes not only his first friend, but his baby sitter while his mother is at work. They also make “corners,” which adds a beautiful touch to the story. I don’t want to give anything away so I won’t explain about “corners.” But I do believe that one day I’d like to make a “corner” of my own. You may want to as well, after reading the book.

Corrina Austin also shows us Davy’s story from the point-of-view of the grown-up Davy (David). In those chapters David is talking to his youngest son, Will, telling him about his early life. I love the relationship between father and son. Their conversation sounds so real it places the reader in the scene with the characters. And the ending is just right, kind of what I expected, or at least hoped for.

Davy’s story will make you laugh. It will make you cry. It will also make you thankful for your family, at least it did me.

CORNERS would be a great addition to school classrooms and libraries, and also would be good for a study of the 1960s in history. Recommended. I was given an ARC for my honest review.
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[Gmr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story about love and loss, wrapped in a blanket of friendship, and delivered under the guise of just being another tale of a summer gone by. Trust me, it's not.

I was as charmed by Ellis' magical corners as I was by the memories shared. The writing style reminds me of the storytelling method used in The Princess Bride, though this is far more reality based. While Davy and Ellis are the main characters once upon a time, Davy is also the narrator in the here-and-now recollecting that special summer to his young son...complete with the request to leave out the yucky parts. *smirk* The things they accomplished both for themselves and for others will bring a smile to your face. The miscommunications and misunderstandings will bring a wee bit of frustration but also laughter, as the truth is finally understood. It may even inspire the next generation to start a corner mission of their own...after all, who couldn't use a place to go to truly be themselves. Recommended for Middle Grade readers, from kiddos to adults.


**copy received for review

[Schizanthus Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Corners are something you fix up … and sometimes, you can’t fix people.”

Ten year old Davy doesn’t have any friends and has just been banned from the local swimming pool for the rest of the summer. It’s 1969, the summer he meets thirteen year old Ellis, who teaches him about corners. The two weeks he spends with Ellis change Davy’s life in ways he doesn’t anticipate.

I enjoyed getting to know the characters in this book. Ellis had a sadness that radiated from her, even as she made small corners of her surroundings more beautiful. Hannah, Ellis’ grandmother, was an absolute sweetheart. Davy’s mother, a single parent, is doing her best trying to provide for her small family. Mr Mosely, Davy’s mother’s landlord, had his own struggles.

This story is told in two timelines. Davy is recalling this time in his childhood to his son, who is now the age Davy was in 1969. While I found the progression of the story of Davy’s childhood interesting, it didn’t read to me like he was telling the story to his son. The language didn’t feel conversational.

Adult me figured out what was behind Ellis’ sadness early in the book and knew how the story would end from the get go. Child me probably would have been surprised by both of these revelations.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Dancing Lemur Press and Independent Book Publishers Association for the opportunity to read this book. I’m rounding up from 3.5 stars.

Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com

[C. McKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Corners takes us back to the 1960's and lets us experience it through the eyes of ten-year-old Davy, a loner without a father to guide him. A lucky chance encounter with a thirteen-year-old girl named Ellis saves his life, and as we continue into the story, we see how much it also changes it. And when Davy's life changes, the people in it are affected. The agoraphobic landlord and Davy's mom benefit when the young heroine arrives. In alternating chapters, we're catapulted ahead in time and meet the adult Davy has become. In these chapters, David talks to his son, Will, and we glimpse the remnants of the shy boy who feared deep water.

This book has a quaintness about it consistent with the period it explores. It takes a while to enter into Davy's world and understand the significance of Ellis' Corners, but it's worth the time spent. The characters are endearing and heartwarming, and you cheer for them over the smallest victories-- when they don't have to give up treasures like a transistor radio, or when they reclaim attic discards and create something beautiful where drab dominated before. The ending is sweet and satisfying.

[TDCbookreviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Davy has been having a pretty boring summer. While his mom works full time Davy spends his days at summer day camp and the pool, but after one bad decision Davy is banned from both for the last couple weeks of the summer. Luckily, a new older friend named Ellis is around to help watch him and show him how to have the most exciting summer of his life. One of their favorite projects of the summer are making corners, special places for people to be. As the summer ends, Davy must face changes. Ellis has to go back to her father's and there's a new man in his mom's life, but the things he's learned over the summer will stay with him forever.

This book was so engaging! I really felt what Davey was feeling, and stayed completely engaged in this story. I liked the way the story was told, by Davey telling his youngest son about the summer that changed his life. The parts of the story in the present did not detract from the past parts at all, and worked to connect the whole story. Davey's relationship with his mother was also very real, and relatable. I rated this book five out five stars, and would recommend it to anyone young adult and up.

[Sherry Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The summer of '69 was a memorable one for Davy. He was ten years old. That's when he met thirteen-year-old Ellis, the girl who rescued him from the deep end of a pool. The two spent the last weeks of summer vacation together after Ellis offered to babysit Davy while his single mom worked. Their days were spent fixing up neglected corners. Cleaning up and beautifying them did a lot of good not just for Davy and Ellis, but for others in the story.

Corners is told by Davy, alternating as the adult David sharing the story with his ten-year-old son, Will, and the fourth-grade Davy. It has a nostalgic feel, as it paints the picture of a more laid-back time–old diners, grandmothers baking in the kitchen, and kids playing outside. Those who grew up in the time will recognize the songs mentioned and the movie, The Incredible Mr. Limpet. The author does a great job of giving readers a sense of what it was like to live in the summer of '69.

The beauty of the story is not in the action, but in the depth of the characters. The relationships between the characters are well-fleshed out and heartwarming. Corners is considered a middle grade book, and certainly it would appeal to kids that age who are interested in coming-of-age stories that are relationship-driven, but it is also a story that adults would enjoy–especially those who grew up during the '60s and '70s. Highly recommended.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a Goodreads giveaway win.

I LOVED this book. If it weren't for a couple words that my school would deem inappropriate, I would immediately put it on my shelf and encourage some of the boys in my class to pick it up right away - especially those who are not big readers. Other than a little bit of a sappy ending, the book is written for a boy in mind. It had perfect aspects of growing up - being afraid of what your parent(s) may say/do, stresses of being different and trying to fit in, and forming friendships when you least expect it. I would highly recommend this book.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not crying, you're crying. This book is amazing. It hits you right in the feels, but in a good way. A wonderful tale of how what seems like the simplest of things can have the greatest impact on our lives, and how sometimes, someone comes into your life, and you know they're an important piece of you.

[Tamara Narayan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corners by Corrina Austin is a beautifully crafted story about 11-year-old Davy who doesn’t have much going right in his life. His mother works all day, his father is a mystery not talked about, his home is a tiny basement apartment, and he has no friends. To make things worse, he gets kicked out of the local pool for nearly drowning in the deep end.

Then Ellis appears. Not only does this 13-year-old girl literally save his life by pulling him out of the pool, but she gives Davy two weeks of fun and friendship. As this pair cleans up little corners, the reader gets the same wonderful satisfaction of experiencing the joy of small triumphs that made The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett such a classic. Highly recommended for both kids and adults.

I was lucky to win a paperback copy of Corners published by Dancing Lemur Press in a context held at Literary Rambles (http://www.literaryrambles.com/).

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful, nostalgic story, full of keen insights and observations.