Oasis

by Gregory Maguire

Thirteen-year-old Hand faces a difficult time when his father dies of a heart attack, his uncle has AIDS, and his mother returns from a three-year absence to take charge, in a story that focuses on the courage it takes for one teenager to work through a number of tough issues.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

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's Literature from 1979-1985. In 1987 he co-founded Children's Literature New England (a non-profit educational charity).

Maguire has served as artist-in-residence at the Blue Mountain Center, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Hambidge Center. He lives in Concord, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Jen (The Jenerator) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh...

[VJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was the teensiest disappointed with how Hand's relationship with his mother was resolved, but overall a good treatment of loss, abandonment, and compassion within a family context.