Forever, or a Long, Long Time

by Caela Carter

Overview

A Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2017 Selection!

From rising new talent Caela Carter, author of My Life with the Liars, comes an achingly beautiful and endearing story about two foster children who want desperately to believe that they’ve found their forever home.

Perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me, Leslie Connor’s All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, and Sarah Pennypacker’s Pax.

Flora and her brother, Julian, don’t believe they were born. They’ve lived in so many foster homes, they can’t remember where they came from. And even now that they’ve been adopted, Flora still struggles to believe in forever.

So along with their new mother, Flora and Julian begin a journey to go back and discover their past—for only then can they really begin to build their future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062385680
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/07/2017
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	134,575
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	0570L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Llewelyn Sammlung der Bucher umfasst die Serie:
1. Illustrated Diaries uber Europaische Budget Short-Break Holidays
2. Fotoalben
3. Der Port Hope Simpson Diaries 1969-1970
4. Port Hope Simpson Mysteries
5. Der Voluntary Service Overseas in Labrador.
6. Travel Handbucher
Llewelyn hat mit dem Herrn Kanadische Senator William (Bill) Rompkey gearbeitet, auf das schreiben der Geschichte des Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) in Labrador.
Dies ist, was Bill schrieb in seinem brief an die erste Get-together der VSO Lehrer an Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire 1-3 August 2003,
"... Labrador namens ihnen und wir fordern sie jetzt. Ich hoffe, sie werden, was sie konnen in diesen tagen tun, um in der Labrador datensatz mit ihren erinnerungen und reflexionen zu fullen. Auch dies wird ein wichtiger beitrag zur Labrador Geschichte sein. Vor allem aber ich hoffe, sie genieben Sie ihre zeit zusammen.
Llewelyn Pritchard hat eine bemerkenswerte arbeit zu bringen sie zusammen getan. Er ist so klug wie Holmes und so hartnackig wie Poirot. Er konnte sogar eine grobe Kanadische sein! Wir verdanken ihm mehr, als wir sagen konnen. Es ist seine veranstaltung und ich weib, dass es erfolgreich sein wird. Alle guten wunsche. Bill Rompkey "

Editorial Reviews

03/06/2017
This nuanced novel highlights the struggle to trust an adoptive family after a traumatic history in foster care. Even as 11-year-old narrator Flora and her younger brother settle into a comfortable life with adoptive parents, they think of themselves as the “Onlys”: “Julian and me, the only steady things in the constantly shifting universe.” Both siblings are dealing with the aftereffects of trauma, with Julian hoarding food and Flora struggling to pass fourth grade. The relationship between Flora and her “Person” (how she thinks of her adoptive mother) is especially compelling, and Carter (My Life with the Liars) believably illustrates that although the term “Person” sounds detached, it actually denotes a special status among Flora’s many foster mothers. Flora’s theories about her true origins, which appear between chapters, poignantly underscore her difficulty wrangling with a fractured history (“We came from the chaos, my brother and me. We were born out of the screams of other kids”). Carter’s layered narrative—which also touches on divorce, stepfamilies, and welcoming a new baby—doesn’t shy from pain as it testifies to resilience and the expansive power of love. Ages 8–12. Agent: Kate McKean, Howard Morhaim Literary. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Flora’s narration is deftly turned. The portrayal of kids whose lives have genuinely impaired them has grit and honesty as well as warmth, and it will open many readers’ eyes to the impact of trauma.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

This stunning portrayal of the circuitous path of trauma and healing teems with compassion, empathy, and the triumph of resilience

Booklist (starred review)

Complex and well-rounded characters. Authentic.

The Horn Book

★ 12/01/2016
Gr 5–7—Eleven-year-old Flora and her younger brother, Julian, have lived in so many foster homes that they have no memories of growing up and no history. They believe not only that they were never babies but also that they were never even born. This startling notion hooks readers from the first chapter: What happened to the siblings before they were adopted by Emily (whom Flora refers to as "Person")? Carter (My Life with the Liars) delicately draws readers into the lives of a group of people overcoming obstacles as they learn how to become a family. Through Flora's skittish, yearning voice, Carter explains the siblings' reluctance to accept that they have found their forever home: "We can't help preparing for the fall." The family's fragile progress is tested when Emily and her husband reveal they're having a baby and Flora fights with Elena, teen daughter of Emily's husband. To help Flora and Julian embrace their future, Emily takes them on a journey into the past, visiting their former foster homes and caregivers. During the trip, Carter truly shows her skill, observing simple moments of the tenuous yet growing bond between mother and children while painting an unflinching portrait of the tragic shortcomings of the foster care system. Strong secondary characters flesh out the narrative, but the novel's heart belongs to the relationship among Emily, Flora, and Julian as they learn how to trust and to meet one another's needs. VERDICT Addressing contemporary family issues and a child's timeless desire for self-knowledge, this title is a first purchase for middle grade collections.—Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY

School Library Journal

★ 2016-11-16
Flora and Julian are a team. They have to be: after moving from foster home to foster home, the only permanence is in each other. Both brown-skinned and with textured hair, the children were born, seemingly out of thin air, and left to imagine why they were never given a family. Now living with their new mom and dad, Flora struggles to accept that forever can happen to them. When Julian sneaks food or Flora forgets her words, she wonders if they will be sent to another home. Struggling to pass fourth grade and accepting changes in her family, Flora must learn to believe in forever and herself. Carter's sophomore novel gently weaves the heartache and confusion of abandonment with the struggle for love and acceptance. Flora gently narrates, sifting through the blank spaces in her memories as readers stumble upon her discoveries. Flora's observations about her family add dimension to each character and reveal her own layered persona. Carter folds in casual, profound musings that only children can produce, establishing Flora's bittersweet sincerity and quest for answers. The book highlights the cracks in the foster-care system without dictating a solution. Instead it focuses on the complex effects of an unstable environment on young children. Poetic and meditative, this emotionally enthralling novel undresses assumptions with purpose and hope. (Fiction 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews