Sheila O'Connor (1)

When Raine O'Rourke finds out her mother has signed her up for a summer at a ramshackle old mansion called Sparrow Road, she's desperate to escape. Raine can hardly believe that she's being forced to give up a summer with her beloved Grandpa Mac at his store in Milwaukee to spend long days in a mysterious country mansion while her mom cooks and cleans for a bunch of live-in artists. Even worse, the artists demand silence which means, no TV, no radio, no talking. What good could come of a show more summer spent like that? More good than Raine could ever have expected, as it turns out.

You can see, taste, and feel O'Connor's idyllic country summer at Sparrow Road. The long, silent days filled with mysteries and dreams stretch out like magic luring readers into Raine's journey of imagination and self-discovery. The surreal, almost dreamlike quality of a summer at Sparrow Road balances a story filled with unpleasant truths about lives lived at a former orphanage and Raine's own troubled past.

Let's just get to the point, though. I loved Sparrow Road. It's not surprising that you can often expect that the younger an audience a book is aimed at the more things like character development get neglected in favor of action. Not so with Sparrow Road. These characters leap off the page. Raine is a vivid protagonist coming to terms with family secrets. Her mother is a steady presence who wants to do the right thing but is still working out just what that is. The artists aren't the dark and broody sort, but the sort that burst off the page with their uniqueness and the joy they find in the act of creating. Josie, Diego, and even slightly loopy Lillian all do their part showing Raine how to get in touch with the art that's inside of her.

Even though O'Connor doesn't scrimp on her characters, there is still plenty of action to keep the pages turning as mysteries unfold and still other characters reveal themselves to be more than they seem. O'Connor skillfully weaves clues into her story keeping readers hungry for more. Sparrow Road is, above all, a satisfying read, filled with love and committed to revealing the ghosts of the past. It is the kind of book I would have loved as a kid and a book that I love now, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to both the young and the young at heart. show less

I wish I could give this book a "blizzard of stars".

If there is one book you read this summer. This is it. This is the book that made me fall in love with reading again. 12-year-old Raine has an unexpected summer that at first she resists and as she transforms, and the people she meets transforms - it changes her life forever.

I read this coming-of-age book every free chance I got over two days. It is so beautifully written, like riding a slow, golden wave that builds and builds and covers show more all in its beauty to rest finally at a peaceful shore. O'Connor creates such an amazing scene and set of so many characters with such sparse, poetic prose. It's written in the first person, which I usually don't enjoy, but this is written so elegantly it FEELS like third person as we see and feel how all the characters are thru Raine's eyes and heart.

It's a book about searching for something you don't know. It's about love, hope, redemption, getting left behind - and doing the leaving yourself when ready. I cried three times reading this book. I flipped back to pages to re-read the scenes that painted my heart with wonder and feeling.

Don't miss out on this book. I can't wait to read more of O'Connor's books. show less

A heart-breakingly beautiful set of short stories (some of them very short) that tell the story of Callie, her two little sisters, and her mother in the period after the mother and father split up. The timeframe is the 1960s-1970s; the location, a small town in the Midwest. From time to time I was struck by recognition of places or events (RFK's assassination, Lulu's blue lipstick in "To Sir With Love," for two examples).

This is, physically, a very small book, but every word counts, not a show more word wasted. That's my favorite kind of story. show less

The first day of summer holds such promise. For 12-year-old Raine O’Rourke that includes stacking shelves at Grandpa Mac’s store, playing chess with Grandpa’s best friend and eating all the popsicles and candy she wants. That’s how Raine expects to spend this summer too. Instead, she finds herself far from Milwaukee. All of a sudden, her mom decides to take a summer job as a cook at an old mansion in the country. There goes Raine’s hope for a fun summer.

Sparrow Road seems to be a show more summer camp, of sorts, for adults who want to get away from their regular jobs to concentrate on creative projects. Lillian writes poetry. Josie makes assorted things out of fabric scraps. Diego likes to use odds and ends in his artwork and Eleanor is a writer. As soon as they arrive at Sparrow Road, the owner sternly warns Raine not to disturb anyone. Viktor definitely did not make her feel welcome.

Raine knows her mom’s hiding something. Why are they really at Sparrow Road? Raine is determined to find the truth. As the days pass, she finds more questions than answers. There are so many mysteries at Sparrow Road. When the biggest secret comes out it will change Raine’s life forever.

O’Connor’s use of descriptive language brings Raine’s world alive. The reader can smell the fish in the lake, the rotten apples in the breeze and the musty blankets in the attic. There is adventure in the air. Her characters are authentic. Each one brings an essential ingredient to aid Raine on her journey. Her story reminds me of a fragrance – Sweet Honesty. It was my favorite at Raine’s age. Sparrow Road is sweet, honest and full of hope. It’s a perfect read for the first day of summer. show less