Whistling In the Dark | Lesley Kagen

Whistling In the Dark | Lesley Kagen | One of the finest books I have ever read . .

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Whistling In the Dark

	Whistling In the Dark Lesley Kagen NAL Trade, 2007 - 336 pages average customer review:based on 64 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

It was the summer on Vliet Street when we all started locking our doors... Sally O'Malley made a promise to her daddy before he died. She swore she'd look after her sister, Troo. Keep her safe. But like her Granny always said-actions speak louder than words. Now, during the summer of 1959, the girls' mother is hospitalized, their stepfather has abandoned them for a six pack, and their big sister, Nell, is too busy making out with her boyfriend to notice that Sally and Troo are on the Loose. And so is a murderer and molester. Highly imaginative Sally is pretty sure of two things. Who the killer is. And that she's next on his list. Now she has no choice but to protect herself and Troo as best she can, relying on her own courage and the kindness of her neighbors.

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Whistling in the Dark

What a treat "Whistling in the Dark" was....one of the best books I've read in quite awhile. Besides being entertaining, it brought back many memories from growing up in the 50s. Plus it had a plot with some unexpected twists.

One of the finest books I have ever read . .

Happily surprised to find such a treasure. Mystery, comedy, coming of age, tender, frightening. Beyond well-written. A new classic. A definite classroom choice. Bravo to the author. Very glad I found this gem.

A view of the great resilience of children

I picked this book up yesterday around 4 o'clock and by 10pm I had finished it- take that as a testament to how immersive this book is.
Whistling in the Dark is the first work by Lesley Kagen; a general fiction book that looks at the resilience and courage of children. Elven year old Sally is the voice of the novel; her sister Troo (ten months younger) is her constant companion. The girls have lost their Daddy recently and now their Mom is going to the hospital to take her gallbladder out but they fear she may not return. Troo and Sally are left under their Step father Hall & oldest Sister Nelly's care but Hall would rather drink and Nelly is in love and preoccupied. The girls are left mostly to their own devices- horrifying to us now but the novel is set in 1959- a time when neighhborhoods were communities and everyone had an eye out for one another. The problem is that in the neighborhood there is a predator who murders & molests little girls.... Sally thinks that she knows who he is ... and that she is next.
This is the premise of the novel and frankly it's not a new idea and could have gone horribly wrong but it doesn't. The author does a beautiful job of making her characters come to life from the most minor (story-wise) folks in the neighborhood all the way done to the girls. The voice of Sally is very realistic and impressive. While there are dark themes and horrible things occurring they do not overpower the story at all. The girls transcend this in that beautiful resiliant way children do and this is so well portrayed that is more a book of hope & light than anything else.
I loved, loved, loved this book so very much...the characters in the book were so real and dear to me that I wish I could go live with them and I also wish I had read slower so I could have spent more time with them. I reccomend this novel to absolutely everyone!

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