A Greyhound of a Girl

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A Greyhound of a Girl Pub. Date: 5/1/2012 Publisher: Abrams, Harry N., Inc.

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Greyhound of a Girl Pub. Date: 9/28/2011 Publisher: Marion Lloyd

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Overview

Mary O’Hara is a sharp and cheeky 12-year-old Dublin schoolgirl who is bravely facing the fact that her beloved Granny is dying. But Granny can’t let go of life, and when a mysterious young woman turns up in Mary’s street with a message for her Granny, Mary gets pulled into an unlikely adventure. The woman is the ghost of Granny’s own mother, who has come to help her daughter say good-bye to her loved ones and guide her safely out of this world. She needs the help of Mary and her mother, Scarlett, who embark on a road trip to the past. Four generations of women travel on a midnight car journey. One of them is dead, one of them is dying, one of them is driving, and one of them is just starting out.

Praise for A Greyhound of a Girl

STARRED REVIEW

“A warm, witty, exquisitely nuanced multigenerational story.”
–Kirkus Reviews, starred review

STARRED REVIEW

“This elegantly constructed yet beautifully simple story, set in Ireland and spun with affection by Booker Prize–winner Doyle, will be something different for YA readers. These four lilting voices will linger long after the book is closed.”
–Booklist, starred review

Editorial Reviews

Children's Literature

Twelve-year old Mary is scared that her grandmother is dying and frustrated with her mother's penchant for speaking in exclamation points. She hates visiting the hospital but wants to see her granny. One day she sees an old-fashioned looking lady hanging around outside her house. Thinking she is a new neighbor, Mary begins talking with her, but soon realizes something strange is going on. She tells her mother about the lady whose name is Tansey and is surprised at her mother's strange reaction. Thus begins the journey of the four generations of women in Mary's family. Tansey is the ghost of Mary's mother's grandmother who had died when Mary's granny was only three. She knows her daughter is frightened of death and has come to help her. Mary and her mother take Granny from the hospital and the four embark on an all-night road trip through the Irish countryside to the old farm where Tansey and Granny had lived. Upon their return to the hospital, Tansey moves on and the others hold on to the memories as Granny succumbs. Multigenerational connections and the importance of family are highlighted in this moving story. Life comes full circle as Mary decides to raise greyhounds as did her great-grandmother Tansey. Reviewer: Shirley Nelson

Kirkus Reviews

Twelve-year-old Mary O'Hara is surrounded by good-humored women… her mum at home, her mum's mum, who is dying in Dublin's Sacred Heart Hospital, and her mum's mum's mum, who has just materialized as a ghost on her street. That's four generations of Irish women, all whirling about in some state of consciousness or another, and it's enough to make Mary dizzy. Mary is a cheeky girl, like many almost-teenagers, but she's level-headed enough to embrace the ghostly visits from her great-grandmother Tansey, who looks young but "talks old" because she died at age 25 in 1928. Tansey's spirit is sticking around for her dying daughter, Mary's granny, to reassure her "it'll all be grand" in the great beyond and, as it turns out, to join her family for one last tearful, mirthful midnight road trip. Doyle divides up the novel by character, giving readers first-hand glimpses into the nature of each woman through time. In a lovely, lilting Irish dialect, he deftly explores the common threads of their lives through story and memory, from family-owned racing greyhounds to the traumatic dropping of an egg. On the subject of mortality, Mary says, "…it just seems mean." Her mother agrees. "It does seem mean. Especially when it's someone you love." Indeed. A warm, witty, exquisitely nuanced multigenerational story. (Fiction. 10-14)

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781419701689
Publisher: Abrams, Harry N., Inc.
Publication date: 5/1/2012
Pages: 208
Sales rank: 482,515
Age range: 8 - 12 Years
Product dimensions: 5.10 (w) x 7.80 (h) x 0.90 (d)

Meet the Author

Roddy Doyle

Roddy Doyle is the author of nine novels. He won the Man Booker Prize in 1993 for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. His novels have been made into popular films, including The Commitments and The Snapper. He lives and works in Dublin, Ireland.

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Bwitchd3

Posted May 22, 2012

This book is inspired. Even though it’s set in Ireland and

This book is inspired. Even though it’s set in Ireland and is written with Irish slang, it’s a wonderful and touching story. Each of these women are sparkling and alive, even Tansy. Emer is the type of grandmother that everyone wants to have, she’s cheeky and not afraid to have a laugh, even in the hospital. Although this book was written for young adults, it’s something that every woman, no matter her age, can enjoy. It would also be a brilliant way to spark interest in a child about her distant family.
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ClaireFrith

Posted May 8, 2012

This book is a tale about love and loss, and the connection betw

This book is a tale about love and loss, and the connection between daughter and mother's. I found this book both funny yet tedious. I loved the cheekiness of Mary, and some of the witty lines that Doyle has included in the dialogue, yet I also found myself struggling to keep my attention focused.

This is a ghost story, without being scary. Yet 12-year-old Mary and her mother Scarlett don't seem to be wary or worried that ghost's are real or that one has turned up on their doorstep - they just took it in their stride, which struck me as rather odd. After stealing Mary's dying grandmother from the hospital, they take a trip to the farm she grew up.

Doyle has made this book fun and serious all at the same time, I even found myself reading with a (horrible) Irish accent!

This book would be perfect for understanding death and the importance of family for a younger child - but adults would love it as well.
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