One Year in Coal Harbor

by Polly Horvath Narrated by Kathleen McInerney

Overview

Readers rejoice-Primrose Squarp is back! The wise and curious heroine of the Newbery Honor Book Everything on a Waffle is facing another adventure-filled year in Coal Harbor.

Even though her parents, once lost at sea, are home, there's a whole slew of problems and mysteries to keep Primrose-and eager fans-busy. There's Uncle Jack and Kate Bowzer, who may (or may not) be in love. There's Ked, a foster child who becomes Primrose's friend. And there's the new development on the outskirts of town that threatens the Coal Harbor Primrose knows and treasures.

From National Book Award-winning author Polly Horvath comes a masterful sequel to a beloved novel, sure to please old fans and gain new ones.
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A perfect charmer.... Hilarious and touching.” -The Boston Globe
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“Nobody does middle grade like Horvath.” -The Horn Book Magazine

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A Boston Globe Best Children's Book of 2012

School Library Journal Best of Children's Books 2012

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, August 20, 2012:
“…Horvath skillfully balances the story’s light and dark moments, leaving readers with an ending both satisfying and honest.”

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2012:
“…the author delivers a gothic tragicomedy that is both a worthy sequel and as able as Primrose to stand on its own.”

Starred Review, School Library Jounral, August 1, 2012:
“Excellent fun surrounds nuggets of wisdom, making for a great read or read-aloud to be enjoyed on multiple levels

Kirkus Reviews

One year after the events of Newbery Honor–winning Everything on a Waffle (2001), Primrose Squarp returns, no longer orphaned but just as determined to make everything turn out right. Her parents back from their yearlong loss at sea, Primrose has turned her attentions to her real-estate–developer uncle Jack and the possibly burgeoning romance between him and restaurateur Miss Bowzer. She's also concerned about her former foster parents' new foster child, Ked, who becomes her first real peer-group friend and whom she badly wants Evie and Bert to adopt for good, for all their sakes. Further unsettling her is the threatened logging of the old-growth forest just outside of town. When Primrose isn't plotting, she and Ked desultorily work on a cookbook (working title: Just Throw Some Melted Butter on It and Call It a Day), recipes for which end each chapter. While this title lacks the single-minded focus of Primrose's earlier (mis)adventure, it has heaping helpings of Horvathian wit (Primrose practices dilating her pupils; "It makes you look innocent and doe-eyed," she explains) and wisdom ("Maybe we live in a universe where all you have control over is your own kindness," suggests Uncle Jack). Ever respectful of the capacity of her audience to comprehend the big words and concepts she deals in, the author delivers a gothic tragicomedy that is both a worthy sequel and as able as Primrose to stand on its own. (Fiction. 9-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169468137
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	09/11/2012
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

Read an Excerpt

What Happened to Quincehead
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "One Year in Coal Harbor"
by .
Copyright © 2014 Polly Horvath.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Children's Books.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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