Twelve-year-old Willa Havisham is a classics reader, a cherry-cordial eater, and quite possibly the world's worst wisher. But when she and her glamorous single mother, Stella, move to Bramble, Cape Cod, Willa's wishes are beginning to come true: She makes her first-ever best friend, Tina. She bonds with her hip, candy-making nana. And best of all, steely Stella is falling for Willa's English teacher, Sam — he's perfect dad material! But before Willa can marry off her mother, or dance with her adorable crush, Joseph, a pit gets stuck in the wishing well....
Can Willa undo the damage before Stella misses her chance to say "I do"? Find out as Coleen Murtagh Paratore unveils humor, hope, and lots of love in one hopelessly romantic modern fairy tale!
Willa, a romantic girl who wants a father, tries to find a husband for her mother, Cape Cod's most popular wedding planner.
— School Library Journal
"This smart and funny fairy tale stays hopeful and enchanting, even as it touches on the more difficult aspects of love. Romantic and real."
— Kirkus Reviews
"A sweet little morsel"
— Publishers Weekly
Chapter 9: Beach Glass
That perches in the soul —
And sings the tune without the words —
And never stops — at all —
— Emily Dickinson
"Nana!" I shout, bursting into Clancy's Candy. "I need your help. I just ran into Sam Gracemore, literally, and I invited him for a picnic on Memorial Day."
"Way to go, Willa," Nana laughs. "Now we're cooking with gas." She hands me a piece of yellow-and-green-striped taffy. "Try this. I'm calling it Lemmego Lime."
"Mmmm, nice, Nana." The smooth candy slides on my tongue and sticks to the roof of my mouth. "Almost as good as Cabot's, but really, what should we do?" I love saying "we." It's nice having a matchmaking accomplice. And Nana's pretty clever for an old bat. That's what Nana calls herself, "pretty clever for an old bat."
"I'm glad you invited him, honey. That ought to get the beach ball rolling."
"But Nana, Stella will be furious. She'll ground me for a week. And the Chatham soccer tournament is next weekend, and if I miss practice..."
"Tell Stella I invited him." This would be one of Nana's "little white lies that never hurt a sand flea."
"No, I can't."
"Sure you can. Tell Stella I ran into him in the Stop & Shop in Mashpee and the poor guy's cart was filled with frozen dinners and I felt sorry for him."
"Okay, Nana. I'll try."
Nana ties up a bag of Lemmego Lime. "Good luck, honey."
It's a perfect beach day, and Mother will be at the reception all afternoon. At home I make a tuna fish sandwich and pack a nectarine, chips, soda. I find my sunscreen, pull my towel off the line, then grab a sweatshirt in case it gets windy. Everybody talks about the wind on Cape. Northeast, southwest, gusty, gale. We've got as many words for wind as Eskimos have for snow. I throw my stuff in the basket of my bike and sail.
You can get to Sandy Beach down ten different streets, but I always take Bluff because of the words. At the end of Bluff, just before the beach stairs, is an old black chalkboard. Today it says:
Sea Temp: 59°
Life's a beach, enjoy.
I always wonder who writes the messages. A lonely old fisherman? A retired teacher who still loves the chalk in her hand? Whoever it is, thanks.
At the top of the stairs I rest my bike against a rock and bend down to smell the beach roses, the rugosas. The cinnamon-sweet pink flowers grow wild all over the Cape.
And then there's the sea. There's something amazing about that moment when you first see the water. You may have seen it a thousand times before, but each time is brand new. It makes my heart sing, it's so beautiful. And they say once you fall in love with old Cape Cod, you never get the sand out of your sneakers.
Today the waves roll calmly in and out. A red-striped umbrella flaps gently in the breeze. A curly-haired boy sticks a feather on a castle. A couple walk holding hands. A sailboat glides by. Terns scamper across the sand. One seagull lands and, like a relay, another takes off. Caw...caw...caw-caw-caw-caw-caw. I close my eyes and soak it in. Thank you.
I spread my beach towel on the sand and open my lunch. Nectarine juice dribbles down my chin. The tuna fish is perfect. I make it the way Nana does, just plain with mayonnaise. Stella makes it with tarragon, curry, and raisins. Too foo-fooey for me.
After lunch I walk along the water, sun shining on my face, searching for beach glass. Bottles left on the beach or thrown overboard get swept up by waves and smashed against rocks into small pieces. Over time the jagged edges are sanded smooth.
I have an old mayonnaise jar on my windowsill filled with the beach glass I've collected over the years. Mostly greens, whites, and browns, some blues and reds. I call it my rainbow jar because it's very good luck to find a pebble of beach glass amid all the sand and shells and stones onshore. You have to look closely.
Yes. A blue. My favorite. I wash it, dry it, and put it in my pocket. I keep walking to the end of the spit, nearly a mile, find an orange jingle shell, then head back.
Stomach down on my towel, I stretch and curl my toes in the sand, and open The Member of the Wedding, by Carson McCullers. This girl Frankie, who's twelve, feels left out. Like she's not a member of anything. Moving as often as we have, I never really felt like I belonged either.
Here in Bramble, though, it's different. I've got Tina and Nana, Mr. Tweed and Sulamina, and if things go well at the picnic, my impossible wish might just come true.
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted a father. Way back in nursery school there was this girl named Mattie Moran, and every day when her father came to pick her up, she'd giggle and run off to hide. Mattie's father would open cabinets and sort through the dress-up box, saying, "Did anybody see my Mattie? Where's Daddy's little girl?" When he found her, he'd swing her up high in the air and she'd giggle even louder.
Sam Gracemore would be a wonderful father. He's smart, kind, handsome, and funny without even trying. He's got a good job. I don't think there is any more important job in the world than being a teacher. He loves poetry and books, like me. And he made Stella smile. I've never seen Mother smile at a man the way she smiled at Sam that open-house night. I think the Poet has a hole in his heart, just like Stella, and if she'd just give him a chance, they could patch up those holes together.
The girl in the book, Frankie, is jealous that her older brother's getting married.
Someday I want to get married. Right now the only wedding I care about is the one that gets me a father. I wonder if Stella would plan another big, fancy wedding?
You should see Mother's work. It's amazing. Even though she tries to keep me away from the weddings, I've been sneaking in to watch for years. When people say how perfect everything is, I want to jump in and say, "That's my mom. My mom did that."
I love every ingredient — the music, the flowers, the food, the dancing. The bride is always glowing. The groom is always nervous. The bridesmaids giggle. The ushers joke. The flower girls and ring bearers chase each other around.
And then there's the father of the bride.
I can take the look on the father's face when the music starts and he smiles and whispers, "Are you ready?" and his daughter looks up at him and nods like she's trying not to cry, and then he stiffens his arm and winks at her and they start processing. And I can take it when they reach the groom and the father kisses his daughter good-bye, shakes the groom's hand, and pats his back, then goes to sit with his wife. And I can even take it when the father sits up and straightens his shoulders and puts his arm around his wife when the bride and groom exchange vows. I can take all of those things.
But then later, at the reception, when the bandleader calls the bride and her father to the dance floor, and all the relatives and friends grab cameras and circle around to watch, and then it's all hushed, just that father and his little girl in the center of that big ring of love, and the singer starts, "You're the end of the rainbow, my pot of gold. You're Daddy's little girl to have and to hold...." Well, then I have to leave.
A school of fish skip across the water. A sand flea bites my leg. I pull on my sweatshirt. The sun's going down. I take the beach glass out of my pocket and squeeze it in the palm of my hand for luck. I bet the Poet is a good dancer. I bet he likes to walk the beach too. I bet he's great at spotting beach glass. Especially the blues. I bet he'd say, "Here's a nice one, Willa. Put it in your rainbow jar when we get home."
Copyright © 2005 by Coleen Murtagh Paratore
Chapter 9: Beach Glass
That perches in the soul --
And sings the tune without the words --
And never stops -- at all --
-- Emily Dickinson
"Nana!" I shout, bursting into Clancy's Candy. "I need your help. I just ran into Sam Gracemore, literally, and I invited him for a picnic on Memorial Day."
"Way to go, Willa," Nana laughs. "Now we're cooking with gas." She hands me a piece of yellow-and-green-striped taffy. "Try this. I'm calling it Lemmego Lime."
"Mmmm, nice, Nana." The smooth candy slides on my tongue and sticks to the roof of my mouth. "Almost as good as Cabot's, but really, what should we do?" I love saying "we." It's nice having a matchmaking accomplice. And Nana's pretty clever for an old bat. That's what Nana calls herself, "pretty clever for an old bat."
"I'm glad you invited him, honey. That ought to get the beach ball rolling."
"But Nana, Stella will be furious. She'll ground me for a week. And the Chatham soccer tournament is next weekend, and if I miss practice..."
"Tell Stella I invited him." This would be one of Nana's "little white lies that never hurt a sand flea."
"No, I can't."
"Sure you can. Tell Stella I ran into him in the Stop & Shop in Mashpee and the poor guy's cart was filled with frozen dinners and I felt sorry for him."
"Okay, Nana. I'll try."
Nana ties up a bag of Lemmego Lime. "Good luck, honey."
It's a perfect beach day, and Mother will be at the reception all afternoon. At home I make a tuna fish sandwich and pack a nectarine, chips, soda. I find my sunscreen, pull my towel off the line, then grab a sweatshirt in case itgets windy. Everybody talks about the wind on Cape. Northeast, southwest, gusty, gale. We've got as many words for wind as Eskimos have for snow. I throw my stuff in the basket of my bike and sail.
You can get to Sandy Beach down ten different streets, but I always take Bluff because of the words. At the end of Bluff, just before the beach stairs, is an old black chalkboard. Today it says:
Sea Temp: 59°
Life's a beach, enjoy.
I always wonder who writes the messages. A lonely old fisherman? A retired teacher who still loves the chalk in her hand? Whoever it is, thanks.
At the top of the stairs I rest my bike against a rock and bend down to smell the beach roses, the rugosas. The cinnamon-sweet pink flowers grow wild all over the Cape.
And then there's the sea. There's something amazing about that moment when you first see the water. You may have seen it a thousand times before, but each time is brand new. It makes my heart sing, it's so beautiful. And they say once you fall in love with old Cape Cod, you never get the sand out of your sneakers.
Today the waves roll calmly in and out. A red-striped umbrella flaps gently in the breeze. A curly-haired boy sticks a feather on a castle. A couple walk holding hands. A sailboat glides by. Terns scamper across the sand. One seagull lands and, like a relay, another takes off. Caw...caw...caw-caw-caw-caw-caw. I close my eyes and soak it in. Thank you.
I spread my beach towel on the sand and open my lunch. Nectarine juice dribbles down my chin. The tuna fish is perfect. I make it the way Nana does, just plain with mayonnaise. Stella makes it with tarragon, curry, and raisins. Too foo-fooey for me.
After lunch I walk along the water, sun shining on my face, searching for beach glass. Bottles left on the beach or thrown overboard get swept up by waves and smashed against rocks into small pieces. Over time the jagged edges are sanded smooth.
I have an old mayonnaise jar on my windowsill filled with the beach glass I've collected over the years. Mostly greens, whites, and browns, some blues and reds. I call it my rainbow jar because it's very good luck to find a pebble of beach glass amid all the sand and shells and stones onshore. You have to look closely.
Yes. A blue. My favorite. I wash it, dry it, and put it in my pocket. I keep walking to the end of the spit, nearly a mile, find an orange jingle shell, then head back.
Stomach down on my towel, I stretch and curl my toes in the sand, and open The Member of the Wedding, by Carson McCullers. This girl Frankie, who's twelve, feels left out. Like she's not a member of anything. Moving as often as we have, I never really felt like I belonged either.
Here in Bramble, though, it's different. I've got Tina and Nana, Mr. Tweed and Sulamina, and if things go well at the picnic, my impossible wish might just come true.
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted a father. Way back in nursery school there was this girl named Mattie Moran, and every day when her father came to pick her up, she'd giggle and run off to hide. Mattie's father would open cabinets and sort through the dress-up box, saying, "Did anybody see my Mattie? Where's Daddy's little girl?" When he found her, he'd swing her up high in the air and she'd giggle even louder.
Sam Gracemore would be a wonderful father. He's smart, kind, handsome, and funny without even trying. He's got a good job. I don't think there is any more important job in the world than being a teacher. He loves poetry and books, like me. And he made Stella smile. I've never seen Mother smile at a man the way she smiled at Sam that open-house night. I think the Poet has a hole in his heart, just like Stella, and if she'd just give him a chance, they could patch up those holes together.
The girl in the book, Frankie, is jealous that her older brother's getting married.
Someday I want to get married. Right now the only wedding I care about is the one that gets me a father. I wonder if Stella would plan another big, fancy wedding?
You should see Mother's work. It's amazing. Even though she tries to keep me away from the weddings, I've been sneaking in to watch for years. When people say how perfect everything is, I want to jump in and say, "That's my mom. My mom did that."
I love every ingredient -- the music, the flowers, the food, the dancing. The bride is always glowing. The groom is always nervous. The bridesmaids giggle. The ushers joke. The flower girls and ring bearers chase each other around.
And then there's the father of the bride.
I can take the look on the father's face when the music starts and he smiles and whispers, "Are you ready?" and his daughter looks up at him and nods like she's trying not to cry, and then he stiffens his arm and winks at her and they start processing. And I can take it when they reach the groom and the father kisses his daughter good-bye, shakes the groom's hand, and pats his back, then goes to sit with his wife. And I can even take it when the father sits up and straightens his shoulders and puts his arm around his wife when the bride and groom exchange vows. I can take all of those things.
But then later, at the reception, when the bandleader calls the bride and her father to the dance floor, and all the relatives and friends grab cameras and circle around to watch, and then it's all hushed, just that father and his little girl in the center of that big ring of love, and the singer starts, "You're the end of the rainbow, my pot of gold. You're Daddy's little girl to have and to hold...." Well, then I have to leave.
A school of fish skip across the water. A sand flea bites my leg. I pull on my sweatshirt. The sun's going down. I take the beach glass out of my pocket and squeeze it in the palm of my hand for luck. I bet the Poet is a good dancer. I bet he likes to walk the beach too. I bet he's great at spotting beach glass. Especially the blues. I bet he'd say, "Here's a nice one, Willa. Put it in your rainbow jar when we get home."
Copyright © 2005 by Coleen Murtagh Paratore
Willa Havisham may be the only twelve-year-old who reads classics, eats cherry cordials, and just so happens to be the worst wisher in the world. <BR/><BR/>Her glamorous single mother, Stella, plans the most beautiful weddings and is constantly moving the two of them around. When they finally move back to Stella's childhood hometown of Bramble, Cape Cod, Willa begins to think her wishes are coming true. She's made her first-ever best friend, is bonding with her crazy Nana, and, best of all, Stella seems to be falling for Willa's English teacher -- who just happens to be perfect dad material. <BR/><BR/>But when, after a wedding disaster, Stella is ready to pack up and throw everyone out, how can Willa stop everything from going back to the way it was? <BR/><BR/>THE WEDDING PLANNER'S DAUGHTER was a book I'd been hearing about for awhile, so when the chance came up to review it, I was excited. It ended up being one of the most hilarious books I've read in quite some time. The characters, Willa especially, were so well-developed and real. I could understand Stella's hesitation but also Willa's determination. Everything in the book was well-thought out and easy to relate to. <BR/><BR/>I'll definitely be recommending this to my librarian and friends. Now I can't wait to read the sequel!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted February 4, 2009
I Also Recommend:
The Wedding Planners daughter is one of the sweetest books iv'e read and by far my favorite! It's about Willafred Havisham a classic reder whos moved around so many times that shes never really felt comfortable. But now she lives in Cape Cod where shes finding friends and helping her Nana at her candy store. With Willa sweet and hilarious sense of humor everyone who reads this book is sure to become Willas friend! The sequels are just a good! I would diffently reccomend this book to everybody!
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Sam11
Posted November 8, 2008
My teacher recommended this book to me. I finished it in a matter of a day. Real page turner!! DEfinitely recommend this.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted September 23, 2008
this is such a cute book. you won't want to put it down!!!!! it is such a sweet book!!!! good for teens or kids all ages!!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 24, 2008
This book is S0 good. You should deffinitley read it. Whenever I started to read it I coulden't stop. This book will keep you in suspense from begining to end.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Dommo
Posted August 5, 2011
I didn't realize when I picked up this audiobook that the story is for young readers. I listened to it anyway and am so happy I did. I was charmed from the very beginning. I loved the setting of Cape Cod. As someone who enjoys visiting the seaside towns of the east coast, the author's description of Cape Cod and its beaches and store fronts, including the quaint Bramblebriar Library, completely transports me to Massachusetts and Maine.
The characters (Mr. Tweed, Nana, Sam Gracemore, Tina, JFK, Sulamina Mum, Stella) are fascinating and beloved. Willa herself is an absolute gem. The author wrote these characters with such humor, love, and definition. And in every new chapter, I'm eager to discover what passage from literary books the author quotes. The quotes are poetic, philosophical, humorous, appropos.
The narrator, Stina Nielsen, did a wonderful job reading the novel in the first person voice of Wella Havisham. With her reading, Ms. Nielsen simply brought Willa's character into bright and adorable life. For me, the next character that truly came alive, through Stina Nielsen, is Sulamina Mum.
Loved this book and highly recommend it. I just started reading the sequel!
LuckyGirl13
Posted April 18, 2010
I Also Recommend:
The Wedding Planner's Daughter is one of my favorite books! There are two other books that you can read in the series, and I would reccomend those, too. At the beginning of the story, Willa and her mom have just moved to Cape Cod. Stella, (willa's mom) is a wedding planner, but she won't let Willa help with the business. Stella's husband died before Willa was born, and Willa thinks that maybe her mother would be happier if she had a boyfriend. Her teacher at school, Sam, is perfect for Stella. He is also their nextdoor neighbor. So Willa hooks them up, and they start dating. They even get married! Along the way, Willa makes a lot of new friends, and meets the love of her life, Joey. This book is very sweet, romantic at times, and definitely enjoyable. I know that you will love this book!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.THE WEDDING PLANNER'S DAUGHTER
Willa Havisham is a wisher. She wishes to be left alone,and wishes for a father that would love her mother and take care of Wills herself too. Willa has seen all her friends walking or having fun with their dad, and a little piece of her heart aches when she sees that. She wants to be loved, cared and hugged. Willa's only comfort was reading. She often reads 'till midnight. With her mother's rules she would never finish the book when evever she wants to. Her single mother doesn't ever wish to be married again. When ever Stella looks into Willa's deep blue eyes it reminds her of her husband.
But one day Willa saw that the next door neighbor, her english teacher was single too. And she could feel the sparks coming out of her mother's eyes. She knew she liked him. He was just like father. He loved poems, literature and reading. Willa wants her mother to have some peace in her life. Will Stella marry Wills's english teacher?
I read this a long time ago and found it stuck under my bed 1 year later. Iended up rereading it, remembering how it was my fave book at the time. It was just as fabulous as ever the second time. Read this now!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Great Book and keeps your eyes glued to it.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted July 12, 2008
Hey Everyone, I LOVE this book! I first read it on a day when I was home sick from school, and I fell in love with it! I read it AND Cupid Chronicles over and over again! It is a wonderful book that I totally recommend! ~KC
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Posted December 19, 2007
I loved this book, Coleen Paratore has written this book in a smooth lovely style, she makes everything seem so alive and visible. It was romantic and made me understand that love does conquer all.
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Posted November 4, 2007
I love this book! This has to be one of the best books I have ever read! This is a must read book. If you have not read this book you are missing out from all the fun.
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Posted December 10, 2007
This book is outstanding! I love it. It is a must read. If you like this book I recomend the cupid chronicles. The sequal is even better.
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Posted November 7, 2007
It's so awesome. The drama, the romance, the book!If you ever have time I recommend you read this book!
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Posted August 27, 2007
i have read this book over and over again and i cry every time. this is a great book. every preteen girl should read it. willa tries to play matchmaker and help her mom fall in love with her english teacher, sam gracemore. meanwhile willa tries to be glam and isclose to being best friends with a girl named tina. but disaster strikes when willa ruined a celeb wedding her mom was working on. and they moved to maine. will they ever move back to bramble? will stella havisham announce her love to gracemore? read it to find out
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Posted June 17, 2007
This book was such a cute book!! I couldn't put this book down! I've read it about 3 times and it still doesn't get old! I truly recommend this book to every girl of all ages!
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Posted May 29, 2007
I truly think this is an enchanting love story and sometimes there can be some wonderful suspence! If You are like my teacher I know you will love touchering her class by stopping at a very suspencful points in this book!
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Posted November 11, 2006
This book was fantastic. It is a love story for girls that will make them more sensitive. I recommend this book for grades 4-7. Trust me try it!
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Posted January 5, 2007
this is an awesome book~i think 4,5, and 6 grader should read this book!! i think u should also read ' THE CUPID CHRONICLES' which is also by this author!!
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Overview
Twelve-year-old Willa Havisham is a classics reader, a cherry-cordial eater, and quite possibly the world's worst wisher. But when she and her glamorous single mother, Stella, move to Bramble, Cape Cod, Willa's wishes are beginning to come true: She makes her first-ever best friend, Tina. She bonds with her hip, candy-making nana. And best of all, steely Stella is falling for Willa's English teacher, Sam — he's perfect dad material! But before Willa can marry off her mother, or dance with her adorable crush, ...