The Apple Tart of Hope

by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald

Overview

A People Magazine Best Children's Book of the Year

Fourteen-year-old Oscar Dunleavy is missing, presumed dead. His bike was found at sea, out past the end of the pier, and everyone in town seems to have accepted this as a teenage tragedy. But Oscar’s best friend Meg knows he isn’t dead. Oscar is an optimistic and kind boy who bakes the world’s best apple tarts; he would never kill himself, and Meg is going to prove it.

Through interwoven narratives, the reader learns what really happened to Oscar. Meg must confront the painful truth of Oscar’s past six months—and the possibility that he might really be gone. Surrounded by grief and confusion, she starts to put the pieces back together. This story of love and friendship reminds us to keep hope in our hearts.

For fans of The Thing About Jellyfish and kids who need a reminder that really, all you need is love.

★ "This touching novel is one to savor."—Booklist, Starred Review

★ "A quiet story that may be the tiny push that someone thinking of giving up needs to keep going. . . . Sweetly satisfying."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823437641
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	01/30/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	980L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 17 Years

About the Author

Sarah Moore Fitzgerald was born in New York, grew up in Dublin and lives in Limerick where she works as a professor. As a young child and in early adulthood, she wrote fiction constantly, furtively and under cover of darkness. She is the author of several books for young readers, including Back to Blackbrick. Follow her on Twitter @SMooreFitz

Editorial Reviews

* "Fully developed secondary characters . . . add richness and depth to this lyrically written tale, which explores themes of manipulation, self-discovery, hope, and love. . . . This touching novel is one to savor."—Booklist, Starred Review
 
* "While this is a sweet story of friendship and first love, it is also a road map for keeping hope alive. . . . Sweetly satisfying."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

From the Publisher

03/01/2016
Gr 6–8—The story begins with the disappearance of Oscar, whose bicycle was found at the edge of a pier. He is presumed drowned. His best friend, Meg, knows he can't be dead, but only Oscar's younger brother shares that belief. Meg begins to investigate, trying to uncover the boy's whereabouts. The work is told in two voices, Meg's and Oscar's, and teens will slowly piece together the events that led up to the disappearance. In flashbacks, readers learn about the relationship of these close friends and next-door neighbors. Oscar is gentle and perceptive, a boy whose ability to create happiness and contentment with his special apple tarts make him a well-liked person. When Meg's parents relocate the family to New Zealand for a year, she is devastated and doesn't want to leave. Meanwhile, things begin to fall apart for Oscar when a new girl, Paloma, moves in next door. When she is gently rejected by Oscar, she manipulates his feelings, and the kids at school make Oscar pay for his rejection. On one hand, this is a very sweet story about first love. Readers will delight in watching Meg and Oscar transition from friendship to love while they become enraged at Paloma's bullying behavior. In addition to the romance, there is also plenty of intrigue and mystery to engage readers not typically drawn to love stories. VERDICT Sweet romance encased in a compelling mystery.—Patricia Feriano, Montgomery County Public Schools, MD

School Library Journal

★ 2016-02-02
When Meg's family travels to New Zealand for six months, her best friend, Oscar, suffers a series of humiliations that lead him to try and take his own life. After receiving the news of Oscar's disappearance, Meg's family returns to Ireland to find everyone searching. But after weeks without luck, only Meg and Oscar's brother, Stevie, refuse to give up the hope that Oscar is still alive. Meg begins to piece together the events that led to Oscar's desperate plummet off the town's pier. Chapters told from Oscar's point of view show that he is alive but in hiding. The two interlocking stories reveal the terrible plan designed to break Oscar's spirit as well as the person responsible at its heart. While this is a sweet story of friendship and first love, it is also a road map for keeping hope alive. And while Oscar temporarily loses his way, he is quick to point out that others should never stop searching. Clueless adults, an over-the-top mean girl, and a picturesque small-town atmosphere all come together to make this a quiet story that may be the tiny push that someone thinking of giving up needs to keep going. Meg, a prototypical pale, Irish redhead, and Stevie, who uses a wheelchair and is absolutely indomitable, make a formidable team. Sweetly satisfying. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews

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