The Sunflower Forest
by Torey L. Hayden
|
List Price: ££6.99
Our Price: ££2.79
Your Save: £ 0.00 ( % )
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Manufacturer: Harper
|
Average Customer Rating: 
|
|
Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780007260942
ISBN: 0007260946
Label: Harper
Number Of Pages: 464
Publication Date: 2008-12-01
Publisher: Harper
Studio: Harper
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating:
Summary: Beauty Soars
Comment: This story is set in Kansas in 1978. Lesley O'Malley, the young protagonist is at the story's opening in 12th grade. She does not seem a believable teen, but much more like someone upward of age 25!
Lesley has plenty of issues on her plate to accelerate her growth. Her mother, Mara, a Hungarian WWII Holocaust survivor slips into a hazy state between delusions and reality; her 9-year-old sister Megan whom I found spoiled, loathsome and obnoxious is an added cross to bear. I found Megan thoroughly unpleasant and just could not like her. A pie in the face for Megan! The girls' father, O'Malley is a gentle man who tries to keep the peace at all costs.
Mara, always unstable relives the atrocities she endured during the war. Captured by Nazis and imprisoned in a breeding farm, Mara loses the two sons she bore while in captivity. Mara never accepts the loss of her children; she spends the remainder of her life searching for her first born.
Things reach a critical point when Mara sees a neighbor's child and insists that he is Klaus, the son who was taken from her during the war. He humors her because she brings him candy and gifts. Lesley desperately tries to monitor Mara and balancing Mara and Megan (I thought Megan was thoroughly loathsome) is a daunting juggling act.
Mara was never able to accept the reality of her losses and is ultimately consumed by her fantasies. Her family sadly picks up the pieces and carries on after her death and Lesley decides to visit Wales, the place Mara and O'Malley spoke of so fondly. Shortly after her high school graduation, Lesley books a flight to Wales and, in an amazing show of faith, is taken in by a young Welsh family. She learns that the Sunflower Forest is yet a distorted form of beauty. Although the Sunflower Forest is nothing like Mara described, Lesley learns to see beauty in the grimmest of circumstances. It is in Wales that Lesley learns to recognize the truth about sunflowers; as beautiful as they are, they are weeds. She comes to accept Mara, warts and all. By making her definition of beauty more expansive and inclusive, Lesley empowers herself with wisdom. It sounded from the telling that Lesley learned that beauty can be wishes or feelings and is not limited to who and what is tangible. She finds beauty in the Welsh mountains. This can be seen as symbolic because the mountains are grounded, stable and solid which is a stark contrast to Mara's fragile state.
Armed with this new insight, Lesley is able to make peace with Mara and share what she has learned.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Beauty Triumphs
Comment: This story is set in Kansas in 1978. The protagonist, Lesley O'Malley is a 12th grader who is unusually mature. She is not a believable teenager and sounds more like she is upward of 25!
Lesley has plenty of challenges to mature her. Her mother Mara, a Hungarian WWII survivor slips into a hazy nowhere land between lucidity and delusions. Her sister Megan, then 9 whom I found spoiled and obnoxious is an added major challenge. I found Megan very unpleasant and annoying and just could not like her. The girls' father, O'Malley is a gentle man who works hard to keep the peace.
Mara, always unstable and unpredictable relives the atrocities she survived during the war. Captured by Nazis and imprisoned in a breeding camp, Mara loses the two sons she bears while held captive. Her first son Klaus is taken from her immediately after his birth, never to be seen again. Her second son dies shortly after birth. Mara spends the remainder of her life searching for Klaus, her first-born.
Matters reach a critical head when Mara sees a neighbor's child and insists that he is Klaus. The boy plays along with her because he enjoys the attention and gifts he receives from Mara. Lesley tries to monitor Mara and keeping Mara and Megan (I thought Megan was loathsome) in check is a difficult balancing act. ..
|
|
|
- Ask about this education product "The Sunflower Forest" in the forum
- Give review on this education product "The Sunflower Forest" in the forum
- Search related information in the forum
|
|
|
|
|
| OOEN Referral Program Spotlight |
 | | American Career College
American Career College (ACC) is one of the largest and most respected vocational training schools in the country. With campuses in Los Angeles and Orange County, ACC can provide you with the skills to become a Pharmacy Technician, Medical Assistant, Medical Biller/Health Claims Examiner, Optical Technician, Dental Assistant, Vocational Nursing, Computerized Business Specialist, or Surgical Technician. The best part? ACC can provide you with the skills you need in less than a year. | |  | |
 | | Apollo College
A rewarding career in healthcare begins with a degree from Apollo College. Choose from highly respected programs in Healthcare, Dental Assisting, Massage Therapy, and Veterinary Services. Our faculty of real-world professionals will provide you with the knowledge you need to succeed. Each of our six conveniently located campuses feature state-of-the-art laboratories. Apollo has helped over 45,000 graduates realize their dream of a career in healthcare. Now it’s your turn. | | | |
 | | Berkeley College
Berkeley College helps you launch your career in business. We help 96% of our graduates secure jobs in their chosen fields. That’s because we provide a real-world education that employers demand. We offer small class sizes, hands-on training, free lifetime career assistance, internships, and an extensive network of employer connections. Find out why we are a recognized leader in launching professional business careers. | | | |
|
What is OOEN Referral Program Spotlight?
OOEN provides comprehensive listing of online courses, degree programs, colleges and universities.
Also OOEN provides links to their information request pages; if you want to find out more about any course,
degree program, college or university, you can just fill out the form linked from OOEN and request information.
It is completely free for anyone to request information, and you can request information from as many colleges
and universities as you'd like. We list featured schools and their brief information
in this "OOEN Referral Program Spotlight" section of OOEN Store for Education,
in case that you are interested in taking a class or two or even pursuing degree program
through these featured schools.
|
|
|
