Amaryllis

By Craig Crist-Evans

Book Overview

"This is a powerful tale of family, forgiveness, and acceptance of what life throws in our paths - but ultimately, with its almost painful realism, this is the finest depiction of war we've yet seen for young readers." - KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review) AMARYLLIS. It was the name of the ship that ran aground on Singer Island, Florida, during a hurricane in 1965. It became a battle cry for Jimmy Staples and his older brother, Frank, and a code word for going surfing together. But now that eighteen-year-old Frank is off battling the enemy (and his own addictive demons) in Vietnam and fifteen-year-old Jimmy is left to deal with the repercussions at home, "Amaryllis" takes on an ominous new meaning - a symbol of what happens when life places the unexpected in our paths. Craig Crist-Evans has written a wrenching novel of a family whose internal battles chase one son away - into the clutches of a war and an enemy he could never have imagined. Told both from a soldier's view and by the brother he leaves behind, Amaryllis is an ideal choice for students learning about the Vietnam era, or for any reader curious about the reality of war.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0763629901
• ISBN13: 9780763629908
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Candlewick
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 0.6" x 5.2"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher

Customer Reviews

Intriguing Book About the Relationship Between Brothers!

This book is a great read for teens and their parents! Both will get hooked on the writing style and the communication between father and son. It's great how the two brothers stay in contact through the troubles and confusions! I would definately recommend this book to you!

Intriguing Book About Family!

This book caught my attention when I saw the title. I read the first page and I was hooked! This author has a great writing style. He also attracts people of my age with his writing style. If you want to read other books by Craig Crist-Evans please check out Moon Over Tennessee!

Poignant and Beautifully Written

Amaryllis is a poignant and beautifully written story both teens and their parents will connect with. Though set during the Vietnam War, the struggles facing the main characters continue to ring true today: the oftentimes painful transition from child to adult, the battle to redefine one's self in a world whose boundaries no longer make sense, love and loss, endings and beginnings. The voices are genuine and will continue to speak to you long after you have finished the book. A powerful story.

incredibly powerful read!

This is a book not only for young readers, but for their parents. Amaryllis took me back to the world as it was when I was a young reader - the emotions of fear and confusion over a war we didn't understand and the love between two brothers trying to stay connected through it all. Not only is this a very timely story, but it is also a way for today's young readers to understand one of their parents' generation's most emotional periods.

Incredibly powerful read!

This book offers a unique perspective to young readers on the Vietnam conflict and how it affected their parents' generation. I would recommend it not only for baby boomers to remember the emotions of that time, but also to their children to better understand what their parents went through. Very timely book!