Piper's Someday

by Ruth Perkinson

Book Overview

It couldn't get any worse for feisty, young Piper Leigh Cliff and her three-legged dog, Someday. But it does. They must learn the meaning of survival both with and without each other. And, along the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1883523877
• ISBN13: 9781883523879
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Spinsters Ink Books
• Length: 173 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

What exactly is family?

Piper Cliff has three holes in her heart, one each for her mother, father and brother. The police report says they were killed in a traffic accident, but Piper knows the truth. God took them because she was mean to some kittens. Piper understands the lessons she received in school about cause and effect and believes that is why she lost her loving family and was left to live with her alcoholic, neglectful grandfather. The one bright constant in her twelve year old life is her three legged dog Someday. Someday is her companion, confidant and the only thing in her fairly dismal life that makes the days bearable. Piper can't wait for the day when she turns 18, can get herself a job as a waitress and have her own apartment to share with Someday. Things begin to look up for both Piper and Someday when two young women move into the apartment complex and offer their friendship. Jenny and Andrea accept Piper and Someday completely as they are and provide an escape for the child and dog to get away from the grandfather and his sleazy friend Clover. When her grandfather tries to turn Piper against her friends because they are lesbians, all she needs to know is that they love her. As time passes, Piper's home situation becomes more dangerous and she discovers that she has friends she didn't realize existed who are determined to help her. Ultimately, Jenny and Andrea will risk everything to save Piper and Someday when the courts and the state of Virginia are not willing to act in their best interests. Piper's Someday touches on a number of issues from today's society - child neglect and abuse, discrimination against lesbians and gays and the inability of courts and governments to solve many societal problems properly. Piper shouldn't be perceived as a victim though. She's a tough little kid who has learned to survive in terrible conditions and that she is still open to relationships of any kind speaks to the strength of her personality. Someday may only have three good legs, but she has the courage to come to Piper's rescue at one point and possesses an innate understanding of the child. Overall however the book speaks to the definition of "family" and the reality that a genetic relationship to someone may not make them as much your family as the people who love, protect and nurture you. Piper's Someday is an interesting story that will cause you to think while it's entertaining you. It doesn't take long to read, but every moment is worth it.

Saved by love

Simply put, this is a story well-told. Numb with grief over losing her family, Piper Cliff is going through the motions of childhood, feeling unlovable and incapable of giving love. Her only companion in a lonely world is Someday, her loyal three-legged dog. Into Piper's life come Jenny and Andrea, neighbors who provide the acceptance, love, and stability that she so sorely needs. When events threaten to separate Piper from Someday and exile her into loneliness, Jenny and Andrea take action despite the risk of turning their own lives upside down. Their act of love and selflessness allows Piper to look inside her own heart and find an abundance of love that gives her joy, and most importantly, hope. By letting them speak for themselves, Ruth Perkinson draws poignant characters who make us ache for their loss and laugh at their foibles. For anyone who has ever wondered if a simple act of kindness can really have an effect, Piper's Someday proves that we can save the world one person at a time and Ruth Perkinson shows us that love makes a family.

Modern Classic

Some books are so good they set you on fire. This is one of those books, destined to become one of those classics everyone should read, and trust me, you will want to read this novel. Piper is a twelve-year-old girl. Someday is her dog. In Piper, author Ruth Perkinson has created an unforgettable character, reminiscent of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, and I mention this literary classic intentionally. Piper never does get around to reading that bird book during the most pivotal summer of her young life, but if she had, she would have found a kindred soul. Piper has had more tragedy than anyone needs to bear, certainly more than any child should ever have to face. Creating an unerringly true voice for her protagonist, Perkinson deals with the facts of Piper's existence in a matter-of-fact tone that sounds just perfect. Piper tells us she has three holes, and she cannot bear a fourth one, and she spends all her time trying to make sure that fourth hole in her life, her heart, doesn't happen. She bargains with God, she tries to be under everyone's radar, and she clings to the one thing she has left, her dog, another damaged survivor. Piper's Someday, a crippled, neglected speciman, is all she has. Piper tells her own story, and she tells us right up front, Someday doesn't die. This is a story about loss, guilt, love and loyalty. It is written with skill and scope, allowing us into a young girl's life, letting us see through her eyes, hear her voice, feel her fear and confusion and hope. This novel should go on every library shelf, be on every required reading list, and earn its place along side the book Piper eventually read, To Kill a Mockingbird, and other inspiring classics like it, those books we love to read and read again.

Another Great Book by Ruth Perkinson

Ms.Perkinson has written another great book...Piper's Someday. Once I started reading it, I could not put it down. I am glad that Someday, the dog, did not die! This book will definitely make the reader feel like they are part of the action with the 12 year old character, Piper. Also this book will make you seriously think about certain issues that occur in real life. Without giving away the storyline...how would you feel if you were in the middle? Vera's Still Point

"The dog does not die in my story"

That's the most important thing you need to know about this book, the tale of 12-year-old Piper Leigh Cliff and her dog, Someday. Perkinson mercifully spares you that worry up front, right before she takes you on a harrowing journey that makes you doubt her promise. This is Perkinson's second book, and it's a swift departure from her debut novel Vera's Still Point, which I liken to a tilt-a-whirl -- jarring at first for its sudden changes in direction, but great fun when you get the hang of it. Piper's Someday is written in a more linear style, mostly free of time shifts, but with the familiar wit and brashness of VSP. And Perkinson does a fabulous job of pulling you inside the head of a 12-year-old. Don't miss the contrasting portrayals of what it means to protect and nurture something precious in your care. Hint: Take your lessons from the girl and her dog.