Thicker Than Water

by Penelope Farmer

Book Overview

Becky's tightly knit family is astonished when they discover that Becky's mother had a twin sister who has died, and when an orphaned cousin, Will, comes to live with the family, his increasingly... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1564025195
• ISBN13: 9781564025197
• Release Date: July 1995
• Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.4" x 7.0"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

The BEST Penelope Farmer title I've read so far

I should perhaps begin by saying that I have been rather disappointed by every single other Farmer book I've read. While the premise of each of her books is intriguing, I've never felt they lived up to their potential. But this story was a very pleasant surprise---I thought it was absolutely first-rate. The structure of the book, in alternating he-said/she-said chapters, with each chapter being told in the first person by one or the other of the two main characters, works very well for this story. I particularly felt for Will---poor kid, he had a lot to deal with; he was given some very unfortunate blows by life. And it is easy to see why the wandering spirit of the boy lost in the mines all those years ago latches on to him, as they (in an odd way) share a similar unhappiness, spanning two hundred years. I was totally engrossed in the story, and couldn't wait to see how it turned out. The only drawback to the novel, to my way of thinking, is that I wanted one final chapter as told by Will. The absolute climax of the story---what exactly he sees at the end when he goes after the spirit that has been haunting him---takes place off-stage, as it were. And while I imagine the scene quite clearly in my mind, I wanted to see it on the printed page! Though perhaps that is the point---maybe the author wanted the reader to think it through for themselves. The way I picture it is very vivid, and quite touching....