The Key to the Golden Firebird
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

Gr. 7-10. May is the middle sister, intelligent and responsible, surrounded by her two beautiful, athletic sisters, Brooks and Palmer. All three girls were named after baseball players by their larger-than-life father. Then their father suddenly dies, and the girls' lives are forever changed. Brooks quits baseball and begins to hang out with Dave, who introduces her to alcohol and sex. Palmer becomes sullen and more baseball driven. And May tries to hold herself and her siblings together as their grieving mother supports the family. Told alternately by all three girls, with May as the primary narrator, Johnson's novel will pull readers in with its quietly complex story. May, Palmer, and Brooks each respond in separate but absolutely authentic ways, and Johnson takes readers beyond the predictable coping story by beautifully articulating each daughter's pain, gradual healing, and acceptance. The romantic subplots are deftly handled as well. One sister is disillusioned by her foolishness at giving it all up for a man, while another slowly realizes that her antagonistic friendship with a boy has the potential to be so much more. A very special, unexpected coming-of-age novel. --Frances Bradburn Copyright 2004 Booklist

Three sisters named for baseball players by their beloved father begin to unravel after his death. Each responds in a different but credible way, and begins to heal. Ages 12-up. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Gr 7 Up-Poignant and laced with wry humor, this novel follows the Gold sisters as they cope with their father's sudden death from a heart attack. While their mother works overtime to keep them afloat financially, the three teens cope in their own way-often with disastrous results. The focus is on May, the studious, steady middle sister, who tries to hold the family together even as she is going to pieces on the inside. She is falling for Pete, a neighbor she has grown up with, but is afraid to admit it even to herself, so she watches in agony as he dates her coworker at a coffee shop. Palmer, the youngest, begins to have panic attacks. Brooks, the oldest, quits the softball team, gets drunk on a regular basis, and makes plans to have sex with her not-quite-boyfriend. Set in a suburb of Philadelphia, the novel revolves around baseball and the father's Pontiac Firebird, which serves as a haven for one of the girls, a means to rebel for another, and an important part of the healing process for all three. This is a wonderfully moving and entertaining novel full of authentic characters and emotions.-Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Three sisters try to cope with their father's death and a growing distance from their mother. What sets this book apart is the clear, straightforward writing style and air of melancholy surrounding these flawed characters. When the girls steal their father's ashes and grind them into the pitcher's mound at Camden Yards, their catharsis is palpable. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

This affecting story, of three teenaged sisters coping with their father's sudden death, centers around May, the middle, brainy one. Older sister Brooks and younger sister Palmer are both outstanding softball players who had been chummy with their baseball-loving Dad, but May feels she had been left out of his affections. She also feels left out of any chance or romance, especially with Pete, the boy who has been like an irritating brother to her. As Brooks falls in with the wrong crowd while Palmer keeps her own intense grief to herself, May struggles with work and study, with learning to drive, and with her long-suppressed romance with Pete. Johnson writes with a literate, sophisticated style, and her expert character development taps into the real emotions of three fully realized adolescents. The story's realism lends credibility to the emotional struggles of a courageous family that should touch many young readers. (Fiction. YA) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

/*Starred Review*/ Gr. 7-10. May is the middle sister, intelligent and responsible, surrounded by her two beautiful, athletic sisters, Brooks and Palmer. All three girls were named after baseball players by their larger-than-life father. Then their father suddenly dies, and the girls' lives are forever changed. Brooks quits baseball and begins to hang out with Dave, who introduces her to alcohol and sex. Palmer becomes sullen and more baseball driven. And May tries to hold herself and her siblings together as their grieving mother supports the family. Told alternately by all three girls, with May as the primary narrator, Johnson's novel will pull readers in with its quietly complex story. May, Palmer, and Brooks each respond in separate but absolutely authentic ways, and Johnson takes readers beyond the predictable coping story by beautifully articulating each daughter's pain, gradual healing, and acceptance. The romantic subplots are deftly handled as well. One sister is disillusioned by her foolishness at "giving it all up for a man," while another slowly realizes that her antagonistic friendship with a boy has the potential to be so much more. A very special, unexpected coming-of-age novel. ((Reviewed September 1, 2004)) Copyright 2004 Booklist Reviews.

Three sisters named for baseball players by their beloved father begin to unravel after his death. Each responds in a different but credible way, and begins to heal. Ages 12-up. (July)

Gr 7 Up-Poignant and laced with wry humor, this novel follows the Gold sisters as they cope with their father's sudden death from a heart attack. While their mother works overtime to keep them afloat financially, the three teens cope in their own way-often with disastrous results. The focus is on May, the studious, steady middle sister, who tries to hold the family together even as she is going to pieces on the inside. She is falling for Pete, a neighbor she has grown up with, but is afraid to admit it even to herself, so she watches in agony as he dates her coworker at a coffee shop. Palmer, the youngest, begins to have panic attacks. Brooks, the oldest, quits the softball team, gets drunk on a regular basis, and makes plans to have sex with her not-quite-boyfriend. Set in a suburb of Philadelphia, the novel revolves around baseball and the father's Pontiac Firebird, which serves as a haven for one of the girls, a means to rebel for another, and an important part of the healing process for all three. This is a wonderfully moving and entertaining novel full of authentic characters and emotions.-Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.