North of Everything

By Craig Crist-Evans

In this gentle, poignant novel-in-verse, the acclaimed author of AMARYLLIS tells a family tale that is infused with joy, heartbreak, and hope. Mom says Dad's spirit lives in every blade of grass, in every tree, in all the ways we learn to keep on breathing. A new beginning and a simpler life - that's what Mom and Dad and their young son are looking for when they move north of everything, leaving the city life of Miami for a farm in Montpelier, Vermont. And that's what they find, among a hundred peaceful acres of fields and pastures hugging the banks of the Winooski River. But even as the now-rural family takes careful note of the changing seasons, they encounter their own unexpected series of beginnings and endings. Craig Crist-Evans's spare, lyrical novel will speak to anyone who has experienced change and loss, and who has faced the struggle - and found the spirit to carry on.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 076362098X
• ISBN13: 9780763620981
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
• Length: 67 Pages
• Weight: 0.49 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 10 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 5 and higher

Customer Reviews

Wonderful!

Once again Crist-Evans has dealt sensitively with a difficult topic. His beautiful words and keen understanding take us on a young boy's journey through loss and rediscovery of family and self. Crist-Evans makes poetry accessible to young adults in a way few others are able to.

North of Everything--one of the best

My 14-year old daughter couldn't put it down. The neighbor's boy snagged it before my 21-year old son could get his mitts on it. My wife and I both read it. It's moving and compelling and reads like the wind.

Touching young readers through poetry

Between poetry and prose, this book not only gives voice to the deepest, most personal feelings about abandonment, but also introduces young readers to poetry that talks to them about real things that can happen in life. Just as Crist-Evans did in Moon Over Tennessee, he has made poetry accessible to contemporary young readers.