| Diamond Willow (Hardcover, signed first edition) |
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"Most of the story is told in diamond-shaped poems, with a hidden message printed in darker ink at the center of each one. I got this idea from a lamp and a walking stick, both made with diamond willow...Some people think that diamond willow is a specific type of willow, like weeping willow or pussy willow, but it is not. The diamonds form on several different kinds of shrub willows when a branch is injured and falls away. The dark center of each diamond is the scar of the missing branch. The scars, and the diamonds that form around them, give diamond willow its beauty, and gave me the idea for my story." - Helen Frost, from teh Introduction, ages 8-13
Twelve-year-old Willow would rather blend in than stick out. But she still wants to be seen for who she is. She wants her parents to notice that she is growing up. She wants her best friend to like her better than she likes a certain boy. She wants, more than anything, to mush the dogs out to her grandparents’ house, by herself, with Roxy in the lead. But sometimes when it’s just you, one mistake can have frightening consequences . . . And when Willow stumbles, it takes a surprising group of friends to help her make things right again.
Using diamond-shaped poems inspired by forms found in polished diamond willow sticks, Helen Frost tells the moving story of Willow and her family. Hidden messages within each diamond carry the reader further, into feelings Willow doesn’t reveal even to herself.
HELEN FROST is the author of Keesha’s House, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book, and, most recently, The Braid, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book. She has lived and taught in Alaska, and now lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Ages 9-12
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