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Title details for Watching Jimmy by Nancy Hartry - Available

Watching Jimmy

by Nancy Hartry
ebook
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A novel of danger, warmth, and dark humor — about a brain-damaged young boy and the friend who knows a terrible secret.
Watching Jimmy is an impossible-to-put-down novel full of danger, warmth, and dark humor. With shocking candor, young Carolyn relates the truth about what really happened to her best friend, Jimmy, when his Uncle Ted chose the perfect time to teach him a lesson he'd never forget. The truth is, Jimmy didn't fall from a swing like Uncle Ted claims — Carolyn knows, because she saw everything. According to her, "Uncle Ted just didn't count on me, Carolyn, [being] perched in a tree where the park and the parking lot meet."
With the dreadful secret locked away, Carolyn walks an emotional tightrope. No matter what else is happening in this post-war era, she must keep an eye on poor, brain-damaged Jimmy: making sure he behaves, keeping him clean, and keeping him safe — especially from Uncle Ted. But when Uncle Ted threatens his beleaguered family with even more abuse and the loss of their home, Carolyn must find the courage to match wits with him and to speak out, using the truth as her only weapon. But perhaps her biggest challenge will lie in finding a way to get Jimmy the expensive operation he needs to relieve the pressure on his brain, because:
"As I told you, our Jimmy is not a mental defective like people say. Our Jimmy is in there. He's in there. This I know." Set in 1958, Watching Jimmy is a brilliant portrait of a time past, a family of strong women, and a resourceful young girl who exudes character, resilience, and, most of all, love.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 10, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781770490765

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781770490765
      • File size: 311 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • ATOS Level: 4.3
    • Lexile® Measure: 680
    • Interest Level: 4-8(MG)
    • Text Difficulty: 3

  • Reviews

    • School Library Journal

      June 1, 2009
      Gr 5-8-In Canada, in 1958, 11-year-old Carolyn Jamieson has seen too much travail come to the people she loves. Her mother works overtime to scrape together enough to live on; her neighbor "Aunt Jean" struggles to afford medical care; and her friend Jimmy, Jean's son, is transformed into a drooling, challenged, diaper-wearing young man as the result of an accident. Worst of all, contrary to what everyone is led to believethat Jimmy fell from a swingCarolyn knows the truth of happened to him at the hands of his abusive, drunkard uncle. Like a steady beat that pulses louder and louder, the story unfolds against a backdrop of postwar social and political concerns and Remembrance Day. Carolyn is a passionate and feisty character, delineated with love and precision, and readers will be drawn to her. A compelling and satisfying novel."Emily Chornomaz, Brooklyn Public Library, NY"

      Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      June 1, 2009
      Grades 5-8 Despite the sudden emergence of a social agenda toward the end, this short tale of a Canadian preteen whose life centers around protecting her brain-damaged friend recalls Carolyn Comans What Jamie Saw (1995) in theme, tone, and its ability to hold readers. Obnoxious, abusive Uncle Ted denies responsibility for Jimmys accident, but next-door neighbor Carolyn saw it happen and has dedicated herself to keeping Ted away from her now barely functional friend. Meanwhile, Jimmys single mother hovers on the edge of poverty, unable to afford the surgery that her son needs. Carolyn puts up a stout defense against Teds attentions toward both herself and Jimmy, but its not until she falls in with some wise and savvy adults at a new church that she gains the confidence she needs to blow the whistlewhich she does in the course of a passionate Remembrance Day speech arguing for universal health care. That speech is the only off-key note in this otherwise absorbing read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:4.3
  • Lexile® Measure:680
  • Interest Level:4-8(MG)
  • Text Difficulty:3

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