Tree. Table. Book.

January 22, 2024
Lowry (Gossamer) movingly explores the unusual, intergenerational friendship between two Sophies: widowed 88-year-old Polish-born Sophie Gershowitz and 11-year-old Sophie Winslow, next-door neighbors in a small New Hampshire town. The two enjoy what Sophie Winslow calls a “friendship of the heart,” sharing a love for conducting Prokofiev recordings, the color mauve, and Sophie Gershowitz’s elderly cat. Young Sophie narrates the friends’ story in a direct, unembellished voice as a writing exercise and, following the advice of a visiting writer (“Begin on the day that is different”), zeroes in on the moment she overhears a disturbing conversation between her parents about her elderly friend’s weakening cognitive abilities. Determined to prove this is untrue—even while experiencing events that steadily reveal the opposite—she guides older Sophie through Merck Manual–recommended cognitive tests, along the way learning poignant truths about her friend’s past. Clear-eyed, sympathetic Sophie is an astute observer and straightforward protagonist, and her relationship with Sophie Gershowitz, as well as with her parents and other friends—including her seven-year-old autistic neighbor—radiate genuine warmth. The novel’s spare language and matter-of-fact recounting enhance its rich emotional core. All characters present as white; Sophie Gershowitz is Jewish. Ages 8–12.

March 1, 2024
Grades 3-6 Eleven-year-old Sophia Winslow is socially awkward (a result of orthodontia, plaid glasses, and hypochondria), but she has found a true best friend in her 88-year-old neighbor, Sophie Gershowitz. They meet when Sophia is accidentally locked out of her house; now they regularly get together to listen to music, play cards, and entertain Sophie's cat. When Sophia overhears that Sophie's son wants to move his mom to a dementia facility, Sophia determines to prove the adults wrong by administering a cognition test that includes the titular words. Lowry addresses this all-too-common ailment with dignity and grace. Readers will understand that Sophie does have memory issues, making it unsafe for her to live alone. The humor necessary to relieve this tension for readers comes from Sophia's desperate attempts to prove that her friend is still OK. Well-developed characters (including classmate and neighbor Ralphie, whose pediatrician father supplies Sophia with her go-to medical resource, the Merck Manual), brief chapters, and Sophia's engaging naivete make this intergenerational-friendship tale an appealing choice for middle-graders.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Lowry's name is synonymous with quality, and the world knows it. Have plenty of her latest on hand.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 15, 2024
In the Newbery-winning author's latest, a girl grapples with a beloved elder's dementia. Eleven-year-old Sophia (who goes by Sophie) Henry Winslow's best friend is Sophie Gershowitz, her 88-year-old neighbor. Sophie Gershowitz's adult son is concerned with her cognitive decline and thinks it may be time for her to move to an assisted living facility. The younger Sophie decides to prepare her friend for the cognitive tests so she'll pass them and be able to stay. When Sophie Gershowitz struggles to recall three words--tree, table, book--Sophie Winslow invites her to recall related childhood stories in the hopes that it will help. Sophie Gershowitz shares slice-of-life tales from her girlhood in Poland before revealing how everything changed when World War II began. Sophie Winslow reflects: "I had never really got it, never understood history, how things fit together, because I needed someone to tell me the stories...of how things are lost, and what that means and how it hurts." While the explanation of historical events is age-appropriate and at times compelling, the book feels more geared toward an adult sensibility than a child's. The pacing is slow, and young Sophie's storyline seems like an overly padded, self-conscious framing device. The protagonist is a quirk-filled bundle of idiosyncrasies; Lowry aims for precocious but sometimes stumbles into pretentious and judgmental, particularly with young Sophie's attitudes toward her friend Ralphie's love of junk food. Physical descriptions of characters are minimal. A tale of intergenerational bonding that may resonate with adult readers but will leave youngsters cold. (Fiction. 8-12)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 5, 2024

Gr 3-7-Two-time Newbery award-winner Lowry's latest is a sentimental look at the painful effects of memory loss on friends and family. Lowry crafts a story within a story about a writer reflecting on one defining moment that shaped her life. That moment was when thoughtful and sensitive 11-year-old Sophia said goodbye to her best friend and neighbor, 88-year-old Sophie Gershowitz, a Jewish immigrant from Poland about to enter assisted living due to dementia. While Sophia tries to prove that her older friend has strong enough cognitive functioning to continue living on her own, she discovers how words evoke powerful memories. Educators could use this text to encourage astute observations in future writers while acknowledging the complexities of perception and storytelling, and to illustrate examples of figurative language. Social workers could use this text in lessons about coming to terms with illness and aging loved ones. At about 200 pages, this title has appeal for those on the younger end of middle grade, too. Lowry skillfully depicts the tenderness of nostalgia, and yearning for a return to different times. VERDICT A sweet story of friendship across generations about a timely and tough topic, with broad appeal.-Laura Dooley-Taylor

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2024
At the start of the story, eleven-year-old Sophia Henry Winslow presents three words to remember. "Listen carefully. This will be important...I'll explain later." Sophia is a keen observer, and readers benefit from her straightforward descriptions of her small-town New Hampshire community, a running commentary on how to write a story, and -- most of all -- the things she notices, or willfully does not notice, about others, most specifically her very best friend and next-door neighbor, Sophie Gershowitz, age eighty-eight. The impending visit of Sophie's adult son ("Aaron the Accountant from Akron is an Annoyance"), along with upsetting overheard conversations between her parents about her friend's medical condition, inspire the girl to do a little armchair-diagnosing via a borrowed Merck Manual. While covertly testing Sophie's memory ("Ask the patient to recall three objects after a three-minute delay"), she learns even more about her friend's past and eventually comes to terms with the inevitable regarding her living situation. The best solution is not hiding Sophie in the abandoned house across the street, one of many amusing, and poignant, details that prevent the story from turning maudlin by staying true to one idiosyncratic and well-drawn child's voice and perspective -- and through Lowry-esque observations on the equally well-rounded, well-meaning, and imperfect secondary cast of characters around her. Elissa Gershowitz

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2024
At the start of the story, eleven-year-old Sophia Henry Winslow presents three words to remember. "Listen carefully. This will be important...I'll explain later." Sophia is a keen observer, and readers benefit from her straightforward descriptions of her small-town New Hampshire community, a running commentary on how to write a story, and -- most of all -- the things she notices, or willfully does not notice, about others, most specifically her very best friend and next-door neighbor, Sophie Gershowitz, age eighty-eight. The impending visit of Sophie's adult son ("Aaron the Accountant from Akron is an Annoyance"), along with upsetting overheard conversations between her parents about her friend's medical condition, inspire the girl to do a little armchair-diagnosing via a borrowed Merck Manual. While covertly testing Sophie's memory ("Ask the patient to recall three objects after a three-minute delay"), she learns even more about her friend's past and eventually comes to terms with the inevitable regarding her living situation. The best solution is not hiding Sophie in the abandoned house across the street, one of many amusing, and poignant, details that prevent the story from turning maudlin by staying true to one idiosyncratic and well-drawn child's voice and perspective -- and through Lowry-esque observations on the equally well-rounded, well-meaning, and imperfect secondary cast of characters around her.

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)