Biography jean ferris review

This author is not afraid to tackle difficult subjects: living with a deaf parent (Of Sound Mind), facing the consequences of a criminal act (Bad).
4.6 out of 5 stars.
The author of several popular novels for young adult readers, Jean Ferris combines likeable characters, realistic teen problems, and her optimistic outlook.

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MUCH ADO ABOUT GRUBSTAKE

After Hitler appoints Bruno’s father commandant of Auschwitz, Bruno (nine) is unhappy with his new surroundings compared to the luxury of his home in Berlin.

The literal-minded Bruno, with amazingly little political and social awareness, never gains comprehension of the prisoners (all in “striped pajamas”) or the malignant nature of the death camp. He overcomes loneliness and isolation only when he discovers another boy, Shmuel, on the other side of the camp’s fence. For months, the two meet, becoming secret best friends even though they can never play together. Although Bruno’s family corrects him, he childishly calls the camp “Out-With” and the Fuhrer “Fury.” As a literary device, it could be said to be credibly rooted in Bruno’s consistent, guileless characterization, though it’s difficult to believe in reality. The tragic story’s point of view is unique: the corrosive effect of brutality on Nazi family life as seen through the eyes of a naïf. Some will believe that the fable form, in which the illogical may serve the objective of moral instruction, s

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OF SOUND MIND

The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.

Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.

There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 &a
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Jean Ferris, an author of award-winning novels for young adults, started writing when she was a child.
As the daughter of a two-star Army general, her family moved a lot as she was growing up — from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco to the Philippines. So often the new kid on the block, she began to keep a journal and turned her experiences into stories for her own enjoyment.
In the early 1980s, with boxes of stories taking up room under their bed, she began to think seriously about being published, said her husband, Al Ferris, an attorney and her literary agent.
Mrs. Ferris, who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia — a cancer of the blood and bone marrow — in 2010, was taking part in an early phase drug trial when she died of treatment-related complications Oct. 30 at City of Hope in Duarte. The longtime resident of Bankers Hill was 76.
Her first book for teenagers, “Amen Moses Gardenia,” written when her own children were themselves teens, was released by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 1983. She would go on to publish 20 novels about di