Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Quicksand Pond

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
Newbery Honor winner Janet Taylor Lisle's gorgeous and profound new novel about a pivotal summer in two girls' lives explores the convictions we form, the judgments we make, and the values we hold. The pond is called Quicksand Pond. It's a shadowy, hidden place, full of chirping, shrieking, croaking life. It's where, legend has it, people disappear. It's where scrappy Terri Carr lives with her no-good family. And it's where twelve-year-old Jessie Kettel is reluctantly spending her summer vacation. Jessie meets Terri right away, on a raft out in the water, and the two become fast friends. On Quicksand Pond, Jessie and Terri can be lost to the outside world-lost until they want to be found. But a tragedy that occurred many decades ago has had lingering effects on this sleepy town, and especially on Terri Carr. And the more Jessie learns, the more she begins to question her new friendship-and herself.
  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Levels

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      March 20, 2017
      Echoing the themes and tone of Lisle’s Newbery Honor–winning Afternoon of the Elves, this loss-of-innocence novel traces the delicate friendship built between two girls from different backgrounds. Irritated with everyone in her family, 12-year-old Jessie Kettel is in a “separatist mood” when she arrives at a rented Rhode Island cottage for summer vacation. While her father and siblings find other ways to occupy their time, she goes off by herself to the nearby pond, where she finds a dilapidated raft and later meets Terri, a local girl. Terri is eager to help Jesse fix the craft, and as the girls make repairs, Jessie becomes unsettled by Terri’s stories about the downfall of her family, her destructive home life, and her dreams to get away. With characteristic subtlety and enormous compassion, Lisle expresses complex family and social conflicts while showing how Jessie’s understanding of the world and her newfound friend expand, even as the views of those around her remain narrow. Terri’s struggle against oppression and prejudice will have as profound an impact on readers as it does on Jessie. Ages 10–up. Agent: Gina Maccoby, Gina Maccoby Literary.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Nina Alvamar delivers a sensitive performance of this coming-of-age story about rumors, reputations, and redemption. In a small seaside town in Rhode Island, a decades-old crime casts a shadow over the Carr family, making 12-year-old Terri an outcast. A chance meeting on a sinking raft on Quicksand Pond brings Terri and and the new girl, Jessie, together in an unlikely partnership. Capturing the contrast between the girls, Alvamar employs a sharp, direct delivery to assert Terri's independence, while using a light, questioning tone to convey Jessie's uncertainty. Alvamar handles dialogue, especially argument, well. She doesn't hold back during tense, emotional scenes, raising and tensing her voice as needed, challenging listeners to confront the personal cost of maintaining one's integrity. A.S. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:600
  • Text Difficulty:2-3

Loading