Eventown
Author(s): Corey Ann Haydu
Kirkus Best Books of 2019 * Kids’ Indie Next Pick List * Bookpage Best Books of 2019: Middle Grade
“Beautiful, mysterious and deeply satisfying.” —Rebecca Stead, Newbery Medal-winning author of When You Reach Me and Goodbye Stranger
The world tilted for Elodee this year, and now it’s impossible for her to be the same as she was before. Not when her feelings have such a strong grip on her heart. Not when she and her twin sister, Naomi, seem to be drifting apart. So when Elodee’s mom gets a new job in Eventown, moving seems like it might just fix everything.
Indeed, life in Eventown is comforting and exciting all at once. Their kitchen comes with a box of recipes for Elodee to try. Everyone takes the scenic way to school or work—past rows of rosebushes and unexpected waterfalls. On blueberry-picking field trips, every berry is perfectly ripe.
Sure, there are a few odd rules, and the houses all look exactly alike, but it’s easy enough to explain—until Elodee realizes that there are only three ice cream flavors in Eventown. Ever. And they play only one song in music class. Everything may be “even” in Eventown, but is there a price to pay for perfection—and pretending?
“Engrossing.” —New York Times Book Review
“Enchanting, heart-rending, and bittersweet.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“An emotionally complex and wonderfully told story.” —School Library Journal (starred review)
“Thought-provoking.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Review(s):
“Would life be better if we could forget the past? That’s the question Corey Ann Haydu poses in her engrossing Eventown. With its embedded questions about the consequences of erasing all your problems, Eventown will doubtless hit many a middle grade reader’s sweet spot.”
“A wonderful and inventive story about being a kid in an imperfect world—beautiful, mysterious, and deeply satisfying.”
★ “At once enchanting, heart-rending, and bittersweet.”
★ “An emotionally complex and wonderfully told story.”
★ “[A] thought-provoking novel... [A] memorable and brave heroine.”
“Readers will feel for the brave, unconventional Elodee, who both affirms her individuality but also feels the loneliness of it... A hope-tinged tale about the long aftermath of tragedy.”
“Haydu brings a different dimension with real poignancy... less The Giver and more Pleasantville... [Eventown] will reel in readers looking for family dramas as well as those seeking a little ideological stretching, and it will leave them with plenty to discuss about the price of walling yourself off from pain.”
“A marvelous defense of messiness, mistakes, and uncomfortable conversations ... this book is pure Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets Pleasantville.”
“Corey Ann Haydu doesn’t shy away from tough topics in her books. Eventown is no exception.”
“[An] original, thought-provoking and engaging novel exploring how our stories shape us and can help us heal from even the most terrible loss... Haydu offers an inspired creation in the “perfect world” of Eventown.”
ISBN: 9780062689801