Johnny Kellock Died Today

by Hadley Dyer

It’s a long, hot Halifax summer in 1959 and twelve-year-old R osalie N orman has aguilty secret. Her no-nonsense, authoritarian mother has broken her ankle—and it’sall R osalie’s fault. But news that Johnny, her teenaged cousin, has vanished pushesthe accident from everyone’s minds. As R osalie and David—her strange new neighbour—search the city for Johnny, R osalie discovers something about the love and thesecrets that bind her family. A refreshing and talented new voice in young adult fiction, Hadley Dyer hasreceived rave reviews, two awards and several nominations, as well as great sales forJohnny Kellock Died Today, her debut novel.

Genres: Young Adult, Canada, Historical, School, Middle Grade, Coming Of Age, Mystery

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 29, 2007

About the author

Hadley Dyer is the author of Here So Far Away, Johnny Kellock Died Today, winner of the Canadian Library Association's Book of the Year for Children Award, and other acclaimed titles for children and young adults. She has worked in the children’s book industry for more than twenty years and for multiple organizations promoting the cause of literacy and reading, including CODE, IBBY Canada, and the Canadian Children's Book Centre. Raised in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, she now resides in Toronto.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading this in Grade 7 for the Red Maple reading contest and for all its unclarity about what really happened to Johnny, this book spoke to me.

It talked about family, about guilt, about abuse, about a whole multitude of things that is seen through the eyes of a child.

[Lyn Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rosalie is an almost-twelve-year-old girl living in the north end of Halifax, the youngest of a large family. During the summer of 1959, her best friend goes on holiday, her cousin Johnny goes missing, and she befriends the boy across the street--the subject of unkind teasing in the neighbourhood--who helps in her search for Johnny. What makes this book "gorgeous," as one reviewer described it, is Rosalie herself letting us into her everyday life and thoughts as she sketches and gathers tales and truths from her family history. I enjoyed the setting as I was raised in the same area, and some of the story was so reminiscent of my own upbringing, it sometimes spoke of my life. There seemed to be some errors of time and place, easily forgiven because the book so gently took me back and made feel part of Rosalie's story.

[caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh my god. this book was really really great. its the kind of book i like for sure. this girl has beautiful feelings and thoughts and she releases everything inside of her by drawing and i just think its a wonderful book. wonderful prose, really. really great.
<3

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has Erie references to my moms childhood

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Coming of age in Nova Scotia 1950’s.

[Phil Dwyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deserves its accolades. Beautifully done.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book, and although at times I had no clue where it was going, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Synopsis:It's a long, hot Halifax summer in 1959 and twelve-year-old Rosalie Norman has a guilty secret. Her no-nonsense, authoritarian mother has fallen and fractured her ankle - and it's all Rosalie's fault. But news that her teen-aged cousin has vanished pushes the accident from everyone's minds. Now, to help out, the family has hired the strange new neighbour, a boy named David - or the "Gravedigger" as other kids cruelly call him - who becomes a key to the mystery. As Rosalie and David search the city's historic North End for her cousin Johnny, Rosalie discovers something about the love and the secrets that bind her family.

My Take: This was a novel about friendship, loyalty and family, that had a different tone to it. Never in my life have I read a book of this kind, let alone loved it. A young aspiring artist called Rosalie Norman, is having a very boring summer until things take a turn of events and her mother slips on her art supplies and falls down the stairs, fracturing her ankle. With her mother nearly incapacitated, Rosalie's father hires a boy to do some of the house work. This boy is "The Gravedigger," an extremely unpopular boy who spends plenty of his time in the graveyard- either working or grieving his departed mother. When Rosalie's cousin Johnny goes missing, the two take it upon themselves to try to solve the mystery.In the end the truth is revealed, and it is not at all what the dynamic duo expected.

Plot:The plot of this book was quite straightforward. There were definitely a fair share of twists, and although you would think that it would be quite an innocent book, it has extremely dark undertones. I give the plot of "Johnny Kellock Died Today," 4/5 BookStars!

Characters: The main character, Rosalie is such a youthful and innocent character. I wished that the author would have put in a bit more back story, and detail about the character David, or "The Gravedigger." His character really intrigued me, in that I see a lot of my self within him. (Besides the fact that I am a female and he is a male) Overall, I give the characters of this book 3.5/5 BookStars!

Content: I felt the content of this book was okay. I really wished that the author would have put in more detail about the setting, and detail in general. The idea of the book was very unique and I enjoyed it, and seeing that this was the author's first novel it was pretty good. I give the content of this novel 3.5/5 BookStars!

Overall, this was a good book. It was a very quick read and I read it in the spaan of 2 hours. I recommend it to anyone who wants something quick and intriguing to read. If the book is continued into a series, I will be reading the rest of the books. I give "Johnny Kellock Died Today," 4/5 BookStars!

[Courtney]

Johnny Kellock Died Today is about a girl named Rosalie, living in Halifax in 1959. It's set during the summer of her twelfth year, and follows all the events that go on in her life. She forms a reluctant friendship with her neighbour, 'gravedigger', and the two set out to try to discover the whereabouts of her missing cousin, Johnny.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took a little to get into the story but once you started to see the pieces of the family's secrets and began to decipher the puzzle it became more interesting. You never know everything that's going on in someone's family and not always in your own either.

[Jc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honour Book for the CLA Young Adult Book Award in 2007.

[♫Rose4ever♫ ~ Katerina Mikhailov ~ (Team Dimitri/Gale/Jace) · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a graet book!!!!!!!!

[Barbara S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written for teens but I am sure that all adults will enjoy it too. I know that I did! I loved the writing and the character development. It is a little gem. Do look for it!

[edel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had just finished reading Anne of Green Gables and I noticed a slight similarity between the two protagonists. Anne is a much more interesting character, in my opinion.

[Lilly [Hiatus due to School] · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read.

[Lena Coakley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favorites.