Tending to Grace

by Kimberly Newton Fusco

Lenore is Cornelia’s mother and Cornelia’s fix-up project. What does it matter that Cornelia won’t talk to anyone and is always stuck in the easiest English class at school, even though she’s read more books than anyone else? She feels strong in the fixing. She cooks vegetable soup so Lenore will eat something other than Ring Dings; she lures her out of bed with strong coffee and waffles. She looks after the house when Lenore won’t get out of bed at all.

So when Lenore and her boyfriend take off for Vegas leaving Cornelia behind with eccentric Aunt Agatha, all Cornelia can do is wait for her to come back. Aunt Agatha sure doesn’t want any fixing.

Maybe this time it’s Cornelia who could use it?


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Family, Fiction, Disability, Teen, Middle Grade

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Kimberly Newton Fusco, recipient of the American Library Association's Schneider Family Book Award, adores her young readers and is always excited to meet them!

Her 4 previous novels, TENDING TO GRACE, THE WONDER OF CHARLIE ANNE, BEHOLDING BEE, and CHASING AUGUSTUS were released to starred reviews and many accolades, including the Parents' Choice Silver Medal, the ALA Best Book for Young Adults, the NYPL Book for the Teen Age, the IRA Notable Book list, and Bank Street College's Best Books of the Year list. Her books were twice named RI Book of the Year by The Alliance for the Study and Teaching of Adolescent Literature at Rhode Island College - ASTAL, and she was a finalist for the Julia Ward Howe Young Readers Award. She has been a Junior Library Guild selection and her books have been placed on numerous state master award lists. She is published by Knopf Books for Young Readers and is represented by Elizabeth Harding, vice president, Curtis Brown, Ltd. www.curtisbrown.com

Kim provides keynote addresses, offers writing workshops, and speaks at literary festivals, schools and libraries across the US, and has been a One Book, One Community selection. She was an award-winning education writer for many years before becoming a novelist, and schools are a second home to her. She is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in NYC, and lives with her family in Rhode Island, the Ocean State. Visit her at www.kimberlynewtonfusco.com.

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a book this morning; a wonderful, short, evocative, uplifting book called Tending to Grace. It’s a young adult novel, and I have to admit, I love the way so many young adult books are so lyrically written, tightly edited and refreshingly focused. It made a lovely way to center my thoughts at the beginning of the day.

Tending to Grace is written from the point of view of a high school sophomore whose mother leaves for Vegas with the boyfriend, dropping daughter off with an elderly eccentric aunt in the countryside. The short scenes never revel in the young girl’s thoughts, simply placing them there to be read on the page. Take it or leave it. This is who she is. But slowly the hard shell round Cornelia begins to crack. And the wounded space at the center of Aunt Agatha’s heart breaks open. Lives and futures are changed, while a wooden outhouse surprisingly fails to tip open and the spiders’ webs get cleaned.

I love the way Cornelia’s story expands to encompass her aunt’s, her mother’s, the little girl’s whose father is out of work, the librarian’s, and even the teachers’. I love the way Cornelia’s entry into other people’s lives through books becomes a door opening to her own. And I love the feel of different worlds colliding when city girl meets country home, when silent rebel begins to confess the delight of reveling in words.

Most of all, I love the way the author pulled me into a young girl’s pain, through her shell, into her heart, and showed the space that each of us can make if we open our minds.

[JJessica KennedyDAWS · Rating 4 out of 5]

C-C-C-C-Cornelia Thornhill stutters uncontrollably and is a neglected child that has been forced to take on the role of an adult. She keeps things straight. Her mother is completely irresponsible. Her mother runs off to Las Vegas with a loser boyfriend after she dumps Cornelia with Aunt Agatha, a virtual stranger. Cornelia stuffs her feelings of hurt inside and refuses to speak most of the time, because of her stutter. When she’s forced to live with the eccentric old woman she finds she’s smarter than she knew. She meets a young girl with an ogre for a father. He refuses to let her go to summer school and learn to read. Cornelia takes it upon herself to teach her and discovers her Aunt Agatha can’t read either. She teaches her to read as well.Bo’s father shows up at Agatha’s house and is angry when he finds Cornelia teaching Bo to read. Cornelia lifts her head and argues with him. The silence she hides behind shatters as she defends the young girl. The strength she found when defending Bo she begins to exert and use to stand up for herself. Fusco’s book tugs at the heartstrings and wakens the cheerleader for the underdog in everyone. A message of strength and courage is exhibited in Cornelia’s growth. She is wounded, yet strong and a shining example of how to be one’s own advocate.

[Suebee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fourteen-year old Cornelia "turns to stone," closing down her emotions and rarely speaking. An avid reader, she is a stammerer, and is misunderstood at school and by her mother, who leaves her with her great aunt Agatha to go to Vegas with her loser boyfriend. Cornelia at first fights with her sloppy great aunt, who doesn't even have a toilet, before loving her new life and deciding to stay, even when her mother returns 6 months later.

[Debbie Barr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was actually kind of surprised by this book. It's anothe rone of those "pull it out at random" books from the shelf of the library, and I really liked it. It was short and simple, with nice lessons to be learned from it. It was a lot about healing and change, and I definetly think it's a worthwhile read.

[Laurie Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book by my dear friend, Kimberly Newton Fusco. I use it to teach writing to my students. It is beautifully written, full of similes and descriptive language.

[Mj · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice quick read! The character development was great, I'm still curious what they'd be doing now!

[Paul Hankins · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You hide who you are, you live half a life. You speak up, then you can be who was meant to be." Agatha in Kimberly Newton Fusco's TENDING TO GRACE

But it's hard to speak up when you can't form the words in your mouth without stammering.

And people are not patient enough to wait for those words to form.

And some regard you as dimwit, including those who continue to put you into the same English classes even though you have already read the books--in their original language and format--that are being covered in the room.

So, Cornelia looks down at her feet when spoken too.

And Cornelia often passes on her turn to read aloud in class even though she has already read the book the class is sharing.

And, if you ask her name, you may have already lost your chance to connect with her.

Her mother thinks she is a little backward with her interest in reading and in church. Her mother's boyfriend is growing increasingly frustrated with Cornelia's refusal to answer his questions.

When her mother leaves for Las Vegas with her boyfriend, Cornelia is left with a mysterious relative, Agatha, and Agatha's strange way of life.

But Cornelia has lived her life to "fix" her mother. And Agatha? Well. . .she certainly doesn't offer any indication that she desires any "fixing."

An instant classic that reads like Helen Keller meets My Fair Lady meets a wonderful fish-out-of-water story that brings many classic titles into the mix.

Cornelia has much to learn from Agatha. And Agatha from Cornelia. And when a catalyst named Bo comes to say thank you, all three lives will changed forever. In magical, yet familiar, ways.


This book, with its short chapters (one to two pages on average) cover a lot of ground in dealing with loss, separation, difficulties, and opening up to the possibilities that lie within us.

We learn from Cornelia as much as we learn from Agatha, though we may be tempted to believe that we know more than both of them. But we don't know fiddleheads, do we?

This title was the 2004 Schneider Family Award Winner for its depiction of learning disabilities and overcoming loss. In the tradition of books like HUGGING THE ROCK, I think Kimberly Newton Fusco's book would be a hit with young lady readers in the room.

Ladder this one up with Cynthia Rylant's THE OLD WOMAN WHO NAMED THINGS for a special treat.

[JJessica KennedyDAWS · Rating 4 out of 5]

C-C-C-C-Cornelia Thornhill stutters uncontrollably and is a neglected child that has been forced to take on the role of an adult. She keeps things straight. Her mother is completely irresponsible.

Her mother runs off to Las Vegas with a loser boyfriend after she dumps Cornelia with Aunt Agatha, a virtual stranger. Cornelia stuffs her feelings of hurt inside and refuses to speak most of the time, because of her stutter.

When she’s forced to live with the eccentric old woman she finds she’s smarter than she knew. She meets a young girl with an ogre for a father. He refuses to let her go to summer school and learn to read. Cornelia takes it upon herself to teach her and discovers her Aunt Agatha can’t read either. She teaches her to read as well.

Bo’s father shows up at Agatha’s house and is angry when he finds Cornelia teaching Bo to read. Cornelia lifts her head and argues with him. The silence she hides behind shatters as she defends the young girl. The strength she found when defending Bo she begins to exert and use to stand up for herself.

Fusco’s book tugs at the heartstrings and wakens the cheerleader for the underdog in everyone. A message of strength and courage is exhibited in Cornelia’s growth. She is wounded, yet strong and a shining example of how to be one’s own advocate.

young adult, ya, teen, realistic fiction, stuttering, realistic, readers, outcasts, mothers and daughters, emotional problems, book lover, contemporary fiction, fic award winner/nominee, Schneider Family Book Award


Schneider Family Book Award 2004

[I Trump · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the short chapters with its prose that had a novel-in-verse feel. I read the book in one sitting (on a plane). It was interesting the way the author unfolded Cornelia’s reasons for not speaking. She’s a broken character, and I wanted her to find her voice.

I’ve read quite a few books about kids/teens who wind up living with a foster family or relative. And in many cases, the new family has many quirks. That didn’t take away from the uniqueness of this book and story. I appreciated metaphors of Cornelia’s coping mechanisms of grinding herself into earth or protecting herself by being stone, and the way the setting complemented it.

Cornelia’s mother dumps her at her great aunt’s Agatha’s home. The woman lives on a farm where everything is broken and dirty. Agatha isn’t what Cornelia wants and it’s clear Agatha isn’t sure what to do for Cornelia. The relationship is messy. Communication between them has many starts and stops and hurts. With all the oddities of Agatha, the relationship still seemed realistic and true.

By the end of the book, Cornelia doesn’t get exactly what she wants, but she gets exactly what she needs in so many ways. And like Agatha, the farm, and the house—it’s messy.

[Melissa]

4Q 3P MJ
The main character, Cornelia, is a self-proclaimed “bookworm, a bibliophile, and a passionate lover of books”. She has turned inward because of her family situation, and because of the extreme stuttering that makes relationships difficult. When her mother decides to leave for Vegas with her new boyfriend, Cornelia is left with a literal stranger (although Agatha is really her deceased grandmother’s sister). Cornelia must also adjust to life in the country; with an outhouse being just one aspect today’s teen readers are introduced to. Eventually this becomes home for Cornelia as she begins to attend school, makes a young friend (Bo), gets a library card, and teaches Bo and Agatha to read. It is a story of finding oneself through relationships with others. I feel it is a good book to promote compassion and understanding of others; we all have deficits we must endure, and strengths that make us unique. Developmentally, it targets the self-consciousness of teens. The book also does a nice job of promoting the value of literacy and reading. A nice extension activity would be to highlight famous individuals who have also overcome speech impediments and stuttering.

[Loraine Agee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a real eye opener. Its about this girl named cornelia who is unloved by her mother who is wrapped up in her boyfriend so much.So because of this she shuts down completely she doesnt talk to nobody or even make anyfriends. She decides to escape to the world of books(like me). she does this for so long that everytime she talked she stuttered real bad. SO when her mother decides to head off to vegas with her boyfriend and decided to leave cornelia with her Aunt Agatha it broke my heart. I mean why would you evendo that to your own daughter.Imean open your eyes women cant you see that your daughter needs you she has a prblem. I was in tears at the end of the book.....YOU SHOULD READ IT!!!1

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine Ellen Hopkins in prose: That is what Tending to Grace was like. Fairly short, one or two page, chapters with huge energy in only a little space. I absolutely loved this book.

Some quotes:
page 15
"Turning to stone is hard work. First you have to let the anger climb from deep within you as it turns over and over and rises up through your chest, you have to clamp your teeth over it and push it back down. Then you sort of imagine yourself getting real heavy, folding over onto yourself, getting thick so nothing can reach the spot far inside that hasn't turned hard yet. And you know that if you get it right, you're not so afraid."

page 161
"Lots of pain in life. Lots more joy. You got to find a way to stand through both."

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gem of a book. It's not long- most chapters are about a page and a half long, so it's a quick read. The story is about Cornelia, a fourteen year old whose mom abandons her to a great aunt. I won't give too many details, because it's such a short book that it would be easy to give too much away. Suffice it to say that it's well worth a read. It reminded me of the book I just finished, Searching for Sunday, because the latter spoke of finding grace in life if you just pay attention. Amazingly, for someone so young and in such difficult circumstances, Cornelia manages to do just that.

[Jaemi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about finding your way. In more ways than one. Running off and never arriving, hiding in plain sight, and then from sight, only to emerge triumphant. Learning and growing through caring, and learning when not to care so much.

Compared to my previous read, the language is simplistic if not uneducated at points, but the story packs no less punch or knowledge for it.

We all want to hide sometimes. And we all do, in whatever way suits us best. But none of us should, as this book will show.

[Jennifer Lavoie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast read, but a wonderful story. I loved hearing Cornelia's voice and watching her grow. Agatha and Bo are great characters that really add to the story, because they allow Cornelia to come out of her shell at her own pace. Agatha might push her, but she does it to make her give herself a name. I was angry whenever someone called her a dimwit just because she stuttered! How frustrating!

The book does have some language that is inappropriate for younger readers, so I would caution against that and give it to my older kids.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book on the discard shelf of our local library, and I have read it 6 times in the past month.

I like it for what I can learn about scenes and chapters (the book has 98 of them), as well as how the author effects her characterization.

The story traces the life of a young girl who has a verbal stutter and a mother who is unavailable physically and emotionally. It's a coming of age story, but one that's on my must reread shelf so I can learn Fusco's tricks.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, though I wasn't totally blown away by it. It tells the story of a young girl who has spent most of her life dealing with her mother's lack of responsibility. She started stuttering at an early age and has had problems at school because of it. When her mom drops her off at her great aunt's farm to live for a while, she finds ways to help others help themselves, and in the process gains self confidence and learns how to help herself.

[Morgan Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book Tending to Grace overall was a good book. I liked how it taught me that even through hard times you can learn to change. In the book Cornelia doesn't like talking, she just holds everything inside of her, and when she does talk she stutters because people look away of her when she doesn't answer write away. After she goes and lives with her aunt for a while she learns to talk for herself, and to stand up for herself.

[Susanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I absolutely loved the author's description of the main character's life on the first page. I think after that, I expected more from Fusco's prose, but was left feeling uninspired. The characters were interesting but not three-dimensional. I also think a different title might have been more appropriate.

[ΛNNΞ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not usually a big fan of young adult books but this one is better than average. The first half of the book is really good - writing style and character development is very well done. However, the momentum did wane for me in the second half of the book and I found that the story lost some of its initial magic. Still, this is a worthwhile read especially if this is your genre of choice.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for a Stuttering Perspective project for class and I ended up really enjoying it! It is a short inspirational read about a young girl overcoming her struggles with speech and deciding to stop hiding from life.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given it 5/5 if it wasn't for the use of a few choice words, which would make it difficult to share with any of my middle school classes (even though they have heard those words before). Nevertheless, it's a good story.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

the chapters were short and it was an easy read. it was alright to read, but I wouldn't highly recommend it or anything.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite kind of book - for Middle Schoolers! About a girl who stutters and ends up living with an old eccentric relative.

[Martianngray]

This was a book recommended by the Stuttering Foundation. I came upon it as I was doing some research for my students.

[Chalse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was really good. And I especially loved how you could see her character grow throughout the entire novel because at the end you can't help but want her to.

[Catherine Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite read ever. Abundant with wonderful metaphor and sprinkled with similes, this is a very quick read and a touching story.

[Lanae Hollenbeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super good book!!!! It surprised me, it was a really good fast read!! I recommend it to everybody!!

[Keyli Sawatzky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tending to Grace is a good book, I like that Cornelia the main charecter is a quiet and always has her noes in a book. In this book she is forsed to stay with a stranger, Agatha

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, how I loved this beautiful, character driven novel. I read it years ago but it still sticks with me.