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Een vervallen hotel op een kale de enige schuilplaats voor een verregend meisje. Binnen schuift een vos een stoel voor haar aan. Een achterdochtige rat gedraagt zich alsof hij haar eerder heeft gezien. Daar kan ze zich helemaal niets van herinneren. Maar ze is wel meer vergeten. Zelfs haar naam...In het hotel vindt ze meer vragen dan antwoorden. De piano die ze telkens hoort, is nergens te bekennen. En wat moet ze met de papiersnippers die over de vlakte zijn komen aanwaaien? Terwijl ze de stukjes aan elkaar probeert te passen, valt er ook in haar hoofd van alles op zijn plaats. Tot ze zich de vraag herinnert waar ze het allerliefst een antwoord op zou vinden.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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147 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
October 12, 2010
Translated children's novels have a tough row to hoe. In my experience as a children's librarian I'll often find that folks react to them in a variety of different ways. Sometimes they like them, but often they'll dislike the books and then fail to express what it is about the book they don't like. Often it all breaks down into feelings. I've had people tell me that they found The Swan's Child by Sjoerd Kuyper "special", though they couldn't pinpoint why. Others have said that The Squirrel's Birthday and Other Parties by Toon Tellegen just wasn't their cup of tea. I find this reaction to translated works frustrating but there's little that I can do about it. I mean, you can't contest a reader's gut reaction, right? So it is with the deepest pleasure that I discovered Departure Time by Truus Matti. Part mystery, part fantasy, part philosophy (I keep comparing it in my head to Sophie's World, but in a good way), I guarantee that once you start reading you may never feel inclined to stop. This is a book for the smart kids.
Two girls. The same girls? Impossible to say. When the book opens there are two competing narratives, and which one should you trust? Story #1 is about a nameless girl. She can remember nothing of her past and has no idea why she is struggling through a desert with only a bag full of music books by her side. Soon she finds a dilapidated hotel in the distance and upon entering is met by a gray fox and a large white rat. The two seem to mistake her for someone else at first, but as time goes on she earns their trust and their help in solving who she is and who the mysterious denizen of the hotel's top floor might be. Story #2 weaves around Story #1 and is seemingly straightforward. Mouse's father has died and in the depths of her grief and guilt, she remembers the events that led to his dying and the fateful letter that she is certain contributed to his demise. As readers parse the two stories they notice similarities between the two. Is Mouse the girl in Story #1? Who is the mysterious music player? The answers will honestly surprise you.
This is going to make me sound a bit off my nut, but you know what this book reminded me the most of? When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. There's no good reason for this. Stead's novel was a science fiction/historical fiction bit of realism, with a dash of the unexpected on the side. Departure Time in contrast appears to be realistic fantasy, or fantastical realism. Magical realism, let's say. Just the same, there are similarities to be found between both books. In When You Reach Me the main character is speaking to us from the future about mysterious notes she discovered in the past. In Departure Time a girl in a desert finds clues that seem to have some connection to a different narrative about a girl living with her mother after her father's death. And like When You Reach Me, this book isn't afraid to chuck linear storytelling out the window in favor of something a little more eclectic. So while the desert storyline is straightforward, the other story leaps between talking about Mouse's life before her father died and after. There's more than a trace of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance to the story as well, though at least in this book the big reveal isn't downright silly. Sometimes children's books contain plot twists that make more sense than their adult contemporaries.
Naturally what I really liked about this book were the mystery elements. It feels like Matti is feeding you clues throughout the text. In one storyline the girl has encountered a gray fox and a rat. In the other storyline, Mouse's father has picked up her stuffed fox and rat toys. What is the connection? You slowly begin to wonder if the storyline about Mouse and her father will end and turn into the story of the girl in the desert. You start trying to figure out chronologically when this might occur. She has paint on her hands, so that must be from when she was painting her bedroom, right? And she has music books in her bag . . . but why? Coming up with any kind of an even remotely satisfying ending is the real challenge here, but I think Matti pulls it off. It doesn't feel rushed or hurried. There's not some surprise at the end that can't be explained. Even the mystery person in the top of the hotel makes a certain amount of sense. There's a lot of psychological groundwork going on here, but nothing on the surface that a kid isn't also going to enjoy.
I admit that I didn't know what to expect when I first picked up the book. Right at the start our desert heroine stumbles towards the mysterious hotel. The lights on the sign are blinking, however, and the text reads, "First one by one, H . . . then nothing, E . . . and then the L blinked - twice - all of them in poisonous pink: H, E, L, and L. It only lasted a second, and then all five went on again." Now the book is a translation so I had to wonder about certain choices made by the translator. The original story being German, I think it's safe to say that aside from the "L" blinking twice (which is a little obvious but oh well) this scene is probably identical to the one in the original book. Other phrases in the book again are probably straight, if rather poetic translations along the lines of, "It was a voice wrapped in a lovely smell."
This is fun. Read a couple of the professional reviews of this book and you'll notice they all have one thing in common: None of them ever mention the protagonist's name. I don't mean the girl in the desert who doesn't remember it. I mean the girl who blames herself for her father's death. It's "Mouse" actually, or that's at least the name she sometimes goes by. For most of the book, though, you find yourself feeling lost. You can go a long time without saying a character's name, you know.
Originally hailing from the Netherlands, Departure Time (or Vertrektijd) takes risks. It expects the child reader to not only be able to follow a mysterious fantasy tale, but also a contemporary story that dips back and forth in time. Author Helen Frost once wrote a novel in verse called The Braid where stories and lines wove in and out of one another in a braid-like pattern. Departure Time conjures up a similar feel. This one is for the kids that loved When You Reach Me, The Westing Game, and maybe a book or two by E.L. Konigsburg. The kids who aren't afraid to take risks with their reading. Some will fall by the wayside as the story progresses, but for those that make it to the end, there's a reward waiting for them. A singular, memorable book.
For ages 10-13.
Two girls. The same girls? Impossible to say. When the book opens there are two competing narratives, and which one should you trust? Story #1 is about a nameless girl. She can remember nothing of her past and has no idea why she is struggling through a desert with only a bag full of music books by her side. Soon she finds a dilapidated hotel in the distance and upon entering is met by a gray fox and a large white rat. The two seem to mistake her for someone else at first, but as time goes on she earns their trust and their help in solving who she is and who the mysterious denizen of the hotel's top floor might be. Story #2 weaves around Story #1 and is seemingly straightforward. Mouse's father has died and in the depths of her grief and guilt, she remembers the events that led to his dying and the fateful letter that she is certain contributed to his demise. As readers parse the two stories they notice similarities between the two. Is Mouse the girl in Story #1? Who is the mysterious music player? The answers will honestly surprise you.
This is going to make me sound a bit off my nut, but you know what this book reminded me the most of? When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. There's no good reason for this. Stead's novel was a science fiction/historical fiction bit of realism, with a dash of the unexpected on the side. Departure Time in contrast appears to be realistic fantasy, or fantastical realism. Magical realism, let's say. Just the same, there are similarities to be found between both books. In When You Reach Me the main character is speaking to us from the future about mysterious notes she discovered in the past. In Departure Time a girl in a desert finds clues that seem to have some connection to a different narrative about a girl living with her mother after her father's death. And like When You Reach Me, this book isn't afraid to chuck linear storytelling out the window in favor of something a little more eclectic. So while the desert storyline is straightforward, the other story leaps between talking about Mouse's life before her father died and after. There's more than a trace of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance to the story as well, though at least in this book the big reveal isn't downright silly. Sometimes children's books contain plot twists that make more sense than their adult contemporaries.
Naturally what I really liked about this book were the mystery elements. It feels like Matti is feeding you clues throughout the text. In one storyline the girl has encountered a gray fox and a rat. In the other storyline, Mouse's father has picked up her stuffed fox and rat toys. What is the connection? You slowly begin to wonder if the storyline about Mouse and her father will end and turn into the story of the girl in the desert. You start trying to figure out chronologically when this might occur. She has paint on her hands, so that must be from when she was painting her bedroom, right? And she has music books in her bag . . . but why? Coming up with any kind of an even remotely satisfying ending is the real challenge here, but I think Matti pulls it off. It doesn't feel rushed or hurried. There's not some surprise at the end that can't be explained. Even the mystery person in the top of the hotel makes a certain amount of sense. There's a lot of psychological groundwork going on here, but nothing on the surface that a kid isn't also going to enjoy.
I admit that I didn't know what to expect when I first picked up the book. Right at the start our desert heroine stumbles towards the mysterious hotel. The lights on the sign are blinking, however, and the text reads, "First one by one, H . . . then nothing, E . . . and then the L blinked - twice - all of them in poisonous pink: H, E, L, and L. It only lasted a second, and then all five went on again." Now the book is a translation so I had to wonder about certain choices made by the translator. The original story being German, I think it's safe to say that aside from the "L" blinking twice (which is a little obvious but oh well) this scene is probably identical to the one in the original book. Other phrases in the book again are probably straight, if rather poetic translations along the lines of, "It was a voice wrapped in a lovely smell."
This is fun. Read a couple of the professional reviews of this book and you'll notice they all have one thing in common: None of them ever mention the protagonist's name. I don't mean the girl in the desert who doesn't remember it. I mean the girl who blames herself for her father's death. It's "Mouse" actually, or that's at least the name she sometimes goes by. For most of the book, though, you find yourself feeling lost. You can go a long time without saying a character's name, you know.
Originally hailing from the Netherlands, Departure Time (or Vertrektijd) takes risks. It expects the child reader to not only be able to follow a mysterious fantasy tale, but also a contemporary story that dips back and forth in time. Author Helen Frost once wrote a novel in verse called The Braid where stories and lines wove in and out of one another in a braid-like pattern. Departure Time conjures up a similar feel. This one is for the kids that loved When You Reach Me, The Westing Game, and maybe a book or two by E.L. Konigsburg. The kids who aren't afraid to take risks with their reading. Some will fall by the wayside as the story progresses, but for those that make it to the end, there's a reward waiting for them. A singular, memorable book.
For ages 10-13.
March 13, 2019
Een heel mooi boek over rouwverwerking.
=============================
I had never heard of this book or even the author, but the story sounded intriguing, I loved the cover, and the publisher is reputable, so I decided to take a chance. And I am glad that I did.
Vertrektijd (translated into English as Departure Time) is about an 11-year-old girl who is trying to come to terms with the death of her father, and her own feelings of guilt surrounding his death.
In alternating chapters, two stories are told. The first is dreamlike, magic realist. The second one is realistic. Each story echoes elements of the other, and it soon becomes clear they are actually one.
I found it very beautifully done, and perhaps even a tad demanding of the intended age group (young teens).
=============================
I had never heard of this book or even the author, but the story sounded intriguing, I loved the cover, and the publisher is reputable, so I decided to take a chance. And I am glad that I did.
Vertrektijd (translated into English as Departure Time) is about an 11-year-old girl who is trying to come to terms with the death of her father, and her own feelings of guilt surrounding his death.
In alternating chapters, two stories are told. The first is dreamlike, magic realist. The second one is realistic. Each story echoes elements of the other, and it soon becomes clear they are actually one.
I found it very beautifully done, and perhaps even a tad demanding of the intended age group (young teens).
October 5, 2014
This was interesting, but perhaps a bit too obscure in the end. You have these two narratives and it's not hard to see how they end up fitting together, but I think I expected them to come together in a more glorious way.
Or, at least, I wanted a little more somehow.
Or, at least, I wanted a little more somehow.
Read
December 6, 2012Matti, Truus. (2010). Departure Time. South Hampton, New Hampshire: NAMELOS. 212 pp. ISBN 978-1-60898-087-1 (Hard Cover); $18.95.
Maybe if we cross Samuel Beckett with Alice and Wonderland and add a splash of Werlin, we will discover the inspiration for this very different genre mashup. Mouse is, shall we say, not in Kansas anymore. She finds herself in a hotel staffed by a talking fox and a rat. Mouse is not sure how she got here and as time passes she begins to suspect that fox and rat are holding secrets from her. However, readers, just when we think we are in a fairly typical animal fantasy, we hear the screams and anger of a ten year old girl whose father has failed her in unforgivable fashion. When Mouse lashes out in a fit of anger, her father dies and guilt and anger fills Mouse. Readers wander back and forth between the very real world in which fathers break promises and die and the surreal world of talking foxes and rats that slowly reveal the path toward healing and forgiveness. Part mystery, part fantasy, and part gritty realistic fiction, Departure Time will not leave readers anytime soon after the last fascinating page is turned. You have not read this book before! While the subject matter of this book is appropriate for all ages, the sophistication of the story makes it more suitable for middle school and high school readers.
NAMELOS is a new publisher focusing on distributing downloaded books (e-Books). It is founded by Stephen Roxburgh who is responsible for many of the award winning books published by Front Street Books. This book is worth tracking down and if your library has developed fans of e-Books, check out the NAMELOS website (www.namelos.com). Do take the trouble to find and read and recommend this book to students; we need healthy small publishers every bit as much as we need established, larger publishers. You may also want to track down POD by Stephen Wallenfels, also by Namelos.
Maybe if we cross Samuel Beckett with Alice and Wonderland and add a splash of Werlin, we will discover the inspiration for this very different genre mashup. Mouse is, shall we say, not in Kansas anymore. She finds herself in a hotel staffed by a talking fox and a rat. Mouse is not sure how she got here and as time passes she begins to suspect that fox and rat are holding secrets from her. However, readers, just when we think we are in a fairly typical animal fantasy, we hear the screams and anger of a ten year old girl whose father has failed her in unforgivable fashion. When Mouse lashes out in a fit of anger, her father dies and guilt and anger fills Mouse. Readers wander back and forth between the very real world in which fathers break promises and die and the surreal world of talking foxes and rats that slowly reveal the path toward healing and forgiveness. Part mystery, part fantasy, and part gritty realistic fiction, Departure Time will not leave readers anytime soon after the last fascinating page is turned. You have not read this book before! While the subject matter of this book is appropriate for all ages, the sophistication of the story makes it more suitable for middle school and high school readers.
NAMELOS is a new publisher focusing on distributing downloaded books (e-Books). It is founded by Stephen Roxburgh who is responsible for many of the award winning books published by Front Street Books. This book is worth tracking down and if your library has developed fans of e-Books, check out the NAMELOS website (www.namelos.com). Do take the trouble to find and read and recommend this book to students; we need healthy small publishers every bit as much as we need established, larger publishers. You may also want to track down POD by Stephen Wallenfels, also by Namelos.
February 17, 2012
"Departure Time" will not be for everyone. It is a book that is translated into English (making it choppy in certain spots), the story is complicated and things don't always go the way you would like them to. But if you give this book a chance, and read it knowing those things about it, the rewards are immense. It is a story rich in character, depth and images. It will leave you happy, sad and pondering about it for a long time. I finished it months ago and I still think about it often. The story is told from two perspectives, one real and one fantasy, but where the lines are and how the two parts overlap is extraordinarily imaginative and fascinating. the real is about a girl and her relationship with her parents. The fantasy is about a girl and her relationship with a couple of wacky animals in an abandoned hotel.
Elizabeth Bird (my favorite children's librarian) cited this book to win the 2011 Batchelder Award, which is the award for the best children's book published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States. It came in second to A Time of Miracles, by Anne-Laure Bondoux, translated by Y. Maudet. I guess I will have to read that book because I can't imagine Departure Time not winning.
Elizabeth Bird (my favorite children's librarian) cited this book to win the 2011 Batchelder Award, which is the award for the best children's book published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States. It came in second to A Time of Miracles, by Anne-Laure Bondoux, translated by Y. Maudet. I guess I will have to read that book because I can't imagine Departure Time not winning.
October 24, 2010
I'm skipping over months of unlogged books to shout outloud about Departure Time. Unbelievable--especially as a debut book. My only regret is that I did not write it! It's part Sharon Creech, part Holes, part When You Reach Me and part wow! It hit me on so many levels I can't even articulate it well . You might see it in your Christmas gift bag from me soon!
October 4, 2011
Overall, I liked this book. However, I never quite felt like the two narratives managed to make it into a cohesive story. I guessed quite early what was going on, and I spent most of the rest of the book feeling somewhat frustrated. I’d be interested to see if others had a different reaction. [March 2011]
November 8, 2011
I liked this book because it flipped back and forth between reality and fantasy as a young girl copes with loss. As I read it, I thought parts would make a good animation, only to read further, that Matti studied filmmaking and animation. Maybe not a complete 5, but there isn't a 4.875 available.
October 22, 2024
Heel cute dit boekje. Aan het begint wordt je nog al door de verschillende verhaallijnen heen gegooid terwijl je geen flauw idee hebt wat wat is, maar aan het einde wordt het steeds spannender juíst doordat je steeds switcht van verhaallijn. Hoe verder je komt, des te sneller je leest. Ik dacht eerst dat het een fantasieverhaal was bedacht door een kind, maar het blijkt uiteindelijk een prachtig verhaal over rouw te zijn. Een onverwachte en hartverwarmende aanrader 💕
January 19, 2025
‘Met je eigen naam lukte het ook.’
‘Die van mij heb ik alleen teruggevonden, niet… bedacht. Ik denk niet dat ik goed ben in dingen verzinnen.’
‘Ik wil ook helemaal geen verzonnen naam. Ik wil een échte.’
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dit boek is mij dierbaar
Verhalen in verhalen en boeken die geschreven zijn door het boek zelf
‘Die van mij heb ik alleen teruggevonden, niet… bedacht. Ik denk niet dat ik goed ben in dingen verzinnen.’
‘Ik wil ook helemaal geen verzonnen naam. Ik wil een échte.’
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dit boek is mij dierbaar
Verhalen in verhalen en boeken die geschreven zijn door het boek zelf
December 26, 2017
Seriously one of the weirdest books I've ever read. In the first 10 pages, there was a talking fox and rat...yup. So weird I couldn't not read it.
February 9, 2019
This is a bit of a weird book. I see what the author tried to do but just missed it somehow. Therefor I would not recommend it
August 3, 2021
Interesting plot.
January 10, 2011
Original post here: http://ginachoe.com/2011/01/who-shoul...
At its core, Departure Time is about a girl who must make a choice about how to move on after the death of her father. A study in the complicated emotions that accompany grief, Departure Time will satisfy the middle-grade reader who likes a touch of mystery and fantasy.
Story A, told in 3rd person, is about a girl who finds herself in the middle of a red desert with nothing but a bag of music books. Blinking lights in the distance lead her to a dilapidated hotel; its only visible occupants are a fox and a white rat. As the girl pieces together the clues about who she is and why she’s there, she hears a tune from time to time that she can’t quite place. Who is playing and how does she know the song? Will she ever leave the hotel?
Story B is told in 1st person. A girl grieves the death of her father, Sky, who died soon after her eleventh birthday while he was away on a concert tour. It has almost been a year since his death and now Robin, the girl’s mother, is starting to move on. But the girl hasn’t, can’t perhaps. We learn about the events leading to the present: Sky’s promise to be home in time to celebrate her birthday followed by the arrival of a letter with his apology and the beginning of a story that they were to write together, and finally, her scathing “letter bomb” that she returns with the unread story. With the news of his death, she can’t help but think that she is responsible.
The pacing lags in story A when a little too much time is spent on the mechanics of a bus while this reader wanted to know more about Sky, his music, and the relationship he had with is daughter. Another thread that could have used more developing was the significance of names. None of the characters go by their real names and it isn’t until 60 pages in that the fox and the rat are given nicknames. But the sense of mystery, the range of emotions, and the imagery in Nancy Forest-Flier’s translation more than make up for it. Not to mention the color, which seems to pop off the pages, from the girl’s orange-then purple-then orange again walls, to her bag, to the red earth that surrounds the hotel. And one idiom jumped out from the text so much that I wonder what its Dutch equivalent would be: “The devil is beating his wife!” which Sky explains as “when it rains and the sun shines at the same time!” (I’ve decided that when the sun shines while snow falls, it must mean that the devil’s wife is beating him back.)
All this to say that Departure Time was an ultimately satisfying and surprising book. Recommended.
At its core, Departure Time is about a girl who must make a choice about how to move on after the death of her father. A study in the complicated emotions that accompany grief, Departure Time will satisfy the middle-grade reader who likes a touch of mystery and fantasy.
Story A, told in 3rd person, is about a girl who finds herself in the middle of a red desert with nothing but a bag of music books. Blinking lights in the distance lead her to a dilapidated hotel; its only visible occupants are a fox and a white rat. As the girl pieces together the clues about who she is and why she’s there, she hears a tune from time to time that she can’t quite place. Who is playing and how does she know the song? Will she ever leave the hotel?
Story B is told in 1st person. A girl grieves the death of her father, Sky, who died soon after her eleventh birthday while he was away on a concert tour. It has almost been a year since his death and now Robin, the girl’s mother, is starting to move on. But the girl hasn’t, can’t perhaps. We learn about the events leading to the present: Sky’s promise to be home in time to celebrate her birthday followed by the arrival of a letter with his apology and the beginning of a story that they were to write together, and finally, her scathing “letter bomb” that she returns with the unread story. With the news of his death, she can’t help but think that she is responsible.
The pacing lags in story A when a little too much time is spent on the mechanics of a bus while this reader wanted to know more about Sky, his music, and the relationship he had with is daughter. Another thread that could have used more developing was the significance of names. None of the characters go by their real names and it isn’t until 60 pages in that the fox and the rat are given nicknames. But the sense of mystery, the range of emotions, and the imagery in Nancy Forest-Flier’s translation more than make up for it. Not to mention the color, which seems to pop off the pages, from the girl’s orange-then purple-then orange again walls, to her bag, to the red earth that surrounds the hotel. And one idiom jumped out from the text so much that I wonder what its Dutch equivalent would be: “The devil is beating his wife!” which Sky explains as “when it rains and the sun shines at the same time!” (I’ve decided that when the sun shines while snow falls, it must mean that the devil’s wife is beating him back.)
All this to say that Departure Time was an ultimately satisfying and surprising book. Recommended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 29, 2012
Narrow appeal--almost more for grownups, with their capacities for abstraction and tolerance of slow movement, than for children. Also it's a coming-to-terms-with-the-death-of-a-parent novel. CTTWTDOAPN as we call them in the biz. Whimsical, enjoyable, and nicely structured and colored, but lacking something essential.
The least child-friendly aspect of this, I think, was the near-total absence of other children. Matti mentions that school is out and all the other kids have gone away on vacation, conveniently taking them out of the geographic spaces of the book. But they are absent from the emotional space of the book too. This child has only (adult) family members, a piano teacher, and various workers in the neighborhood. At an age (ten-eleven) when social relationships, especially among girls, are increasingly at the center of a child's world, this particular child appears to have zero connection with other children. That kind of isolation would be both unlikely and pathological in real life.
antes de leer
Fuse No. 8 compares it to When You Reach Me, but from the Netherlands. Mysterious, unhurried, and smart.
The least child-friendly aspect of this, I think, was the near-total absence of other children. Matti mentions that school is out and all the other kids have gone away on vacation, conveniently taking them out of the geographic spaces of the book. But they are absent from the emotional space of the book too. This child has only (adult) family members, a piano teacher, and various workers in the neighborhood. At an age (ten-eleven) when social relationships, especially among girls, are increasingly at the center of a child's world, this particular child appears to have zero connection with other children. That kind of isolation would be both unlikely and pathological in real life.
antes de leer
Fuse No. 8 compares it to When You Reach Me, but from the Netherlands. Mysterious, unhurried, and smart.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2020
Inhaltsangabe:
Was war und was wird sein? Das Leben ist voller Geheimnisse Eines Tages trifft ein vom Regen klatschnasses Mädchen in einem heruntergekommenen Hotel ein, das von einem Fuchs und einer Ratte geführt wird. Sie weiß nicht, wer sie ist, woher sie stammt und wohin sie will: Wie kommt es, dass ihre tierischen Herbergseltern sprechen können? Und woher stammt die geheimnisvolle Musik, die das Haus erfüllt?
Handlung:
Sie weiß nicht wer sie ist und auch nicht woher sie kommt. Noch weniger, wie sie wieder nach Hause kommt. Sie kann sich einfach nicht erinnern. Fuchs und Ratte geben ihr Zuflucht und helfen ihr sich zu erinnern. Daran, dass ihr Vater von seiner Reise nicht zurück kam und an den bösen Brief, den sie ihm deshalb geschrieben hat.
Gequält von Schuldgefühlen versucht sie zu verstehen, dass ihr geliebter Vater nie mehr zurück kommen wird...
Meinung:
Ein Kinder-/Jugendbuch über Trauerbewältigung und den Weg zurück ins Leben. Bitte umsteigen war für mich eine kurzweilige aber auch traurige Geschichte über ein 11 jähriges Mädchen und ihren schweren Verlust, den sie auf ihre ganz eigene Art verarbeitet. Ein sprechender Fuchs, eine sprechende Ratte, viel Musik und die Suche nach sich selbst hielten mich im Buch. Das Ende war für mich leider nicht zufriedenstellend. Für Kinder schwere Kost.
Was war und was wird sein? Das Leben ist voller Geheimnisse Eines Tages trifft ein vom Regen klatschnasses Mädchen in einem heruntergekommenen Hotel ein, das von einem Fuchs und einer Ratte geführt wird. Sie weiß nicht, wer sie ist, woher sie stammt und wohin sie will: Wie kommt es, dass ihre tierischen Herbergseltern sprechen können? Und woher stammt die geheimnisvolle Musik, die das Haus erfüllt?
Handlung:
Sie weiß nicht wer sie ist und auch nicht woher sie kommt. Noch weniger, wie sie wieder nach Hause kommt. Sie kann sich einfach nicht erinnern. Fuchs und Ratte geben ihr Zuflucht und helfen ihr sich zu erinnern. Daran, dass ihr Vater von seiner Reise nicht zurück kam und an den bösen Brief, den sie ihm deshalb geschrieben hat.
Gequält von Schuldgefühlen versucht sie zu verstehen, dass ihr geliebter Vater nie mehr zurück kommen wird...
Meinung:
Ein Kinder-/Jugendbuch über Trauerbewältigung und den Weg zurück ins Leben. Bitte umsteigen war für mich eine kurzweilige aber auch traurige Geschichte über ein 11 jähriges Mädchen und ihren schweren Verlust, den sie auf ihre ganz eigene Art verarbeitet. Ein sprechender Fuchs, eine sprechende Ratte, viel Musik und die Suche nach sich selbst hielten mich im Buch. Das Ende war für mich leider nicht zufriedenstellend. Für Kinder schwere Kost.
November 8, 2014
Disclaimer: It has been a little while since I've read this, but I'll go by memory.
Depature Time by Truus Matti... How would I begin to explain it?
Long story short, I was browsing books in the library, and I came upon this one. It didn't look like it was read much, and I thought, maybe someone is missing out on a great book. Just in fact, they were. Believe it or not, I was almost one of those people.
For starters, it was a great book - I think everything I read by choice is good, but this one was different, my friend. Only in some books I quote things. In this certain book, I found a lot of quotes that I thought to write down.
If you plan to consider reading this book after reading this review, here is a tip.
I listened to an indie/alternative playlist (if music is your thing) while reading. Trust me, it helps.
After reading the synopsis is where I was hooked. My problem was that I was on search for something different than what I usually read; the teen fiction romance type of thing. Finding this story was more to my liking, and I knew I found my match. The only question I have now is, "Why didn't I find sooner?"
Depature Time by Truus Matti... How would I begin to explain it?
Long story short, I was browsing books in the library, and I came upon this one. It didn't look like it was read much, and I thought, maybe someone is missing out on a great book. Just in fact, they were. Believe it or not, I was almost one of those people.
For starters, it was a great book - I think everything I read by choice is good, but this one was different, my friend. Only in some books I quote things. In this certain book, I found a lot of quotes that I thought to write down.
If you plan to consider reading this book after reading this review, here is a tip.
I listened to an indie/alternative playlist (if music is your thing) while reading. Trust me, it helps.
After reading the synopsis is where I was hooked. My problem was that I was on search for something different than what I usually read; the teen fiction romance type of thing. Finding this story was more to my liking, and I knew I found my match. The only question I have now is, "Why didn't I find sooner?"
January 24, 2017
This book takes place in a run down hotel a hiding place for a girl in the rain
who is 10 years old turning 11 soon and has lost her memories. She goes inside the run down hotel and sees a talking rat and a fox talking. The fox offers her a chair the suspicious rat acts like he has met her before, but she doesn’t remember anything not even her own name. She hears piano music which keeps on playing in her head for a bit. She stays with the fox and rat in the run down hotel. A few days later she fines scraps and scraps of paper that help her find her memories, but she still couldn’t remember her name at all so she decided to make up a name. Her name would be Mouse and that’s what people would call her. This is the beginning of a new adventure.
I liked this book because it had a lot of detail description that you could actually image the picture in your head as if you were in the book. I could connect with the fox in the book because I was sort of like him kinda curious and mysterious. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a book with a lot of detail and that they could image the story in their minds.
who is 10 years old turning 11 soon and has lost her memories. She goes inside the run down hotel and sees a talking rat and a fox talking. The fox offers her a chair the suspicious rat acts like he has met her before, but she doesn’t remember anything not even her own name. She hears piano music which keeps on playing in her head for a bit. She stays with the fox and rat in the run down hotel. A few days later she fines scraps and scraps of paper that help her find her memories, but she still couldn’t remember her name at all so she decided to make up a name. Her name would be Mouse and that’s what people would call her. This is the beginning of a new adventure.
I liked this book because it had a lot of detail description that you could actually image the picture in your head as if you were in the book. I could connect with the fox in the book because I was sort of like him kinda curious and mysterious. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a book with a lot of detail and that they could image the story in their minds.
April 2, 2012
An interesting story... actually, two stories in one. The first tells of a girl who is coming to grips with the recent loss of her father. The second is of a girl who doesn't remember who she is. It turns out the two stories are related as the tale progresses. The second girl finds herself at a hotel, whose only occupants seem to be a fox and a rat. Bit by bit, she starts to remember her past and who she is. This was an interesting story on many levels, as the reader finds out more about both girls. However, there was one point where the story went from one girl to the other mid-chapter, which I found jarring. Had that happened more than once I would have seen it as a progression of the story, the stories merging. But it just happened once so it looked more like either an accident or something got lost in translation. Also, the resolution with the second girl went on a bit too long; my interest started to wane some. I did enjoy the resolution of the first girl's story, however.
April 4, 2011
This book got a lot of attention last year as an outstanding traslated book (from the Dutch). It started out a little bit slowly, but it quickly became engrossing. The narration of each chapter alternates between a girl's real-life world, in which she deals with her father's death, and a dream-like fantasy world, complete with a talking fox and rat, a run-down hotel, and mysterious piano music coming from the floor (when there only appear to be four floors). Charming, emotional, bizarre, and serious, this book would be a great choice for older elementary or middle school readers. I tried to convince my husband to read it so I could have someone to talk about it with!
A quote from p. 124, which applies directly to the book itself: "The best books are the ones you can crawl right into and forget everything else." Amen.
A quote from p. 124, which applies directly to the book itself: "The best books are the ones you can crawl right into and forget everything else." Amen.
February 15, 2012
I thought this was a great book. It's a middle-grade kids' book which initially was checked out for Leah. I began reading the first few chapters out loud to her. She went off to read more on her own, but I was so intrigued that I later finished the book myself. It was tranlated from the Dutch and won the Batchelder Award (which I believe is for best translated book). It's a little difficult at first as the story switches back and forth..between two stories that are seemingly unconnected. I can't really tell you what it's about, as that would basically be a spoiler. But I would actually encourage adults to read this. The only thing is, I'm not really sure 10-11-12 year old kids will really get it. Maybe I underestimate them. I'll have to wait until Leah finishes it and see what she thinks...
September 12, 2010
This is a story of death, and grief, and anger so strong as to stop time. And yet the story has a charm, and smiling wonder.
It opens in a bleak dreamscape, with hints of some existential Hell. The first few pages are otherwise almost indecipherable. And then, chapter by chapter, the sinister allusions clear away, to reveal the hope and love of life that remains. The effect is step-by-step predictable, and still magical.
The book demands a patient, thoughtful reader, but not necessarily a young or old reader. It’s timeless in more ways than one.
Oh, and before I get swept up in New Age revelry – this book does not share the cloying philosophical sweetness of “Le Petit Prince,” and for that I’m grateful.
It opens in a bleak dreamscape, with hints of some existential Hell. The first few pages are otherwise almost indecipherable. And then, chapter by chapter, the sinister allusions clear away, to reveal the hope and love of life that remains. The effect is step-by-step predictable, and still magical.
The book demands a patient, thoughtful reader, but not necessarily a young or old reader. It’s timeless in more ways than one.
Oh, and before I get swept up in New Age revelry – this book does not share the cloying philosophical sweetness of “Le Petit Prince,” and for that I’m grateful.
February 23, 2011
While I wait to hear from my 11-year-old adventurous Test Reader, I will venture that this pecuiar, mysterious book about a grieving girl, an alter-girl seeking to unfurl the answers to mysteries revealed by an old desert hotel populated by a gray fox gourmand and a white rat mechanic, and their intertwinement will engage many readers. As another reviewer noted, it smacks of Stead's When You Reach Me and similarly curiously satisfying.
January 27, 2011
I read this because it was about a daughter and her father - one of those topics I will always read. Its quite a lot more than that. It is about loss and grief, forgiveness and sadness, and joy. I felt a bit like I was IN a dream while reading and wandered this path with Mouse as she figured everything out. Even remembering the experience of reading, I get a bit teary.
April 13, 2018
A young girl deals with the death of her father and the guilt at not knowing if her last, angry letter was received by him prior to his death. This book uses dual storylines to demonstrate how we must confront our grief in order to get past it and is beautifully written and translated. Good for 8 - 12 year olds.
March 10, 2011
I didn't quite know what to expect with this book, but I really liked it. An odd story with fantastic elements that ends up being very touching. Recommended for young readers who want to explore magical realism.
December 4, 2013
This was a very interesting book. The story kept shifting back and forth between two stories that eventually merged. Interesting concept, I was still left a little confused wanting more things cleared up at the end of the book.
to-order
November 17, 2010Kirkus Best Children's Books 2010
April 4, 2011
Interesting story told in alternating reality and imaginary worlds, as a young girl deals with losing her father.
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