Description
Temporarily out of stock
Title: Lotterys Plus One, The
Author: DONOGHUE EMMA
Illustrator: HADILAKSANO CAROLINE (ILL)
Format: PAPERBACK
Publication date: 26/04/2017
Imprint: PAN MACMILLAN
Price: $15.00
Publishing status: Active
Publisher Marketing:
Sumac Lottery is nine years old and the self-proclaimed \”good girl\” of her (VERY) large, (EXTREMELY) unruly family. And what a family the Lotterys are: four parents, children both adopted and biological, and a menagerie of pets, all living and learning together in a sprawling house called Camelottery. Then one day, the news breaks that one of their grandfathers is suffering from dementia and will be coming to live with them. And not just any grandfather; the long dormant \”Grumps,\” who fell out with his son so long ago that he hasn’t been part of any of their lives.
Suddenly, everything changes. Sumac has to give up her room to make the newcomer feel at home. She tries to be nice, but prickly Grumps’s clearly disapproves of how the Lotterys live: whole grains, strange vegetables, rescue pets, a multicultural household… He’s worse than just tough to get along with — Grumps has got to go! But can Sumac help him find a home where he belongs?
Kirkus Reviews (12/01/2016):
The Lotterys, a family very much of our century, star in this story about the true meaning of acceptance and belonging. A riotously, exuberantly loving clan of four parents and seven home-schooled children (all named for trees), plus assorted pets, inhabit a sprawling house in an urban Toronto neighborhood. Having won the lottery, the parents–composed of two same-sex couples, one male and one female–retired and started a family through birth and adoption. Precocious Sumac, a biracial Filipina-German 9-year-old, is the sensitive, observant sibling and hence the most deeply affected when their prickly, conservative Scottish grandfather, suffering from dementia, is transported against his will from the Yukon wilderness into their cheerful chaos, upsetting the balance of family life. Grumps, as he is christened by the children, struggles to understand 4-year-old Brian’s (formerly Briar) fluid gender identity, not to mention the family’s greener-than-thou lifestyle. With a large cast of characters, cultural expression (the parents alone are of Scottish, Indian, Mohawk, and Jamaican descent) is primarily conveyed via food and celebrations. Most refreshing is that the Lotterys’ many differences, from 10-year-old Aspen’s challenges to toddler Oak’s developmental delays, are simply part of their own normal. Full of clever names and wordplay, this engaging tale is moving without veering into sentimentality. For all the Lotterys’ apparent eccentricity, the novel delves into universal themes of family relationships that will resonate with readers from all backgrounds. (Fiction. 8-12) COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Gleebooks review:
The Lottery family have named themselves so after the fact they won a lottery, and were able to buy an enormous house in which they all live—two fathers, two mothers, seven children (both biological and adopted) and many animals. So this is a very international community, politically correct, and very engaging. At first, the number of characters is a bit confusing, and the names of the characters irritating—the children are all home schooled, and named after trees, and the parents have very corny nicknames. But, pushing on with story, the Lotterys reveal themselves to be much like any other large family, and when an elderly grandfather comes to live with them they all respond in different, but predictable ways. Told mainly from the point of view of 9 year old Sumac, this is a very worthwhile, and entertaining book, and I’m very much looking forward to the next one. And yes, it is written by Irish writer Emma Donoghue who wrote Room, and illustrated by Caroline Hadilakso with very appealing black and white illustrations. Louise ($15, PB)
After enjoying the chaotic family’s situation myself I urged Louise to read this book, and like her found minor details a tad forced, but also like her I am keen to see what Emma Donoghue devises next for this unusual tribe. Lynndy
ISBN: 9781509851645
Weight: 300gr