All the Greys on Greene Street
by Laura Tucker (Author)
"A dazzling debut novel about resilience, courage, home and family."--Rebecca Stead, Newbery Award-winning author of When You Reach Me
SoHo, 1981. Twelve-year-old Olympia is an artist--and in her neighborhood, that's normal. Her dad and his business partner Apollo bring antique paintings back to life, while her mother makes intricate sculptures in a corner of their loft, leaving Ollie to roam the streets of New York with her best friends Richard and Alex, drawing everything that catches her eye. Then everything falls apart. Ollie's dad disappears in the middle of the night, leaving her only a cryptic note and instructions to destroy it. Her mom has gone to bed, and she's not getting up. Apollo is hiding something, Alex is acting strange, and Richard has questions about the mysterious stranger he saw outside. And someone keeps calling, looking for a missing piece of art. . . . Olympia knows her dad is the key--but first, she has to find him, and time is running out.
Lauded by critics in five starred reviews, All the Greys on Greene Street has been called "a remarkable debut" and "a triumph."
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School Library Journal
Gr 6-8--Olympia is a 12-year-old living in New York with her artist parents when her father suddenly leaves their family for France. After her father leaves, her mother spirals into a deep depression and never leaves her bed. Upon his departure, her father leaves her a secret note, and Olympia, with her friends Richard and Alex, must solve the mystery of why her father has disappeared so suddenly, and who is he running from--and running to. This book covers tough topics such as depression, a parent leaving the family for unknown reasons, the complexities of adult relationships, and more. The aspect of the art mystery gives the story a lighter tone to complement the dark happenings in Olympia's personal life and family. VERDICT A strong selection for any middle school child whose parent may have left, and a great way to spark a difficult discussion between parents and children.--Maeve Dodds, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, NC
Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Publishers Weekly
It's spring 1981, and Ollie, 12, is trying her best to keep her sculptor mother's latest depressive episode a secret. Her mom hasn't gotten out of bed since a week after Ollie's art restorer father fled mysteriously to France in the middle of the night, leaving behind a cryptic note for Ollie alone. The cautious girl declines to share either piece of information with the sympathetic grown-ups in her life, including her father's business partner, the dependable Apollo, who teaches her about mixing pigments--and with whom her father quarreled about an enigmatic wooden statue before he left. Ollie herself is an observant and talented sketch artist, and her creative sensibility shines through in Murphy's spot illustrations and the lovely first-person narrative (a building is said to be "wearing its own fire escape like the hard jewelry on the girls outside the bars on St. Mark's Place"). Tucker skillfully balances themes of mental illness, friendship, and creativity under tough circumstances in her memorable debut. The vibrant, eccentric characters are authentic, the early-1980s SoHo setting is clearly wrought (rich with descriptive details such as fad diets and artist-in-residence lofts), and the Konigsburg-tinged art mystery satisfies. Ages 8-12. Author's agent: Faye Bender, the Book Group. (June)
Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
★ "A brilliant mediation on the artistic life, the way shapes and color infuse perception, howconcentration can lead to illumination, and how creation is gift available to all in myriad forms . . . Tucker's writing is exquisite and as preciseas brush stroke. A remarkable debut." —Booklist, starred review ★ "Tucker skillfully balances themes of mental illness, friendship, and creativity under tough circumstances in her memorable debut." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ "A host of honest, flawed, deeply sympathetic characters that are poignant and funny are at once unique and familiar . . . Lovely, sad, hopeful, and memorable." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review ★ "A poignant and well-structured debut novel that's sure to satisfy." —BookPage, starred review "[A] brilliant debut novel . . . a richly texture delight: an art world mystery, a family drama, a sensitive depiction of depression, a crash course in colors and a portrait of a young artist . . . Tucker has written with such compassion and intelligence about what we see, what we overlook, and what we try to hide." —The New York Times "The story of Olympia, her art, and her devoted friends that will absorb readers here." —BCCB Reviews
JUV003000 - Juvenile Fiction | Art & Architecture
JUV028000 - Juvenile Fiction | Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories
JUV016000 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | General
