Tall Story

by Candy Gourlay (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

Andi is short. And she has lots of wishes. She wishes she could play on the school basketball team, she wishes for her own bedroom, but most of all she wishes that her long-lost half-brother, Bernardo, could come and live in London where he belongs.

Then Andi's biggest wish comes true and she's minutes away from becoming someone's little sister. As she waits anxiously for Bernardo to arrive from the Philippines, she hopes he'll turn out to be tall and just as crazy as she is about basketball. When he finally arrives, he's tall all right. Eight feet tall, in fact--plagued by condition called Gigantism and troubled by secrets that he believes led to his phenomenal growth.

In a novel packed with quirkiness and humor, Gourlay explores a touching sibling relationship and the clash of two very different cultures.

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Starred Review
Gourlay spins slender threads of wishes and prayers, magic and miracles, desires and redemption and weaves together an impressively sweet and rich tale.

Review quotes

Starred Review, School Library Journal, March 2011:
Contemporary Tagalong and British vernacular enhance the brother/sister narration and enliven the depiction of cultures. In her first young adult novel, Gourlay offers an appealing blend of diverse characters, emotional conflicts, well-paced action, and an upbeat finale. The challenges facing separated, immigrant families and the universal teen desire for acceptance and respect ring true.

Candy Gourlay
Candy Gourlay is an author and journalist who knew that she wanted to write ever since she was a little girl in the Philippines. She lives in London with her husband and her three children. Tom Knight is an illustrator and writer. He lives in England with his wife, Tabby, and his two sons, Archie and Seth.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780385752336
Lexile Measure
670
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Yearling Books
Publication date
February 20, 2012
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV013070 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Siblings
JUV032020 - Juvenile Fiction | Sports & Recreation | Basketball
Library of Congress categories
-

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