Henry and his parents move to a new town after the death of Eddie, Henry's older brother. Henry befriends an old man, Mr. Levine, who had survived the Holocaust. Mr Levine spends most of his time in an arts center recreating his lost family and town out of wood. Henry joins him there often, to escape the silence at home caused by grief over Eddie's death. Mr. Hairston, Henry's ill-mannered employer, offers Henry a gravestone for Eddie (which Henry most deeply wanted) in exchange for destroying Mr. Levine's award-winning wooden village. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of book? - depressed Time/era of story - 1930's-1950's Kids growing up/acting up? Yes Internal struggle/realization? Yes Struggle over Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Coping with loss of loved one(s) Yes Loss of... Age group of kid(s) in story: - grade school Something wrong upstairs/downstairs? - searching for identity/meaning Main Character Gender - Male Age: - a kid Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 4 () United States Yes The US: - Northeast Small town? Yes Writing Style Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |