The Perfect Place

October 6, 2014
Twelve-year-old Treasure is sure that there’s a “perfect place” out there, somewhere her family can be happy—and together. She’s equally confident that it won’t be anything like Black Lake, the small Virginia town where her Great-Aunt Grace lives, and where her mother has left Treasure and her younger sister after the girls’ father took off. Great-Aunt Grace (aka “Gag”) is described as both a “mountain” and a “storm”: she’s a stubborn country woman, and no fan of Treasure’s “no-’count” father or of spoiled children. Treasure’s dream of being reunited with her father begins to fade as Terrance, an equally smart and out-of-place new arrival in town, tests her resolve not to make friends, and Great-Aunt Grace turns detective in response to a rash of thefts. Harris (Summer Jackson: Grown Up) makes the “tough old bird with a tender heart” character fresh: Great-Aunt Grace may not be educated, but she’s canny and kind in her own gruff way. Black Lake and its close-knit African-American community, as seen through Treasure’s eyes, come through strongly. Ages 10–up. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary Agency.

October 1, 2014
A spirited, stubborn and loyal girl finds the perfect place exactly where she doesn't want it. Treasure's father has gone to find his family "the perfect place," but after two months with no word and no money, her mother-in desperation-leaves Treasure and her younger sister, Tiffany, with their father's aunt while she tries to track him down. His disappearing act is not new, so Treasure has coping mechanisms: Don't get too attached to a place, and don't make friends. Neither should be hard, as Great-Aunt Grace is mean, and Black Lake, Virginia, is boring. But Treasure seems to attract trouble, and trouble attracts friends. Harris' first novel lets readers inside the heads and hearts of her characters as Treasure and Grace, both hardheaded, inevitably find their rhythms. Despite a simple and predictable plot, readers will be firmly engaged by the funny, genuine dialogue and effortless prose that evokes a hot summer and Grace's cluttered house and store. Side characters are well-defined, and Treasure's voice is singular, smart and memorable. Though good family-in-transition stories are not rare, ones that authentically portray an African-American experience are, and readers will find this one pretty near perfect. (Fiction. 10-13)

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September 1, 2014

Gr 5-7-In this moving and insightful debut, 12-year-old Treasure is tired of moving from place to place every time her unreliable father leaves the family. At the opening of the novel, Treasure's father is gone and her mother leaves her and her younger sister, Tiffany, with their Great-Aunt Grace in the small town of Black Lake, Virginia. Treasure does not want to be there, and her introduction to her no-nonsense relative only strengthens her resolve to stay detached during her mother's absence. Great-Aunt Grace does not mince words. Among the first things she tells Treasure and Tiffany are her rules: "I don't take no sass," she says before pulling out her ever present pack of cigarettes. While working in Grace's small candy store, Treasure begins to meet other memorable residents of Black Lake, including Terrance, a boy with whom she tentatively establishes a friendship, and Jaguar, a wealthy girl who purposely causes trouble for the protagonist. It is Great-Aunt Grace, however, who steals the show. While readers expect that she is concealing a kinder heart than she's willing to expose, the development of the genuinely warm relationship between Treasure and Grace is memorable. Harris weaves humor, a light mystery, and a tender coming-of-age story in this unforgettable novel. Each of the characters, including minor ones, are well-drawn with distinctive and authentic voices. Like Dorothy in Frank L. Baum's The Wizard of Oz, Treasure learns that she was already in the "perfect place," but her journey to that realization is rich and rewarding.-Shelley Sommer, Inly School, Scituate, MA

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