A Corner of White

"In this genre-blending feat of stylistic energy, Moriarty moves between two palpably distinct worlds: the modern day environs of Cambridge, England, and the eccentric kingdom of Cello, where the citizens are menaced by colors that attack from the sky and cause severe physical and mental injury. Fourteen-year-old Madeleine lives in Cambridge, having moved there when she and her mother ran away from their obscenely wealthy but unhappy lifestyle to adopt a considerably poorer but not all that happier one; now Madeleine has decided it is time to contact her father to come rescue them, especially since it seems that her mother may be seriously ill. Fifteen-year-old Elliot lives in Cello, and he, too, is in search of his father, who may have been carried off by the nasty Purple that killed his uncle, or who may have just run off with a schoolteacher. When Madeleine finds a mysterious message on a slip of paper tucked in the base of a parking meter, she responds, and she and Elliot develop a correspondence across worlds. The large and small pieces of their lives intermingle with surprising and beneficial effects, despite the fact that Madeleine doesn t quite believe in Cello, and Elliot could be sentenced to death for not reporting the gap between the worlds. The plotting is as innovative and riveting as the world-making here, and the characters are drawn with the same rich dimensionality you find in Pratchett s Discworld or one of Diana Wynne Jones s fantasies. Moriarty s wordsmithery likewise compares favorably with those two masters, delighting and surprising readers with quirky turns of phrase, evocative, synesthetic metaphors, and swift, effective shifts in register. Give this to readers who, like Madeleine, aren t quite sure of their commitment to secondary worlds but like to spice their realities with a little fantasy nonetheless, as well as to those who love secondary worlds with a healthy helping of reality on the side." - "Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "starred review "In this lovely fantasy, two stories run parallel. Fourteen-year-old Madeleine lives in Cambridge, England, where she is adjusting to life without her dad. Elliot lives in the Kingdom of Cello, where his search for his dad is postponed by the deplorable state of crops at home. If it were not for the tiny portal in a parking meter, Madeleine and Elliot would not have started writing letters back and forth. The story is told through the teens communications and an omniscient narrator. This mix allows readers to know Madeleine and Elliot and their problems intimately, but it also gives them an aerial view of events, helps them meet the richly drawn secondary characters, and allows them to see the ingenious way in which the protagonists lives ultimately combine. Attacks by Colors, living organisms: a kind of rogue subclass of the colors that we see when we look at a red apple or blue sky keep the townspeople on edge, and Elliot wonders if his dad were killed during one of them. Mysteries abound. Is Madeleine s mom s strange behavior due to her inability to cope with poverty, or is something else going on? Why doesn t Madeleine s dad answer her letter, and is she somehow to blame for his absence? Ultimately, this is a story of two teenagers helping each other figure out their places in their respective worlds." " "Jennifer Prince, "School Library Journal "starred review "Australian author Moriarty, best known for her Ashbury-Brookfield series (including "The Year of Secret Assignments," rev. 3/04, and" The Ghosts of Ashbury High," rev. 7/10), here embarks on a new series and a new genre. Fourteen-year-old Madeleine has moved to Cambridge, England, with her mother; they ve run away (somewhat mysteriously) from Madeleine s father and a life of extreme wealth. Fifteen-year-old Elliot Baranski lives in the Kingdom of Cello, where Colors are living organisms that can kill people, where seasons change at the drop of a hat, and where Wandering Hostiles want to overthrow the royal family. People stopped moving between Cello and Madeleine s world hundreds of years ago, but Elliot has found a tiny crack between the two places and has begun a correspondence with Madeleine. While Elliot learned about Madeleine s world in school, she thinks Cello is an imaginary land he s invented. Moriarty is the queen of epistolary stories, and her fans will find the teens letters a familiar entree into this highly unusual fantasy. Like Madeleine, readers will be initially baffled by, but will ultimately believe in, Elliot s world. Moriarty s story comes across as matter-of-fact yet curious, topped off with a strong dose of humor (think Margaret Mahy). As always, her irresistible characters help readers navigate a tantalizingly complex plot that will leave them eagerly awaiting the next book." -Jennifer M. Brabander, "The Hornbook Magazine "starred review Praise for Jaclyn Moriarty "Moriarty has found a winning formula for her thoroughly enjoyable, deceptively simple Ashbury High novels: She takes a clever, sophisticated epistolary format, adds sparkling, effervescent wit, and applies them to a mash-up of literary genres." -- Horn Book, starred review "[A]n exhilarating pace, irrepressible characters, and a screwball humor that will easily attract teens, many of whom will yearn for madcap adventures and unshakably devoted friends like these." -- Booklist, starred review "Who can resist Moriarty's biting humor?" -- Kirkus Reviews"show more

Jaclyn Moriarty grew up in Sydney, Australia, with four sisters (including author Liane Moriarty), one brother, two dogs, and twelve chickens. She studied law at the University of Sydney, Yale, and Cambridge, and worked as an entertainment lawyer before she wrote the Ashbury High novels, including The Year of Secret Assignments, The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie, and The Ghosts of Ashbury High. She still lives in Sydney, with her little boy, Charlie.show more