The census collection is designed so that each group of postcodes should contain at least 100 people (50 in Scotland). The information on housing, people, culture, employment and education that is displayed about Sparrow Road, Yeovil, BA21 4BU is based on the last census performed in the UK in 2021. If there is one book you read this summer. This is it. This is the book that made me fall in love with reading again. 12-year-old Raine has an unexpected summer that at first she resists and as she transforms, and the people she meets transforms - it changes her life forever. Next, my major, major problem with this story is that it features a bunch of non-functioning adults who rely too much on a 12 year-old. A 12 year-old that they do not tell the truth to, and then expect her to make mature decisions. HUH? Several times, I wanted to reach into this book and punch the mother. Was she not the most immature woman EVER? She sneaks her kid away from her loving grandfather, without telling her why, tells Raine her father wants to meet her, and then dumps the whole thing in the kid's lap. No one, with the exception of Diego, ever asks Raine how she feels or if she is okay. It is all about their own agendas! Sparrow Road is a place for wishing long and dreaming, and so is this terrific novel. Sparrow Road is quite wonderful and I recommend it highly.” – Karen Cushman author of the Newbery Medal-winning, The Midwife’s Apprentice, and the Newbery Honor-winning Catherine, Called Birdy

The information on housing, people, culture, employment and education that is displayed about Sparrow Road, Coventry, CV2 1GY is based on the last census performed in the UK in 2021. This extended three bedroom home offers an abundance of natural light and flexible accommodation comprising a spacious entrance hallway leading through to a front reception with beautiful gas fireplace, to the rear is sizeable open plan living room/dining room and fully equipped kitchen/breakfast room which leads into bright and airy extension with double door leads onto garden. When I saw that Sheila O'Connor was a professor at Hamline University where Gary Schmidt and Anne Ursu work I wondered if she would have strong characters like they do in their middle grade and young adult novels. She does. It is the main strength in this novel along with beautiful writing. The emotional arc of twelve-year-old Raine and the character development of secondary characters kept me going in this book. The plot was predictable and the action minimal, but the subplot had surprises and the ending was strong. Much of the tension is centered on adult issues and this will appeal to students who like realistic fiction that tug at emotions. The messages of missing people, addiction, abandonment, artistic creations, and dealing with conflict (between adults) make for good discussions.Twelve-year-old Raine is not happy. Her mother just took a summer job at an artist's sanctuary called Sparrow Road and she's forcing Raine to go with her. Raine would rather stay in Milwaukee with her Grandpa Mac, working in his store and eating all the candy she can get her hands on. It's always been that way, and she doesn't understand why it has to change now. To make matters worse, Sparrow Road has all sorts of rules, the worst being that you are not allowed to talk except for after dinner and on Sundays. As soon as Rainne arrives, she is devising an escape plan. Surely her mother won't make her stay here all summer. Maybe she can convince Grandpa Mac to come get her. As Rainne settles in at Sparrow Road, she gets to know some of the quirky artists and writers that reside there, and she begins tapping into some of her own unknown talents. She also learns that Sparrow Road used to be an orphanage and there are many secrets waiting to be discovered. As the days pass, and Rainne settles in with the artists, a number of things begin taking place that Rainne doesn't understand. Why does she get the feeling that her mother knows Viktor, the caretaker, better than she lets on? Why is Rainne not allowed to go into town with her mother when she runs errands? Why do the residents of Sparrow Road still talk about the orphans that used to live there as if they still exist? As the summer progresses, Rainne will uncover the answers to these questions, and some of them will change her life forever. One of the things I love about Sparrow Road is the way this story unravels. Little by little Sheila carefully unravels a beautiful story full of mystery with both it's characters, and the setting's history, that ends up becoming a relatable coming of age story. Though I wanted answers right away, I loved how engaged this made me feel with the book. I wanted to know more. Sheila is a brilliant story teller, because she doesn't tell me everything about her story, she shows me. I really enjoyed the way she allowed me to become apart of her story and introduced each of the characters, including the main character twelve year old Raine.

I cannot think of one kid I know from the library, or my own daughters who could appreciate this story. Is it a thinly veiled criticism of the foster care system, a reflection on single parenting? Who knows. The information on housing, people, culture, employment and education that is displayed about Sparrow Road, Yeovil, BA21 4BT is based on the last census performed in the UK in 2021. I didn't want Raine to leave Sparrow Road. Grandpa Mac should've come live with them in the cottage! That would have been the perfect ending!

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For Scotland, 2011 data is shown (update coming soon, the Scottish census was delayed by a year unlike the rest of the UK). I thought Viktor would also have a bigger role, but I didn't really care for his character so it's fine that he didn't. As Raine settles into life in the big house, she makes friends with the artists; all interesting characters in their own right. "Suddenly Josie marched into the kitchen, her long, sure steps reminding me of the cowboys in the westerns Grandpa watched."Lillian is not quite right in the head even those she's sweeter than ice cream and the wise Diego is comic relief. The subplot where Raine starts to write and comes up with an imaginary friend based on an orphan, Lyman Chase, who drew a picture is an interesting way to show her emotional arc of figuring out what is going on with the adults around her, as well as, show the creative process. At first she struggles to write until Diego gives her the prompt, "What was or what could be..." When her imaginary character, Lyman, develops a voice of his own I wondered if this is what it is like for writers creating characters in their stories. Josie, another grown woman, involves Raine in a project to reunite the orphans of Sparrow Road, Viktor gives Raine a job watching a woman who is loosing her mental capacities, and everyone assumes that if Raine is busying working on "art" she will grow as a person. How about treating her like one?

It really is a beautiful book. The writing is beautiful, the setting is the best, the characters are pitch-perfect. I never wanted it to end! Lillian was great. Her spot at the orphanage was never fully revealed, but it was good enough. When she said after the Art Extravaganza that she needed a nap, I was POSITIVE she was going to die in her sleep. POSITIVE! It'd be an ultimate climax for the ending. My guess is that anticipated audience won't get the significance of the nearby town being named Comfort, but they will understand how a summer in the country, away from one's normal life, can help change people. One interesting point is that there are no real clues as to WHEN this story took place. No mention of cell phones, Internet, computers, etc. The main character wrote letters to her Grampa, and she spoke of missing TV and radio. Based on some of the terminology (five-and-dime) I'd guess it was the late 70's...? To the rear is a well maintained and mature private garden mostly laid to lawn and benefiting from a garage/ workshop.The part of the story with Gray was really touching and meaningful. He never really got to full "Dad" status, but I think he's getting there.