Eleven, Patricia Reilly Giff
Eleven, Patricia Reilly Giff
8 Rating(s)
List: $12.50 | Sale: $8.75
Club: $6.25

Eleven

Author: Patricia Reilly Giff

Narrator: Staci Snell

Unabridged: 3 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/08/2008


Synopsis

Who is Sam, and what do his strange dreams mean?

The shock of icy water as a boat crashes onto rocks feels real; so does the castle high above him that is almost hidden in the mists. And what about the number eleven woven into all those dreams?

The papers Sam finds in the locked box in the attic may hold the answers–if only he could read them. But to Sam, words are like spiders flexing their thin legs as they move across the page. Words are impossible. It’s wood that Sam understands, wood that he loves to shape and to build with.

Caroline, the new girl, who bursts into Sam’s classroom one day and warns him that she’s not there to stay, helps build a castle with him, and reads those papers. Together they set out to discover who Sam really is and where he belongs.

About The Author

Patricia Reilly Giff is the author of many beloved books for children. Several of her novels for older readers have been chosen as ALA Notable Books and ALA Best Books for Young Adults. They include Nory Ryan’s Song, a Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Honor Book for Fiction; and the Newbery Honor Books Lily’s Crossing and Pictures of Hollis Woods. Lily’s Crossing was also chosen as a Boston Globe—Horn Book Honor Book. Her most recent book is Water Street. All these titles are available on audio from Listening Library. Patricia Reilly Giff lives in Connecticut.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Brooke on April 12, 2008

Hmm. This would have been the perfect book to boolktalk: Sam has always lived with his loving, Grandpa Mack. Or has he? On the eve of his eleventh birthday, Sam sneaks into the attic in search of presents and stumbles across an old newspaper clipping. Sam has a learning disability which prevents him......more

Goodreads review by Lily on February 08, 2024

I love this author so I’ve read a good amount of her books; and plan to read many more)📚although, this is not one of my favorites that she wrote. I like the plot and the way she writes, lots of imagery, but it just wasn’t my favorite. I loved the character development of Caroline and Sam’s teachers.......more

Goodreads review by Jelinas on November 24, 2009

I’ve been reading a lot of mystery lately. I’ve probably read more mystery in the last month than I have in the rest of my life combined. And I think I like it. But this is my one caveat: if you’re going to promise me a mystery, then you’d darn well better deliver the goods. If you’re going to present......more

Goodreads review by Becky on June 12, 2008

On the eve of his 11th birthday, Sam sneaks into the attic to try to find his hidden birthday presents -- and finds a lot more than he bargained for. A mysterious collection of papers includes a newspaper clipping featuring a picture of him at age 3, along with the headline, "MISSING." Sam's comforta......more

Goodreads review by Spanish Springs Library on May 03, 2009

Snooping for birthday presents, eleven-year-old Sam MacKenzie stumbles upon a mystery; a locked box and a yellowed newspaper clipping. The younger Sam in the photograph is identified as Sam Bell. Sam has always had trouble reading so the only other word he can decipher is “missing”. He’s desperate t......more


Quotes

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, November 19, 2007:
"This intimate story realistically examines friendship, family secrets and the struggles of a learning-disability child trying to make sense fo the world."

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2007:
"An engrossing examination of a profound theme in the deft hands of a discerning author."

Interview, The New York Times: In the Region, February 3, 2008:
"Handling difficult subjects with sensitivity is Mrs. Giff’s specialty. If she has tried to drive home a single point in all her stories, it is that ordinary people are special — and that children, most of all, need to feel that way."


Awards

  • Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile Novel