Product Description

Upset by a recent event at school, Brent sets out to kill himself, but when he accidentally kills an innocent bystander with his car, he is forced to make reparations to her parents by taking a cross-country journey setting up whirligigs in her memory. Reprint. AB. SLJ.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #184876 in Books
• Published on: 1999-11-09
• Released on: 1999-11-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 144 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780440228356
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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From Publishers Weekly
After a drunk teenage boy kills a girl while driving, his life is transformed by fulfilling a request of the girl's mother. PW's boxed review called Fleischman's novel "stellar." Ages 12-up. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up?Vapid, self-absorbed, status-conscious Brent attends a party at which he suffers a very public rejection by the girl he's been lusting after. Drunk, furious, and unable to deal with his humiliation, he tries to kill himself on the trip home, but his reckless driving kills a stranger instead: a lovely, talented, motivated, high school senior. Though Brent's parents would like to minimize his sense of guilt and his punishment, Brent himself is tormented and longs to make some restitution. The court arranges a meeting with his victim's mother, who asks Brent to "make four whirligigs, of a girl that looks like Lea....Then set them up in Washington, California, Florida, and Maine?the corners of the United States." The brilliant Fleischman has written a beautifully layered, marvelously constructed novel that spins and circles in numerous directions. Readers follow the creation of each whirligig and its impact on one or more observer: a young violinist, a Holocaust survivor, a Puerto Rican street-sweeper. They also follow Brent's journey by bus to the corners of the country and of his journey within himself to find a balance between recrimination and reconciliation. Though Whirligig has linear movement, it impresses readers more with its sense of interconnected spiraling. Brent's skill and inventiveness grow with each whirligig. The emotional responses of those who see his creations likewise vary: some find joy, some peace, some equilibrium. There is enormous vitality and hopefulness expressed in this brief masterwork.?Miriam Lang Budin, Mt. Kisco Public Library, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 7^-10. A nonlinear narrative spun out from actions, both good and bad, and their ever-circling consequences, Fleischman's latest is an unusual construction, its parts fitting together in delicate balance, much like those of the whirligig of the title and the story's central metaphor. Driving home drunk from a party, Brent tries to kill himself by letting go of the wheel but instead kills another teenager. Her grief-stricken mother doesn't seek revenge; rather, she hands Brent a 45-day Greyhound bus pass and tells him that, since her daughter Lea loved whirligigs, she wants Brent to build four, each with Lea's face and name, and plant them in the four corners of the U.S.--Washington State, California, Maine, and Florida. Brent's journey of expiation across that summer alternates with beautiful, quicksilver stories, told in different time frames, of how the whirligigs that he builds and leaves behind profoundly affect the lives of a too-studious eighth-grader and her best friend in Maine, a Puerto Rican street sweeper in Miami, an adopted Korean boy in Washington, and a teenager and her dying grandmother in San Diego. Brent never becomes quite real; his struggle with tools, directions, and sorrow sometimes is pulled under by its own weight, but the story as a whole and the inner sense of self that Brent achieves through his experiences are mesmerizing. The language of the whirligig stories gleams and soars: a metaphor of movement, dance, laughter, and irrepressible life. Like the ritual journey in Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons (1994) and Uncle Ob's whirligigs in Cynthia Rylant's Missing May (1992), loss, fear, and guilt in Fleischman's story find a universally recognizable shape. GraceAnne A. DeCandido

Customer Reviews

Piece by Piece, A Beautiful Read
Brent Bishop can never fit in, so he tries to kill himself. Driving home from a party where he is totally humiliated, Brent deliberately crashes his car. He lives, but takes another's life. A young woman, Lea, dies in the accident, & her mother wants only one thing from Brent. He must build four whirligigs in Lea's likeness & place them in the four corners of the United States.

Brent makes his whirligigs much like Paul Fleischman constructs his heartwarming novel. The story moves seamlessly back & forth between Brent's journey to piece his life together, & glimpses into the lives of the fragile people who encounter each whirligig. Their stories in each simple chapter build a satisfying & uplifting whole, just like Brent's creations. This tale of redemption & restoration is a thing of beauty that will bring any reader joy.

incredible story!
As an English teacher, I am always looking for books that will hook my students. This is definitely one of them! I was entranced with this story from the first page. There are so many wonderful subplots in addition to the story of Brent. Everyone can learn valuable lessons by reading this book.

A Harsh Reality of Decision-Making
"We can never know all the consequences of our acts." What a statement! These consequences can be good or bad--it all depends on the direction we choose throughout our lives. Through a tragic accident, Brent Bishop, found these consequences to be an unwanted invitation to the realities of life. Although Whiligig has a heavy lesson for us all, you will find it to be an enjoyable read. It is fast paced and allows you to look at the effects of one decision and how it changes the lives of many different people.

Brent Bishop's family has moved to Chicago because of his father's new job. With his father's increase in salary, Brent is able to go to a private school for the first time. But his new high school does not welcome Brent like he had hoped for. He found himself playing the all-to-familiar game of tyring to fit in with the popular crowd. One night at a party, Brent finds that fitting in with the popular crowd leaves him with the feeling of being rejected. Brent's feelings of rejection take him on a journey which meets a tragic fate.

It's through this tragedy that Brent is forced to find meaning in life. Brent finds forgiveness and a new hope for the future by traveling to the four corners of the country experimenting with his new skills in carpentry.

Sometimes some of the most important lessons are learned through the expense of a tragedy. Paul Fleischman gives us a chance to reflect on how our decisions in life can change us in a split second. But even when we make bad decisions, there is always a lesson to be learned and our lives can more forward. Fleischman also shows us the harsh reality that our decisions not only effect us as an individual but the decision effects the people around us.

This book is great for junior high students who are looking forward to going to high school. It is also good for high school students who are beginning to make life-changing decisions. Plus, there is a lesson on forgiveness for adults. A book is always good when it can target such a varied audience.