Saint Training
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
Mary Clare is on the lookout for a miracle. Mary Clare O’Brian is determined to be a saint when she grows up (the halo will help cover her frizzy hair). But lately none of her prayers seem to be working the way she wants them to: her mother is losing her faith, her parents can’t pay all the bills, and her brother receives a draft notice for the war in Vietnam. Mary Clare has a plan to help, but it just doesn’t seem to be working. How is she supposed to become a saint when her world is falling apart? Dear Mother Superior, My name is Mary Clare O'Brian and I am in sixth grade. I would like to join the convent right after 8th grade before I start liking boys too much. I’m already having problems with boys liking me. Gregory in my class throws spitballs at me and told my best friend he likes me. I haven’t told him that I want to be God’s bride yet. Do you think I should?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The politically fervent period of the late 1960s, with its dramatic upheavals in family, gender, social, and religious conventions, comes to life with pathos and humor in this powerful debut. Sixth-grader Mary Clare, the fourth of nine children in a devout Catholic family in smalltown Wisconsin, works diligently to help her harried parents maintain order in their chaotic household. Striving for sainthood and the imagined orderliness of convent life, she corresponds with a mother superior, whose job she desires, because "I'm a leader, not a follower." While witnessing her mother's despair at yet another pregnancy, her older brothers' conflicts regarding the Vietnam War (one wants to enlist early, another applies for conscientious objector status), and adults' varied opinions on religious leaders' engagement in the civil rights movement, Mary Clare also struggles for social acceptance among Protestant neighbors, and at school, where she feels shamed for being poor. Ingenuity, keen observational skills, and compassion grant this feisty protagonist growing insight into the complex choices faced by those she loves, as well as her own character and calling. Ages 9 12.
