Mary Alice Kruesi
Kruesi, Mary Alice - SECOND STAR TO THE RIGHT (Avon - 4/99) (3)
PETER PAN comes to life once again in this story about a lonely man, an abused woman and her two children, and an elderly lady who touches their lives with magic.
Dr. Jack Graham, a physicist living in London, was abandoned as a child and adopted and raised in America. Unaware of the identity of his biological parents, his only memories of them are vague and haunting. Faye O'Neill and her two children, Maddie and Tom, reside in the flat above his. They are victims of an abusive ex-husband and father, and the children are very timid and wary of strangers, especially young Tom who refuses to speak in public.
After Jack notices Maddie and Tom playing in the garden, his friendly attempts to get to know them fail until he offers to fix the garden fountain—a sculpture that resembles Peter Pan—while they plant flowers. It isn't until the physicist introduces the children to astronomy that Tom becomes more confident. Jack's relationship with Faye also gets off to a slow start...as you would expect, considering her traumatic past. But when Tom finds a book about Peter Pan and the family meets "Crazy Wendy," their lives are forever changed. As the elderly woman reads from the book, the children listen in fascination and gradually become "normal" once again.
The scenes between Maddie, Tom and Wendy brought a lump to my throat several times. Another tender moment comes when the children finally accept the fact that Jack would never harm them. Although SECOND STAR TO THE RIGHT has a romantic aspect to it, it leans more toward fantasy than romance. I enjoyed the fairy tale theme; however, I found the story itself to be rather slow moving. I was easily distracted and unable to really get into the book and "feel" the characters and their emotions. Even so, the author's love for fantasy shines through and the book has a wonderful sense of innocence and charm that will appeal to readers. ~Pat Cavender for Bookbug on the Web
Kruesi, Mary Alice - SECOND STAR TO THE RIGHT (Avon - 4/99) (2+)
Escaping an abusive ex-husband, American Faye O'Neill rents a London flat, and along with her two children, Maddie and Tom, begins a new life. Her family is about to become acquainted with their unusual neighbors: Jack Graham, a physics research professor from America; and ninety-something Wendy Forrester, also known as "Crazy Wendy" because of her fanciful storytelling.
Maddie and Tom are playing in the garden when they meet Jack, who tries to make friends with the cautious, quiet children. Maddie quickly warms up to him, but little Tom hides and doesn't say a word. The children decide to clean up the overgrown garden, and Jack promises to repair the fountain, which has a Peter Pan-like statue. Faye is reluctant to get to know Jack because he stirs feelings in her that she can't trust, but he always makes her feel good about herself, and she can't resist his overtures of friendship. Then the O'Neills meet Miss Wendy...and their lives are never the same again. She speaks of her "lost boys," and through her magic personality, she soon has Tom and Maddie acting like normal children.
Jack, too, is a lost and lonely soul. He begins to fall for Faye and her children and tries to bolster their self-esteem and confidence. But he doesn't believe he would be good husband and father material because of his unknown past. He knows that at a young age he was placed in a London orphanage, but he has no recollection of his birth parents other than sketchy patches of memory. After he hires a private detective to do some investigating, Jack learns that Miss Wendy was the founder of the orphanage where he lived until his adoption. He is curious about this woman who seems to be obsessed with Peter Pan. Is she the key to his past? And what about that tiny ball of light, accompanied by the sound of bells, that is often seen flitting around the house and garden at night?
As is evident by the title, SECOND STAR ON THE RIGHT is woven around the tale of Peter Pan. With a touch of fantasy, Ms. Kruesi has written a whimsical story about people rediscovering themselves and finding hope and love in their lives. Even though the main characters are realistically portrayed and the children are adorable, I found the storytelling to be uneven at times and a bit slow paced. Also, some of the magic may have been lost on me because Peter Pan was not one of my favorite stories as a child. I prefer the author's earlier novel, GIRL IN THE MIRROR (written as Mary Alice Monroe). ~Sharon Laird for Bookbug on the Web
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