Belle Prater’s Boy
Belle Prater’s Boy by Ruth White is a children’s fiction novel published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) on March 26, 1996. This first edition spans 208 pages and is written in English. The story unfolds in Coal Station, Virginia, where twelve-year-old Gypsy seeks the truth about her Aunt Belle’s mysterious disappearance. As Gypsy navigates her own grief over her father’s death, she forms a friendship with her cousin Woodrow, who harbors secrets about his mother’s vanishing.
Readers will find a narrative that delves into themes of family, identity, and the complexities of understanding loss. As Gypsy and Woodrow’s friendship develops during their sixth-grade year, they confront their shared experiences and the different ways individuals cope with painful truths. The book intertwines elements of mystery and detective stories, offering insights into the characters’ emotional journeys while exploring the impact of family dynamics in their lives.
Official synopsis Publisher
Around 5:00 a.m. on a warm Sunday morning on October 1953, my Aunt Belle left her bed and vanished from the face of the earth.
Everyone in Coal Station, Virginia, has a theory about what happened to Belle Prater, but twelve-year-old Gypsy wants the facts, and when her cousin Woodrow, Aunt Belle’s son moves next door, she has her chance. Woodrow isn’t as forthcoming as Gypsy hopes, yet he becomes more than just a curiosity to her– during their sixth-grade year she finds that they have enough in common to be best friends. Even so, Gypsy is puzzled by Woodrow’s calm acceptance of his mother’s disappearance, especially since she herself has never gotten over her father’s death. When Woodrow finally reveals that he’s been keeping a secret about his mother, Gypsy begins to understand that there are different ways of finding the strength to face the truth, no matter how painful it is.
Belle Prater’s Boy is a 1996 Boston Globe – Horn Book Awards Honor Book for Fiction and a 1997 Newbery Honor Book.
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