A Corner of the Universe

Author:  Ann M. Martin
Title:  A Corner of the Universe
Illustrator:  n/a
Genre:  Realistic Fiction
SubGenre:  Children's Chapter book
Theme:  Coming of Age, Mental Illness
Primary & Secondary Characters:  Hattie Owen (Primary) & (Secondary)- Uncle Adam, Angel Valentine, Hattie's Mother and Father, Nana and Papa
Date of Publication:  2002
Award(s):  2003 Newberry Honor
Publisher:  Scholastic Inc.
Summary:  This is story about Hattie Owen, an almost 12 year old shy girl who is looking forward to an uneventful summer helping her parents run their boarding house. She has trouble making friends with children her age but is friends with the interesting adults who live in her parents boarding house. Then one day she meets her Uncle Adam who she never knew existed. He comes to stay with his parents, (her Nana and Papa) because his school closed down. Hattie learns from her parents that he has a mental illness. Hattie decides to befriends him even though her wealthy Nana and Papa are embarrassed by him and the other children call him a freak. Angel Valentine is a young woman who comes to stay at the boarding house and Adam begins to fantasize a relationship with her, which she is oblivious too. The ending is tragic but this would be a great book for students to read because it shows that people who are different can be accepted for who they are through Adam's character. That is an important concept for students to understand and this book would be perfect to teach that to students.