Catherine Bateson

Bee (Beatrice) isn’t too happy that her father’s new girlfriend Jazzi is spending so much time with them. Bee talks back to Jazzi and insists to her father that they have their own father/daughter time together. It’s not until Bee goes with Jazzi to visit Harley, Jazzi’s mentally disabled brother and until now a secret, that Bee begins to slowly accept her. Lib notes: There is a scene where Bee walks into her father’s bedroom and Jazzi screams and pulls up the sheets, plus the scenes where Bee is disgusted by the affection and kissing. But nothing graphic. Some may object to Jazzi sleeping over.… (altro)

In this story of love and loss and acceptance, the painted love letters of the title are two coffins painted with love by an artist dying of lung cancer after a lifetime of smoking.

This is not a story of doctors, cold hospital corridors and bedside vigils. Chrissie, the daughter, tells the story of a family turned upside-down, and of the ways the members intimately connected with death and dying handle it: Dave (Dad), Mum, Nan, and in particular, Chrissie.

A book of courage and hope, Painted Love Letters has an authentic feel to it and lingers with the reader long after the final page. It is beautifully crafted and an art motif runs throughout, enlivening and brightening it.

Honour CBCA, Book of the Year: Older Readers, 2003
Very short and easy to read.… (altro)