Cover Image

Just like that

by Schmidt, Gary D.,

Format: Print Book 2021
Availability: Available at 24 Libraries 25 of 25 copies

Available (25)
Location Collection Call #
Baldwin Borough Library Juvenile Fiction J SCH
Location  Baldwin Borough Library
 
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Bethel Park Public Library Juvenile Fiction juv SCHMIDT Gary
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Brentwood Library Juvenile Fiction JUV Schmidt
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CLP - Allegheny Children's Fiction Collection j FICTION Schmidt
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CLP - Brookline Children's Fiction Collection j FICTION Schmidt
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CLP - East Liberty Children's Fiction Collection j FICTION Schmidt
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CLP - Main Library First Floor Children's Department - Fiction Collection j FICTION Schmidt
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Carnegie Library of McKeesport Children Fiction J SCH
Location  Carnegie Library of McKeesport
 
Collection  Children Fiction
 
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Cooper-Siegel Community Library Children's Fiction j FIC SCH
Location  Cooper-Siegel Community Library
 
Collection  Children's Fiction
 
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Coraopolis Memorial Library Juvenile Fiction J FIC SCH
Location  Coraopolis Memorial Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
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Green Tree Public Library Children's JF SCH
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Collection  Children's
 
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Jefferson Hills Public Library Juv Fiction J FIC SCH
Location  Jefferson Hills Public Library
 
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Monroeville Public Library Juvenile Fiction J SCHMIDT
Location  Monroeville Public Library
 
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Mt. Lebanon Public Library Children's Fiction j SCHMIDT Gary
Location  Mt. Lebanon Public Library
 
Collection  Children's Fiction
 
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Northern Tier Regional Library Young Adult Fiction YA FIC SCHMI
Location  Northern Tier Regional Library
 
Collection  Young Adult Fiction
 
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Northland Public Library Children's Fiction J FIC SCHMIDT
Location  Northland Public Library
 
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Pleasant Hills Public Library Juvenile Juv Fic Sch
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Plum Community Library Juvenile Fiction J FIC SCH
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Robinson Library Juvenile Fiction J FIC SCHMIDT
Location  Robinson Library
 
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Sewickley Public Library Young Adult Fiction YA SCH
Location  Sewickley Public Library
 
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Sewickley Public Library Juvenile Fiction J F SCH
Location  Sewickley Public Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
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Shaler North Hills Library Juvenile Fiction j SCHMIDT
Location  Shaler North Hills Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  j SCHMIDT
 
 
South Fayette Township Library Juvenile Fiction J FIC SCH
Location  South Fayette Township Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Call Number  J FIC SCH
 
 
Upper St. Clair Township Library Juvenile Fiction JUV SCHMIDT
Location  Upper St. Clair Township Library
 
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Western Allegheny Community Library Middle Grade MG SCHMIDT
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Collection  Middle Grade
 
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On Order (1)
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Penn Hills Library Juvenile Fiction IN PROCESSING
Location  Penn Hills Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Fiction
 
Status  IN PROCESSING
 
 

Summary

In this unforgettable, gently humorous novel, New York Times bestselling, award-winning author Gary D. Schmidt tells two poignant, linked stories: that of a grieving girl and a boy trying to escape his violent past.

Meryl Lee Kowalski is sent to a girls' boarding school in fall 1968 to move on from her grief over a close friend's death. Matt Coffin is on the run from a criminal gang, afraid that anyone he cares about is at risk. When their paths cross, the pair's connection begins to shape each of their lives. As their loneliness is gradually replaced by friendship, Meryl Lee finds unexpected allies and a sense of purpose, while Matt finds a new family and hope for the future.

This riveting novel is Wednesday Wars author Gary D. Schmidt at his best, weaving in powerful themes and raising tears and laughter in equal measure.

"Set in 1968, Just Like That is part of an outstanding series that began with Newbery Honor recipient The Wednesday Wars and continued in Okay for Now, a finalist for the National Book Award. While each book can be read separately, overlapping characters and themes enrich each other in understated and often profound ways." (BookPage starred review)

Published Reviews
Booklist Review: "It's the summer of 1968. The accidental death of a dear friend has blindsided Meryl Lee, and grief still overwhelms her at times. Unable to face her old school for eighth grade, she enrolls at St. Elene's Preparatory Academy in Maine, where she initially feels isolated from her pretentious roommate and other classmates. From the start, she's intrigued by the strong, enigmatic headmistress, Dr. MacKnockater, who seems to understand so much and whose opening address unexpectedly mesmerizes and challenges Meryl Lee. Slowly, she begins to find her way and tentatively makes friends while navigating boarding-school life under the watchful eyes of her inscrutable teachers. Meanwhile, Matt has arrived in the area. A good-hearted, vulnerable boy on the run from his sometimes-violent past, he's befriended by Dr. MacKnockater, who takes him in and gradually gains his trust. The Vietnam War isn't just the story's backdrop, but an inescapable, unsettling element of the times, painfully affecting several characters. The well-phrased writing is understated, endlessly engaging, and sometimes suspenseful or amusing. While fans of Schmidt's The Wednesday Wars (2007) and Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (2004) will find links to both stories here, this well-constructed novel, with its beautifully interwoven strands of narrative, stands on its own. An unforgettable story of loss, healing, and finding one's way."
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "In 1968, the summer before her eighth grade year, Meryl Lee Kowalski's best friend dies suddenly, and Meryl Lee becomes enveloped in grief and depression--which she calls "the Blank"--on Long Island. To give her a new start, her parents enroll her in a girls' prep school on the coast of Maine; the headmistress, Dr. MacKnockater, promises to help Meryl Lee become "accomplished." As the school year progresses and she fends off the encroaching Blank, Meryl Lee also faces classist teachers and snobby classmates while discovering a social conscience around the treatment of the school's kitchen staff. A secondary arc follows Matt Coffin, whom Dr. MacKnockater finds living in an oceanside shack and whose dark past is never far behind. The heaviness of Matt's story line at times eclipses Meryl Lee's, but episodes of slapstick humor, told in Schmidt's (Pay Attention, Carter Jones) trademark wry deadpan, are woven throughout (a disastrous formal luncheon hosting Vice-President Spiro Agnew is a standout). Though overlong and occasionally plodding, Schmidt's rich, humane tale rewards persistent readers with moments of hilarity and heartache in a skillfully rendered Vietnam War--era boarding school setting. Ages 10--up. (Jan.)"
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Additional Information
Subjects Grief -- Juvenile fiction.
Death -- Juvenile fiction.
Preparatory schools -- Juvenile fiction.
Gangs -- Juvenile fiction.
Theft -- Juvenile fiction.
Social classes -- Juvenile fiction.
Friendship -- Juvenile fiction.
Loneliness -- Juvenile fiction.
Teenagers -- Juvenile fiction.
Grief -- Fiction.
Death -- Fiction.
Preparatory schools -- Fiction.
Gangs -- Fiction.
Stealing -- Fiction.
Social classes -- Fiction.
Friendship -- Fiction.
Loneliness -- Fiction.
Teenagers -- Fiction.
Maine -- Juvenile fiction.
Maine -- Fiction.
Bildungsromans.
Publisher Boston :Clarion Books,2021
Language English
Description 387 pages ; 22 cm
ISBN 9780544084773
0544084772
Other Classic View