Reviews for Tending to Grace....

2006 Winner of the ALA - Schneider Family Book Award

2004 Top Ten New Voices for Youth by the American Library Association's Booklist

ê Unanimous selection "Best Books for Young Adults 2005," by the American Library Association YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) .  Read more...

ê Booklist - Starred Review. 

"...this quiet, beautiful first novel makes the search for home a searing drama"

ê School Library Journal - Starred Review. 

"...a novel that poetically portrays the human potential to fly after emerging from a cocoon of neglect." 

The Providence Sunday Journal

"This fine first novel... is billed as a young adult novel, but I read it without knowing that, and enjoyed it immensely. It is Fusco's triumph to make what could have been a sticky-sweet narrative into a tart and dry-eyed tale of gradual  grace and personal salvation." Read more...

Worcester (MA) Telegram & Gazette

"Overcoming adversity with ‘Grace’" Read more...

Publisher's Weekly

"...an incisive portrait of a bright and complex teenager who overcomes emotional and material impoverishment"

Motif - "Embracing Rhode Island's Cultural Community"

"Perhaps the most wonderful aspect of Tending to Grace is Fusco's choice to create a character at the nadir position who helps seemingly more fortunate characters reclaim a sense of worth."

The Denver Post

"...a stunning story" Read more...

VOYA - Voice of Youth Advocates

"Fusco's poetic prose reveals developed characters, poignant understatement-think minimalist Voigt or Bridgers."Read more...

Kirkus Reviews

"Well-chosen imagery about plants and even about clotheslines, and the recurring challenge of saying her own name despite stuttering, reflect the changes in Cornelia's sense of self. Her struggles and emotions draw the reader into this quiet story that reaches a sad but hopeful conclusion. " Read more...

Richie's Picks: Great Books for Children and Young Adults  :

"Kimberly Newton Fusco's fine (as in china) use of language makes this book a pleasure to read and to read aloud ... an exceptional middle school read ... There are a bunch of memorable (and award-winning) stories that feature adolescent girls going to live with grandmothers or grandmother-types. Add TENDING TO GRACE to the cream of this intergenerational YA crop." Read more...

BWI Public Library Specialists: "Staff Picks"  :

"Readers will appreciate the compact writing style, the characters, the descriptions of living in the country, and seeing Cornelia come to grips with a problem." Read more...

Chester County Book & Music

"Composed in lyrical and deeply honest prose, this timeless debut novel is perfect for all teens beginning the journey to self-acceptance." Read more...