The Rosemary Spell
Page 18
“And I don’t get my dad,” I say.
There is loss in life, and the best we can do is face it head on and meet it with grace and remembrance.
I walk with Adam and Shelby out into warming air, and it strikes me that growing older is like the V tree. It has a solid foundation, but it branches out, strong arms reaching up and away.
Thanks
Thank you to the many wise people who read versions of this book and helped me see how to be a better writer, especially Jordan Sonnenblick, Joe Scapellato, Debbie Ware, Jo Fleming, Elisabeth Guerrero, Ghislaine McDayter, Shelby Radcliffe, Dave Kristjanson-Gural, and Robert Rosenberg. Very special thanks to Pam Brunskill and Maria Hebert-Leiter, my wonderful critique partners, for careful reading, keen insight, and enthusiasm.
Thank you to the late George Nicholson for believing in my writing.
Thank you to Dinah Stevenson for knowing when less is more.
Thank you to Pa and SM for a lifetime of unwavering support, to Jordi for being my best advocate, and to Elijah, Aley, and Thea—my muses—for listening and love.
Most of all, thank you to Kristen, for being my best friend since third grade and for always knowing what I should read next.
Rosemary’s Bookshelf
ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND
by Lewis Carroll (1865)
Some people consider this the first book written for the purpose of entertaining children, as opposed to teaching them lessons of one kind or another. Alice falls down a rabbit hole into a nonsensical world where reality is comically and a little uncomfortably altered.
CORALINE
by Neil Gaiman (2002)
Gaiman tells the story of a girl who discovers a mirror world behind a door in her living room. The other house she finds there is like her house but with some chilling differences. The other parents are eager to keep Coraline in their world. Careful readers might notice that Coraline is, in some ways, a retelling of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
THE GIVER
by Lois Lowry (1993)
Set in a dystopian future that values sameness, The Giver is about the vital role of memory in society. As he turns twelve, Jonas comes to recognize the ways in which his community suffers because people have turned away from difference and from the lessons of the past.
THE GOLDEN COMPASS
by Philip Pullman (1995)
The first book in Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy was published in the UK as Northern Lights. It tells the story of a brave young girl destined to play a central role in a battle that will change the world. Lyra is exceptionally gifted at telling stories and has a special ability to read the truth.
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
by J. K. Rowling (1998)
In the second book in the famous Harry Potter series, Harry finds an old diary that reveals secret information about Hogwarts. When Harry writes in the book, the book seems to write back.
SEVEN-DAY MAGIC
by Edward Eager (1962)
Five children find a mysterious old book in the library. The book can be checked out for only seven days, but in that time, it creates magical adventures for its readers.
THE STORY OF THE AMULET
by E. Nesbit (1906)
This is the final book in a trilogy that features a family of children who have a series of magical adventures. They find an ancient Egyptian amulet that allows them to travel in time.
WHEN YOU REACH ME
by Rebecca Stead (2009)
In this novel, set in 1979, the main character uses her favorite book, A Wrinkle in Time, to make sense of confusing events in her life. Her best friend is ignoring her, her relationship with her mom is changing, and she receives a series of mysterious notes from a person who seems able to predict the future.
A WRINKLE IN TIME
by Madeleine L’Engle (1962)
Twelve-year-old Meg Murry journeys across space-time to rescue her father from imprisonment on a distant planet. She relies on her friend and her younger brother, but most of all, she relies on her own faults.
PELAGIA’S BOATS
by Virginia Zimmerman (date unknown)
This book doesn’t exist yet, though I intend to write it someday. It will be based on a story I used to tell my children, featuring a heroine called Pelagia who saves the people of her dying island home.
About the Author
VIRGINIA ZIMMERMAN is a professor of English at Bucknell University, specializing in Victorian literature and children’s literature. Her previous novel was published in Spain; The Rosemary Spell is her American fiction debut. Of the inspiration for The Rosemary Spell, she says, “When I moved into my house, there was a cupboard, just like Rosemary’s, that wouldn’t open. I was enchanted by fantasies of what might be locked up in there. When I finally got it open, it was empty, but The Rosemary Spell came out of that cupboard, so there was magic in there after all.”
The cupboard is in a house in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, where Virginia lives with her family and a little white dog.