Foreverland

Gr 5-7–Margaret O’Shea has been having a really bad year. Her best friend Priya abandoned her the moment middle school started, her sister practically lives at the pool and spends all of her time with her new boyfriend Hugh, and her parents are splitting up. When her life gets to be just too much, Margaret decides to take a break from reality and run away to the amusement park Foreverland. It represents the better times in Margaret’s life and is populated by one boy named Jaime. When Margaret almost gets caught on her very first day living in the park, she is saved by the mysterious boy who seems to have also run away from reality. Taking place over the course of just a few days, this title explores themes of loss and divorce through a story line loosely based on Peter Pan. Margaret decides to run away from her problems instead of facing them head-on. She slowly realizes she needs to come to terms with her reality as she maneuvers through Foreverland. Margaret’s family may be forever changed when she returns to the city, but she realizes that at least she has parents to go home to.