A Corner of the Universe

A Corner of the Universe is a young adult's novel by Ann M. Martin, published in 2002. It won a Newbery Honor Award in 2003.^[1]

Characters

A few major characters in the story are Hattie Owen, an 11- to 12-year-old girl, and protagonist Adam Mercer, Hattie's 21-year-old uncle that turns Hattie's life around.

Plot

The summer of 1960 is a season that the novel's narrator and protagonist, 11-almost-12-year-old Hattie Owen, expects to be as comfortably uneventful as all the others in her small, tranquil town of Millerton, PA. She's looking forward to helping her mother run their boarding house with its eccentric adult boarders, painting alongside her father, and reading.

Then 21-year-old Uncle Adam, whom Hattie never knew existed, comes to stay with Hattie's grandparents (Nana and Papa), because his "school," an institution for the mentally disabled, has closed down permanently. Adam then visits Hattie often.

Hattie then meets Leila, the daughter of the carnival owners that come to town. However, after Adam breaks down on the Ferris wheel, moves away with the carnival.

Also, people come to stay in Hattie's boarding house. A woman with a son and a daughter just suffered her husband's death, and moved away, but needed to stay with them because she needed to go job hunting.

Soon, various events occur and start to "shake up" the summer Hattie had planned. Both Adam and Hattie get to know each other, but when Adam commits suicide leads to everyone - including Hattie - realizing that no one really knew and understood Adam as much as he needed everyone to.

Sources cited

1. ↑ "2003 Newbery Medal and Honor Books". ala.org. Association for Library Service to Children. Retrieved August 8, 2012.