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Summary
Summary
"What a wonderful, emotional ride! It's like the Ordinary People of the 21st century...such an achievement!" --Robyn Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Summer That Made Us
SEEING THE WORLD THROUGH ROSIE COLORED GLASSES
Just as opposites attract, they can also cause friction, and no one feels that friction more than Rex and Rosie's daughter, Willow. Rex is serious and unsentimental and tapes checklists of chores on Willow's bedroom door. Rosie is sparkling and enchanting and meets Willow in their treehouse in the middle of the night to feast on candy.
After Rex and Rosie's divorce, Willow finds herself navigating their two different worlds. She is clearly under the spell of her exciting, fun-loving mother. But as Rosie's behavior becomes more turbulent, the darker underpinnings of her manic love are revealed.
Rex had removed his Rosie colored glasses long ago, but will Willow do the same?
Whimsical, heartbreaking and uplifting, this is a novel about the many ways love can find you. Rosie Colored Glasses triumphs with the most endearing examples of how mothers and fathers and sons and daughters bend for one another.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Wolfson's moving debut, fifth grader Willow adores her free-spirited mother Rosie, who breaks her out of school for spontaneous outings and treats her and her little brother, Asher, to pizza nights and enthusiastic reenactments of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Their father, Rex, who by comparison is inflexible and strict, can't compete with Rosie's freewheeling personality, and Willow, who is bullied at school for her clumsiness and her kinky, wild hair, craves Rosie's love. But as Rosie's behavior shifts from goofy and fun to increasingly erratic, her addiction to prescription drugs puts her children in danger, and Rex, brokenhearted, insists she get help, setting off a tragic series of events. Wolfson intertwines Willow's story with the tale of Rex and Rosie's unusual courtship 12 years prior and the fierce love between them that eventually, and inevitably, gives way to divorce. Willow's pain amid the push and pull of her parents is palpable, and, following the divorce, Rex realizes that he must change in order to save his family. Wolfson's novel about the devastating effects of mental illness and prescription drug addiction is, at times, overly earnest, but the hopeful message about love's transformative power will resonate with readers. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Wolfson's semiautobiographical, emotionally raw story will have readers reaching for the nearest hankie. Eleven-year-old Willow can't help but love her mother, Rosie, with her spontaneous whimsy, her life full of color and music, and a way of making her children feel special when they stay with her. Willow's dad's house is full of rules and lists and a distinct lack of fun, and Willow makes it clear that she'd much rather be with Rosie than Rex. How could Willow know what lies behind Rosie's disappearances and erratic behavior, behind Rex's desperate attempts at structure and frequent rescuing of Willow and her brother from Rosie's house? But Rosie and Rex had their own love story once, one that neither could have imagined, given how different they are. Wolfson alternates between their story and Willow's, two periods of time racing together until they meet in Willow's understanding that her perception of her parents may not match the reality. While sadness hides behind the beautiful language, the idea that children see their parents through rose-colored glasses will resonate with readers beyond the last page.--Babiasz, Tracy Copyright 2018 Booklist
Library Journal Review
DEBUT Wolfson turns to the story of her own childhood and the tragic death of her mother in this first novel. Uptight Rex and carefree Rosie fell in love in New York, then 12 years later, their ten-year-old daughter Willow is navigating between the houses and lives of her divorced parents. She always sides with Rosie, who treats her children as miniature adults for fun, such as when the kids stay up all night to dance to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Willow is increasingly troubled; she has worn the same set of clothes for years, wets her bed, and doesn't have any friends at school, but she doesn't recognize all is not well until Rosie's bouts of depression and Vicodin abuse lead her to more dangerous acts. Wolfson takes the reader into the heart of a frightened girl and shows a mother who adores her children but cannot give them what they need. VERDICT This title demonstrates the power and limitations of love and the ability of family to heal. Will appeal to readers who appreciate compelling tearjerkers without simple happy endings. [See Prepub Alert, 8/28/17.]-Jan Marry, Lanexa, VA © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
