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Article: Short Takes
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- October 11, 2009
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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"Most people are far away. Worse than stars. Outer space is right
here, when you think about it. Outer space is your living room. You
practically have to be an astronaut to live in a house on Earth."
This is the pitch-perfect voice of 13-year-old Mathilda Savitch.
Mathilda is direct, smart, and savvy but also anxious, confused, and
clueless.
The clues she is missing are to her older sister's death. Sixteen-
year-old Helene was killed by a train. Perhaps she was pushed;
perhaps she jumped. Mathilda both wants to know and doesn't want to
know, and in the end, having the facts gets her no closer to
understanding Helene's mind or heart. Ma and Da, who try to provide
comfort but are clearly in ...