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    Greetings from Nowhere
    Greetings from Nowhere
    Greetings from Nowhere
    Ebook182 pages1 hour

    Greetings from Nowhere

    By Barbara O'Connor

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    About this ebook

    Aggie isn't expecting visitors at the Sleepy Time Motel in the Great Smoky Mountains. Since her husband died, she is all alone with her cat, Ugly, and keeping up with the bills and repairs has become next to impossible. The pool is empty, the garden is overgrown, and not a soul has come to stay in nearly three months. When she reluctantly places a For Sale ad in the newspaper, Aggie doesn't know that Kirby and his mom will need a room when their car breaks down on the way to Kirby's new reform school. Or that Loretta and her parents will arrive in her dad's plumbing company van on a trip meant to honor the memory of Loretta's birth mother. Or that Clyde Dover will answer the For Sale ad in such a hurry and move in with his daughter, Willow, looking for a brand-new life to replace the one that was fractured when Willow's mom left. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all is that Aggie and her guests find just the friends they need at the shabby motel in the middle of nowhere.

    From an author long recognized for her true Southern voice and heartfelt characters, Greetings from Nowhere, with its four intertwining stories, brings Barbara O'Connor's work to a new level of sophistication.

    This title has Common Core connections.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateMar 18, 2008
    ISBN9781466809307
    Greetings from Nowhere
    Author

    Barbara O'Connor

    Barbara O’Connor was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. She has written many award-winning books for children, including the New York Times–bestselling Wish, Wonderland, How to Steal a Dog, Greetings from Nowhere, and Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia.

    Read more from Barbara O'connor

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    Reviews for Greetings from Nowhere

    4/5

    71 ratings10 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Although this is a fictional story, the characters experienced real life events that aren't always easy to face.
    • 5/5
      It was a great book.Ya’ll should read it. I loved it
    • 5/5
      This book left me thinking, "I want!" I want the world to be as good as it is in 'Greetings from Nowhere'. In this book, people meet up at a sleepy hotel and become friends. Everyone's life is changed, just a little bit, and for the better. I feel, having read this book, that the world is a good place, and for me to feel the goodness, all it takes is for me to put forth a little bit of niceness. Not so much that it's uncomfortable and awkward, but just a little bit, and then look around and let my eyes see all the beauty around. I want to read more books about these nice people.
    • 3/5
      Ever since her husband died, Aggie Duncan has had trouble keeping up the Sleepy Time Motel. Reluctantly, she decides that it may be time to sell. That decision will bring Willow and her father to the motel in search of a fresh start -- or at least Willow's father is in search of a fresh start. Willow is missing her old life: friends, house, and the mother who left her and her father behind. Loretta, a girl just a little younger than Willow, also finds herself at the Sleepy Time motel. She's on a personal quest, with the blessing of her adoptive family, to learn a little more about her recently deceased biological mother. Kirby and his mother are also guests at the motel, and unwilling ones at that, since they were on their way to Kirby's new military school when their car broke down. Kirby's been in trouble for a long time now, and this school is his last chance. Can he find a different pattern of behavior, or will he slip back into old habits?This book is told in alternating perspectives, shifting back and forth between the children and adults staying at the motel. The narratives bump up against each other and weave loosely together as the characters interact and learn about each other and themselves. I never felt very connected to any of them, nor did I care strongly about the outcome of the story. That's not to say that it wasn't a pleasant book, just not one that is going to grab hold of the reader's imagination. The story has a strong sense of place, and since it's a place I'm familiar with, I was able to picture it clearly. Readers looking for this sort of gentle summer story may enjoy this book, though those looking for adventure and excitement should probably look elsewhere.
    • 4/5
      I borrowed this book from the elementary school library. The cast of characters consists of 8 people whose lives become intertwined for a period of time. The story lines are wrapped up nicely but not too perfectly, as one character never leaves her grumpy resentment behind for the freshness of new-found friendships.
    • 5/5
      Great book. Four stories told around a falling down motel in the Smoky Mountains. Easy to read as it is so well written. Author a favorite because she develops her characters into believable people.
    • 5/5
      Fantastic Quick read. Each chapter follows a different character: Aggie, Willow, Kirby, and Loretta. All of their unique personalities come to life and they mesh with one another to help them figure out about themselves, their past, and how to move on. You'll laugh with Loretta, cry with Aggie, become frustrated with Kirby and long for Willow. All of this occurs at a little hotel that is in shambles, and through building it back to its greatness, the characters re-build themselves.
    • 5/5
      Great characters in this story! Each character has his or her own problems to deal with, but connecting with one another they help each other. Each character has experienced loss in some way and must learn to cope with it. I just the conversations between the lady who owns the motel and her cat. Great humor!
    • 4/5
      For Sale: Sleepy Time Motel. Shawnee Gap, North Carolina. Ten lovely rooms with mountain view. Swimming pool. Tomato Garden. For sale by owner, Agnes Duncan. While most children's books start off with a child protagonist, Greetings from Nowhere kicks off by introducing Aggie, a lonesome and elderly widow who runs a worn-down motel in the Great Smoky Mountains. She spends most of her time gardening, wistfully remembering her husband, and talking to her cat, Ugly. The motel hasn't had guests in months, but just when Aggie decides to sell it, various characters show up to stay. Troubled Kirby and his frazzled mother are on their way to reform school. Loretta and her adoptive parents stop by on a quest to find out more about her birth mother. And Willow and her father are buying the hotel in hopes to rebuilt their life without her mother, who has left them. While these various characters initially seem to have little in common, it turns out they have much to give each other - acceptance, friendship, and hope. This is a sweet story, but not overly sappy, full of rich character development, warmth, and subtle humor. Highly recommended for grades 4-6.
    • 5/5
      Addie owns the motel and is selling it now that her beloved Harold has died. Willow's dad is buying the motel and uprooting Willow to start a new life. Kirby is a bad kid who only wants to be noticed. Loretta is searching for the other mother she never knew. These four characters come together at the Sleepy Time Motel and they'll change each others' lives forever. I loved this book. It has great, great characters and an unforgettable setting. It was unspeakably sad and terrifically hopeful. Highly recommended.

    Book preview

    Greetings from Nowhere - Barbara O'Connor

    e9781466809307_cover.jpge9781466809307_i0001.jpg

    Table of Contents

    Title Page

    Aggie

    Willow

    Loretta

    Kirby

    Aggie

    Willow

    Loretta

    Kirby

    Aggie

    Willow

    Kirby

    Loretta

    Willow

    Loretta

    Aggie

    Willow

    Kirby

    Loretta

    Aggie

    Willow

    Kirby

    Loretta

    Aggie

    Willow

    Kirby

    Loretta

    Aggie

    Kirby

    Aggie

    Willow

    Loretta

    Kirby

    Aggie

    Willow

    Kirby

    Loretta

    Aggie

    Willow

    Kirby

    Loretta

    Willow

    Aggie

    Kirby

    Loretta

    Aggie

    Also by Barbara O’Connor

    Copyright Page

    For Pool Girl

    Aggie

    e9781466809307_i0002.jpg

    Harold would have known what to do, Aggie said to Ugly. She tossed the unopened envelope into the junk drawer on top of the batteries and rubber bands, old keys and more unopened envelopes.

    Let’s go sit and ponder, Aggie said.

    She scooped up the little black cat and shuffled across the dirty orange carpet. Years ago, the carpet had been thick and fluffy, but now it was thin and flat, with a path worn from the bed to the bathroom.

    From the bathroom to the kitchenette.

    From the kitchenette to the door.

    Aggie pushed the screen door open and sat in the aluminum lawn chair outside Room 5. The cat looked up at her with his one eye, twitched his torn ear, and purred.

    Aggie smiled.

    That is one ugly cat, Harold had said the day Ugly had strolled out of the woods and sat outside their door, meowing and carrying on something awful.

    Aggie had never cared much for cats, but there was something about this one that was different. So she had fed him tuna fish and he had been there ever since.

    Okay, Ugly, Aggie said. What should we ponder today?

    But Ugly just closed his eye and went to sleep, leaving Aggie to ponder alone.

    She looked out at the road. Waves of heat floated up off the steamy asphalt. The air was thick and still. Every now and then a car whizzed by, making the Queen Anne’s lace along the roadside bob and sway.

    Aggie took a deep breath and let out a sigh that made Ugly stir a little on her lap. She could feel the empty lawn chair next to her, like something big and heavy and dark, pulling at her. And even though she didn’t want to, she looked at it.

    Harold’s chair.

    Harold’s empty chair.

    And then Aggie started to ponder how in the world Harold could be gone. One minute he had been here with her at the Sleepy Time Motel. And then the next minute …

    Poof!

    He was gone.

    Just like that.

    Keeled right over in the tomato garden without so much as a goodbye.

    Then Aggie began to ponder what in the world she was going to do about all that mail in the junk drawer. Mail from the phone company and the electric company and the tax office.

    Then she moved on to pondering how she was going to fix that clogged drain in Room 4 or what she was going to do about the wasp nest up under the eaves outside the office door.

    And before long, Aggie felt so weighed down with sadness and worry that she couldn’t stand to ponder another thing.

    She picked up Ugly and went back inside.

    She opened the blinds so her begonias could enjoy the noonday sun. Then she pushed aside the curtain that hung over the doorway between her room and the motel office.

    Maybe I should tidy up in there in case someone comes today and wants a room, she said to Ugly.

    Aggie spent the whole afternoon tidying up the little office. She dusted the countertop. She straightened up the postcards on the rack by the door. She polished the little silver bell that guests rang to let her know they were there. She checked to make sure the room keys were in the right order on the cup hooks on the wall. Then she checked to see if the YES, WE’RE OPEN sign was still in the window.

    She washed the coffee mugs she used for the free coffee. (That had been Harold’s idea.) Then she straightened the stack of complimentary maps of the Great Smoky Mountains. (That had been her idea.)

    There, she said to Ugly. Now we’ll be ready if somebody comes.

    But nobody came. Nobody had come for a long, long time. Nobody had come since … when? Aggie wondered. She flipped open the motel guest book and looked at the last entry. Nearly three months ago. Mr. and Mrs. R. J. Perry from Ocala, Florida. They had gotten lost on their way to Lake Junaluska and had been so tired they couldn’t drive another mile.

    Aggie had put them in the nicest room. Number 10. The corner room with three windows. Outside the door was a rocking chair that Harold’s brother Frank had made out of tree branches.

    The next morning, Aggie had given the Perrys free coffee and a complimentary map, and then they had left, and nobody had stayed at the motel since.

    Aggie looked around the little office.

    There, she said again. All tidy.

    Aggie was surprised to notice it was already getting dark outside. She shivered as a cool mountain breeze drifted through the open windows. She took Harold’s old brown sweater off the hook behind the door and slipped it on.

    Then she used a red marker to put a big X through May 22 on the wall calendar.

    She had made it through another day.

    Before she left the office, she flipped the switch that turned on the spotlight that lit up the Sleepy Time Motel sign.

    The spotlight flickered once, twice, three times.

    Then it went out.

    Aggie shook her head. Harold would have fixed that old spotlight. He would have opened up his rusty toolbox and found just the right tool and gone straight out there and fixed it. Then the sign would have been all lit up for passersby to see.

    SLEEPY TIME MOTEL

    FREE COFFEE

    COMPLIMENTARY MAP

    VACANCY

    But now the sign was dark.

    And now Aggie knew what she had to do. She took a piece of paper out of the drawer.

    For Sale, she wrote, and felt a jab in her heart.

    Sleepy Time Motel. Shawnee Gap, North Carolina.

    Another jab.

    Ten lovely rooms with mountain view. Swimming pool. Tomato garden.

    Jab, jab.

    For sale by owners, Harold and Agnes Duncan.

    Then she felt a jab that nearly knocked her over. Her hand trembled so much she could hardly keep the pen on the paper as she scratched out Harold’s name.

    She folded the paper, turned out the lamp, and pushed aside the curtain over the doorway.

    Come on, Ugly, she said.

    She shuffled along the orange carpet pathway to the kitchenette to make some toast and warm milk.

    Ugly blinked up at her.

    She put the toast on the chipped plate that she and Harold had gotten as a wedding present all those years ago. She poured the milk into the china cup that had belonged to Harold’s mother.

    Then she sat at the little table by the window, listening to the ticking of the kitchen clock, the low hum of cars zooming up the interstate behind the motel, the croak of a bullfrog out in the woods somewhere.

    She stared down at the dry toast. Every now and then she took a sip of the warm milk.

    Finally, she got up and dumped the toast into Ugly’s bowl. The bowl that had Kitty written on the side in red. The bowl that Harold had bought at a yard sale.

    She poured the milk over the toast.

    Ugly made little slurpy noises as he lapped up the mushy milk toast.

    Then Aggie followed the orange carpet path over to the bed and lay down on top of the flowered bedspread, pulling Harold’s old brown sweater snugly around her like a blanket.

    Ugly sauntered over, licking his lips, and curled up on the pillow next to her.

    Aggie watched the sun sinking lower and lower behind the mountains until the sky was totally dark. Then she closed her eyes and waited for another day.

    Willow

    e9781466809307_i0003.jpg

    Willow had an almost perfect life. She had her own room with a silky white bedspread. She had a collection of little china horses. And she had a friend named Maggie who loved to play with her china horses and was always very careful.

    What she didn’t have was two parents who loved each other.

    Which is why her life was only almost perfect.

    We just don’t love each other anymore, her father had said the day her mother left.

    But why not? Willow had asked.

    Her father hadn’t answered. He had set his mouth into a straight hard line that told Willow he had locked the door to his heart and thrown away the key.

    When Grannie Dover came by, she said, I knew Dorothy was trouble from day one.

    Red splotches formed on Willow’s father’s neck and moved all the way up to his forehead.

    I don’t want to hear that name in this house ever again, he said.

    Grannie Dover lit a cigarette, tilted her chin up toward the ceiling, and blew out a thin stream of smoke. "Fine

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