I read this book from cover to cover yesterday, and couldn't put it down. Isabel Huggan's prose is beautiful, spot-on and wickedly funny. Her insight into the lives and minds of children is amazingly, cuttingly accurate, and I was absolutely mesmerized by the skill of her story-telling. I am ordering _You Never Know_ today, and can't wait to see more stories by this author. Fantastic.

"The Elizabeth Stories" is a collection of linked short stories about a young girl growing up in a small, stultifying Canadian town. There is constant conflict between Elizabeth's mother's emphasis on propriety and Elizabeth's own nature, which is honest, lusty, forthright and innocent. Elizabeth encounters difficult situations she cannot change, only observe.

Isabel Huggan's observations on childhood and adolescence are amazing. Her sharply accurate prose, clean and fresh, delivers instantly recognizable experiences and emotions. Though many of Elizabeth's experiences are painful, the stories are told with warmth and compassion, and some subtle humor, so they are not unbearable at all.

If you love fine writing, this is a book for you.

I have read this book and the very first time, it is true that it gives an impression of overwhelming death and sorrow. The protagonist, Vanessa, comes into contact with life, that is REAL life and she just finds it hard to cope. But it is a story which is just so incredibly true-to-life that any one can identify themselves with the main character. It is only many, many years after that Vanessa understands what had confused her when she was 10 : her grandfather, so much feared and respected, and all the deaths which she had to endure in her family. If you have ever been at that stage, losing some of the people you loved in your heart of hearts, you will understand what Vanessa had to go through and see yourself in her position in front of new things as painful as death. It is not morbid at all, it just shows you that your family is there to help, but that in any case, everything's not hunky-dory!!!

I really enjoyed this book. We studied it in school this year and at first I found it a bit slow but after a few pages I started to really get into it. It was easy to identify with the main character Vanessa and I really liked the way the rest of the characters were described, especially the grandfather. Here's a little example; "Well, Peter, you've brought the wood." It was his habit to begin conversations with a statement of the obvious, so that nothing except agreement was possible." I like this because it sums up the grandfather' character in two sentences, even though it's being developped throughout the entire novel. I can't really explain exactly why I enjoyed this book so much, I guess it's because of the subtle humor and the emotion involved. The sad parts are quite moving, and that's difficult to do without making the whole book depressing.

I think that these short stories are great. I read the book in 11th grade English. I think she is a great writer

A couple of the stories in this new collection, including "Sitsy" and "Throwing and Catching," are excellent, but most don't live up to the stunning power of the connected stories in her first collection, THE ELIZABETH STORIES. Check that book out first--you won't soon forget the title character .