Tuck Everlasting

Author: Natalie Babbitt

Publishing:  Farrar

Number of Pages: Paperback—144 pages

Genre:  Fantasy

Reading Level:  Ages 9-12

Summary: This book is about a young girl named Winnie.  She is controlled by her mother and grandmother because they want her to be the perfect lady, so one day, Winnie gets sick of it and she runs into her family’s woods behind her house.  As she is walking around she comes upon a very handsome boy drinking water from a spring.  She realizes that she herself is thirsty and goes to get a drink, but he won’t let her.  The boys name is Jessie, and his mom shows up and they take her far away from the spring to tell her why she can’t drink from it.  They tell her that they all drank from it 87 years ago and since then, none of them have aged at all—in fact, they aren’t even able to die.  Winnie grows very fond of Jessie and Jessie wants her to wait till she is 17 and then drink from the spring so that they can be together forever, she says that she will decide when the time comes.  Right as they are about to take Winnie back home the man in the yellow suit says that he has made a deal with Winnie’s parents where he will able to get the spring and sell it, Ma, without thinking shoots him so that their secret will not be revealed.  Ma is to be taken to jail and be hung but Winnie takes her place in jail to help them out and so the Tucks can have time to get away.  The Tucks make it safely away and come back sometime later to see what Winnie had decided, they find that she lived a long, happy life with a husband and children but that she has now passed on.  The family is sad that they did not get to be with her but happy that she made the right choice to live life as you should. 

My Reaction to the Book:  I loved this book!  This is the third time I’ve read it and I still love it.  I think it is such a cute love story and just so interesting. 

Potential Problems:  The mom kills the man in the yellow suit and she is suppose to be hanged.  

Recommendations:  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone; I love this book!  It’s such a great story about love and true friendship.