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Alive and Well in Prague, New York

door Daphne Grab

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Manhattanites Matisse Osgood and her artist parents move to upstate New York when her father's Parkinson's disease worsens, and Matisse must face high school in a small, provincial town as she tries to avoid thinking about her father's future.
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Matisse Osgood is the daughter of two well-known artists: a sculptor and a painter. She has grown up in New York City, with all of its cultural events and fast-paced life. When her father is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and can no longer control his muscles enough to sculpt, Matisse's parents decide to leave the bustling city for the small town of Prague, NY. Matisse can't stand her mother pretending that everything is fine, and her increasingly silent father retreating into his bedroom as he loses more and more muscle control. Add to that, her new high school is wretchedly mundane, and she makes a grand total of one new friend in Violet. As her father's symptoms worsen, rumors spread in school and in the community, and Matisse is horrified by the small-town mentality -- but she discovers that just like them, she has needed a mentality adjustment also. For example, her neighbor Hal, whom she assumed was a hick moron, is actually a young man interested in sustainable, organic farming. This is a story about a difficult situation, and how one girl found much more than she ever thought possible through it. 8th grade and up. ( )
1 stem KarenBall | Sep 23, 2011 |
Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

Matisse Osgood is the daughter of two well-known New York City artists. Life is good for Matisse. She's a city girl through and through. Then her father gets diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, and is told that he should avoid working on the sculptures that he loves, for fear that he may fall off of a ladder at some point.

After much consideration, Matisse's parents decide that the best thing for the family is to get out of the city. To remove all reminders of what her father can't have anymore. So off they move to Prague, New York. Yes, it's named after the famous European city. The only problem is that Prague, NY, is nothing like its namesake. Hayrides and pep rallies are the excitement Matisse can expect in her new town.

It takes a while, but finally Matisse finds a friend in loner Violet. They have similar tastes and personalities, and the friendship forms quickly. Other quirky characters in Prague enter Matisse's life. At first, she has a hard time letting anyone in.

Matisse is dealing with her own grief and guilt over her father's diagnosis. Life at home is hard and Matisse has always been reserved when it comes to dealing with private issues.

Through the help of her new friends, her father's acceptance of his diagnosis, and the quaint setting of Prague, NY, Matisse slowly opens up and becomes a better person in her new surroundings.

Ms. Grab writes a tender story of a girl's struggle to accept the life she's had thrust upon her. Matisse's life is thrown upside down with the move and her father's illness, and slowly she learns that there are some things she can control, and others that she has to learn to accept and live with. ( )
1 stem GeniusJen | Oct 9, 2009 |
BOOK #16 - a debut novel, choose one that may end up winning the William C. Morris YA Debut Award.
http://www.yabookscentral.com/cfusion/index.cfm?fuseAction=books.review&revi...

Daphne Grab's first novel, "Alive and Well in Prague, New York", has the protagonist, Matisse Osgood, the daughter of a sculptor, whose first name is taken from the last name of French impressionist, Henri Matisse. The family lives in New York, an exciting urban locale that Matisse loves.

Life for the family takes an eventful turn when her father is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and they decide to move to the country town of Prague, a quieter place for her dad to recuperate. Matisse must abandon the metropolitan life she adores.

But the traumatic move for Matisse does little initial good. is She's miserable, her mother is in denial, and her father isn't getting any better. Entering the local high school, Matisse does make a real friend in Violet. They are similar in an important way: they despise Prague and can't wait to beat a hasty retreat from the town. A friendly neighbor, Hal, who comes across to Matisse as clueless, grows on her through the book.

But enter the antagonist in the form of a nasty, vane, and self-centered (and popular) girl Jennifer, who seems determined to have the whole school take a dislike to Matisse. She spreads a false rumor about her dad's illness, and Matisse, who cannot come to grips with the disease, reacts in a fearful and unproductive manner. She runs away from her problems and as a result, they just get worse.

"Alive and Well in Prague" is a touching story, certain to relate to YAs; however, to this middle aged white male, I found the book to be a bit insipid and unrewarding. I did not particularly like Matisse, especially because she never tried to reach out to her needy father, but I can see how she would relate to others her age with the same curious idiosyncracies.

This is certainly a good debut for author Grab, but there are, hopefully, better plots and story development in her future as a YA writer.
I ( )
  rnnyhoff | Sep 27, 2008 |
Matisse Osgood is the daughter of a painter and a sculptor, so it’s no wonder she’s named after an artist. But tragedy strikes her family when her father topples from a ladder and gets a concussion. It turns out that he has nerve damage and is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. That prompts the family to move from New York City to small town Prague, which breaks Matisse’s heart because she has to leave behind the city she loves. And moving doesn’t seem to help anything at all. Her father is still sick, her mother pretends like nothing is wrong, and Matisse is worried someone will find out her family’s secret.

In the process, Matisse manages to make one true friend, Violet. They are similar in so many ways; they both hate Prague and can’t wait until they can finally get away from the small town. There’s also her friendly neighbor Hal, who seems dorky at first but grows on Matisse. But not everyone is so welcoming. There’s the nasty popular girl Jennifer who seems determined to make everyone hate Matisse. The false rumors start to fly, and Matisse still can’t deal with her father’s sickness; she compares it to a wound. And eventually, all secrets have to come out.

Alive and Well in Prague, New York is a beautiful story about a young girl learning to cope with her father’s illness. It was interesting to watch Matisse grow and find out what really mattered to her. In some ways, Prague was stereotyped as other backwards small towns with its hayride and seemingly stupid traditions, but the setting wasn’t as important as the characters. I have to say that Matisse and Violet are probably two of my new favorite fictional characters; they have so much style and I’m not just talking about clothes. At first, they only have each other, and they are perfectly content with that; that is something to be admired. They might not seem like it in this small town setting, but they are truly kick-butt heroines. I also appreciated the romance, even though it was only added in at the end.

I recommend Alive and Well in Prague, New York if you like a shorter but meaningful read. There’s a lot that can be learned from this novel about family and friendship. Look out for it when it comes out early in June.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com ( )
  the_book_muncher | May 24, 2008 |
Everyone is familiar with the story of a small town girl struggling to fit in a big city, but Daphne Grab's novel takes a different spin on that theme and tells the journey of a New York City high school student, Matisse Osgood, who must deal with fish out of water feelings when her family uproots themselves from the city and settles down in small town Prague, New York. The move is prompted my Matisse's father's progressive deterioration to Parkinson's disease. Although the slower pace of small town life should be good for him, his illness is as hard for Matisse to adjust to as her new surroundings.

Grab does an amazing job of writing believable teenagers in this novel. The supporting cast has as much depth as the protagonist and the vivid personalities - filled with warmth, humor and sometimes nastiness - brought back echoes of my own high school classmates. The emotional roller coaster that Matisse is on also comes across as neither sappy nor melodramatic and as a reader I truly empathized with her hardships. She is a fun and lovable heroine and through her trials and challenges, I was desperately hoping that in the end she would come to be Alive and Well in Prague, New York. ( )
1 stem elbakerone | Apr 4, 2008 |
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Manhattanites Matisse Osgood and her artist parents move to upstate New York when her father's Parkinson's disease worsens, and Matisse must face high school in a small, provincial town as she tries to avoid thinking about her father's future.

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