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    The Key to Every Thing
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    The Key to Every Thing
    Unavailable
    The Key to Every Thing
    Audiobook3 hours

    The Key to Every Thing

    Written by Pat Schmatz

    Narrated by Bahni Turpin

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    For eleven-year-old Tash, Cap'n Jackie isn't just the elderly next-door neighbor—she's family. When she disappears, only Tash holds the key that might bring her back.

    Tash didn't want to go to camp, didn't want to spend the summer with a bunch of strangers, didn't want to be separated from the only two people she has ever been able to count on: her uncle Kevin, who saved her from foster care, and Cap'n Jackie, who lives next door. Camp turns out to be pretty fun, actually, but when Tash returns home, Cap'n Jackie is gone. And Tash needs her—the made-up stories of dolphin-dragons, the warm cookies that made everything all right after a fight, the key Cap'n Jackie always insisted had magic in it. The Captain always said all Tash had to do was hold it tight and the magic would come. Was it true? Could the key bring Cap'n Jackie back? In a heartfelt and stunningly written story, Pat Schmatz introduces readers to a tenacious, fiercely loyal girl struggling to let go of the fantasies and fears of her childhood . . . and say yes to everything that lies ahead.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateMay 8, 2018
    ISBN9781543687972
    Unavailable
    The Key to Every Thing
    Author

    Pat Schmatz

    Pat Schmatz has lived in the Wisconsin woods of her childhood after years in Michigan, northern California, and Minneapolis.  She's worked everywhere from a green bean canning factory to UC Berkeley campus. . . she's been a fitness consultant, legal secretary, stable hand, librarian, and forklift driver, all while continuing a lifelong quest for story in any form.

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    Reviews for The Key to Every Thing

    3/5

    16 ratings7 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Tasha lives with her Uncle Kevin because her dad is in prison. He is super reliable, as her alcoholic father never was. But the touchstone in her life has become Captain Jackie, the woman who lives next door and cares for Tasha when her uncle is at work so she doesn't have to be alone. The Captain takes a fall while Tasha is at camp, and her recovery is not going well. Desperately, Tasha searches for the key and the hope to solve all the Captain's ills and make her want to stay.
    • 4/5
      The Key to Everything is a bout a young girl who is sent off to camp, when she returns her life is turned upside down when her neighbor Jackie is gone. There is so much more to this book though... and I don't want to spoil it. It took me a few days to digest this book after reading it. It follows a girl named Tash who is still young and right now she is bitter about having to go to camp for the summer. The book is about 200 pages and it is a middle grade read so it was a quick one but it was also a very emotional one. It will bring back feelings of being a misunderstood 11 year old and hating everything or if you are 11 and reading it - you will completely understand where Tash is coming from. It is also sad. Tash is troubled to begin with but she has Jackie, their elderly neighbor, who stays with her during the day and they come up with these elaborate stories and magical worlds together. It sounds pretty great for Tash but not so good when something happens to Jackie. I really really don't want to go into too much detail about this plot because I think it adds to it not to know what is going to happen. Tash is learning to grow up in this book and sometimes it takes some hard-knocks to get there.If you are looking for a contemporary read this was a good read, it is emotional though, so be prepared. I also think that all ages would do well reading this book it was beautiful.
    • 4/5
      Tash has seen a lot of turmoil in her young life, but with Uncle Kevin she has found a peaceful calm of sorts. That is, if she isn't pitching one of her ragers at Cap'n Jackie or at things that are beyond her control. Next door neighbor, Cap'n Jackie, an elderly, curmudgeonly recluse, along with Uncle Kevin have formed a new unconventional family for Tash. After Tash's father went off on a bender and left Tash alone for a few days, Kevin rescued her from foster care. Now, years later, as Uncle Kevin is heading off to a grand adventure to New Zealand for a month and Cap'n Jackie too elderly to care for Tash on a daily basis, Tash has been signed up for the dreaded summer camp. She's furious and let's those who love her know. She paints hateful words on her bedroom wall. But what is most distressing is the disregard for Cap'n Jackie's gift to Tash...a magical key that will be bring her comfort when most needed. A simple thing, really, but oh-so-powerful in its message. Just before leaving for camp, Tash throws the key back at Cap'n Jackie, losing it seemingly forever. While at camp, Tash realizes her mistake as anger took a hold of her. Now, how does she make amends. Letters back and forth between all involved are cathartic, but Tash has some big surprises waiting for her when her month-long camp is over. Will she be mature enough to carry on and face facts? The Key to Everything is a coming-of-age story which touches adolescent issues such as maturity, compassion, and grief. It also tells us that family is not always traditional and may be made up of many people...but, with the common glue of love. In the right hands, this book will speak to those who might need some uplifting. Thank you to LibraryThing Early Reviewers, Candlewick Press, and Pat Schmatz for this ARC.
    • 3/5
      This is a sweet intermediate read about a children dealing with regret, grief, death, and relationships. The beginning of the book includes a lot of letters and emails back and forth between characters and is a little choppy as it transitions from summer camp to the main character going back to her home, etc. It would be more powerful to see what Tash and Cap'n Jackie's relationship looked and felt like before they're no longer able to talk to one another due to a health deterioration by one of the characters/. Since that development wasn't there, as the reader, I didn't feel as connected or invested in the characters.
    • 3/5
      The Key to Everything is intended for middle grade readers. Some of the themes in this story are abandonment, having a parent in prison, agoraphobia, nursing homes, end of life/will to live, alternative life styles, and friendship. These sensitive subjects are handled in a straight forward and easy manner. I would recommend this book and suggest that a parent or teacher read it ahead of time so that they may discuss the questions that are likely to arise. Three stars.
    • 3/5
      I received a free advanced copy of this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers giveaway in exchange for an honest review.This has been a hard book to review because on one hand I really liked the story which is about a girl named Tash who comes home from camp to find her next-door-neighbor/babysitter/grandmother figure Cap’n Jackie in a rehab hospital after falling and breaking her hip. On the other hand, the characters and their backstories are not fleshed out enough and leave me wanted to know more about their past to understand their present. You learn bits and pieces about them as the story unfolds, but it can be jarring at first because you are thrown into the story right from the start with Tash going to summer camp while her Uncle (who’s her guardian) goes off to New Zealand for a month. At first, I thought the story would follow her time in camp, but that ends after a short chapter and then Tash comes home to find Cap’n Jackie in the hospital and not talking to anyone. You learn a little about how Tash ended up living with her Uncle because her father is in jail, you learn a little about Vanessa who was the most important person in Cap’n Jackie’s life and you learn a little about Kevin who was raised by Cap’n Jackie and now lives in NYC. There’s also the belief of Cap’n Jackie and Tash that a “magic” key helps them imagine Draphin who is a half-dragon, half-dolphin character. There’s some good lessons about forgiveness, death, friendship and family in this book as you learn more about the characters. Overall though, I felt like I was tuning in to watch the rest of a TV series without having seen the first few episodes and trying to catch up on the relationships between the characters. If you take this book for what it is and don’t overthink it like us adults tend to do, it’s a good story that I could see a lot of upper elementary/middle school students enjoying.
    • 2/5
      I have struggled with my review of this coming-of-age book. There are definite life lessons learned in this book, and I would recommend it for certain kids. The main character, Tash, deals with being alone and anger management when she doesn't get her way. As an adult, I was put off for awhile and just saw her as a spoiled kid throwing temper tantrums. The author is not very forthcoming in giving background details so the reader struggles trying to put the story line together. In the end, however, her actions finally make sense. To some degree, I like this because it encourages prediction and really making connections between the text. However, it may be too much for many children and they will just end up confused or give up reading before the end.I realized that my main struggle with this book has to do with the characters. Several characters are just thrown in who have little to do with the story line and really could have been left out: a girl at camp who apparently Tash suddenly becomes BFFs with and then just as quickly is no longer part of the story as well as a fiance at the end who Tash immediately clicks with but really has little bearing on the story and was an unnecessary detour - like the author felt she had to put it in. One character is hinted at, Vanessa, that seems important to Cap'n Jackie but is never really told who she is, although older readers can figure it out. Even Cap'n Jackie who is central to the story is just this vague person whom we only glimpse a little bit into her life through Tash's eyes.My recommendation would be to pull these lesser characters and do more character development on the main characters so that they are more round than flat. Overall, it's an okay book, but could be better.

      1 person found this helpful