Billie Standish was Here

by Nancy Crocker

Kirkus Review starred (April 15, 2007)

A lonely girl in rural Missouri develops a friendship with her elderly neighbor that transforms her life. Adrift and isolated, 11-year-old Billie Marie has no friends and feels invisible to her self-absorbed parents until she meets her neighbor, Miss Lydia. Miss Lydia may look like "every grandma in the world," but she's more interesting than anyone Billie has ever met. Soon the two are inseparable. But Billie's childhood ends when Miss Lydia's son, Curtis, brutally rapes her. In the days and years that follow, Miss Lydia and Billie share a terrible secret as they continue to love and protect one another. Mentor and surrogate mother, Miss Lydia provides Billie with the love and support she needs while Billie gives meaning to Miss Lydia's life. When Miss Lydia ages and eventually fails, Billie knows exactly what she must do. Set in the late 1960s and early '70s, this tender, touching account of intergenerational friendship provides rich historical context for two memorable female characters who redefine the meaning of family and love.

Horn Book (Fall 2007)

The story spans an emotional five-year journey for William "Billie" Marie Standish--from "invisible" pre-teen to independent adolescent in the 1960s and '70s. Billie's friendship with her elderly neighbor challenges her to overcome tragedy (including rape), forge friendships, repair relationships, and accept herself as a capable young woman with a future. Billie's homegrown first-person narration adds authenticity to the evocative setting.