Swiss Mist

Randy Powell

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

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When Milo is in fifth grade, his parents get divorced, and his teacher, Ms. Swinford, helps him make it through the year. He loves hearing her sing “The Happy Wanderer” and reminisce about the year she lived in Switzerland during college, practically on the misty slopes of the Matterhorn. The Matterhorn! During the next five years, Milo moves through the mists of Washington State – from place to place and school to school – while his mother tries to figure out what to do with her life. Along the way, he tries to “seek the truth,” as his free-spirited father urged him to do before he left, but he never forgets Ms. Swinford and her tales of Switzerland. Then, when he gets the chance to see Ms. Swinford again, his understanding of what is true is shaken.

 
With the authentic teen voice and quirky characters he’s known for, Randy Powell tells a thoughtful story about a loner searching for his own path in a constantly changing world.

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Book Excerpts

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Chapter One

house-roof-cover-shelter-protection-defense-bastion-wall-division-separation

We lived in Seattle in a small house that had a big backyard. Right smack in the middle of the backyard was a brick barbecue. In all the years we’d lived there we’d never used the barbecue, but it still had the charcoal smell of all the cookouts from past owners.

"You can roast an entire boar on that barbecue," my dad said. "Those bricks, Milo, see those bricks? They’re from the same lot of bricks that were used to build the fire station and the Episcopalian church—the

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Reviews

Praise for Swiss Mist

“Readers accompany Milo from fifth through tenth grade, getting to know him while he’s puzzling through trying to know himself.” —The Horn Book

“The story moves along quite briskly, the writing is very engaging, and the reader will quickly be caught up in Milo’s turmoil.” —VOYA

“Dry wit crackles through this intelligent novel about a teen boy’s family troubles.” —STARRED, Kirkus Reviews

“Milo’s wry narrative will strike chords with readers engaged on similar journeys through life and family changes.” —Booklist

“This meditative, psychologically astute tale of a boy’s emotional maturation is true to life.” —Kliatt

“Engaging, insightful, and thoughtful.” —Sacramento Book Review    

“This book is rewardingly remarkable for the characters and bits of truth that Milo never stops pursuing, even as he learns that truth is not what matters most.” —School Library Journal

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About the Author

Randy Powell

RANDY POWELL is the author of several novels for young adults, including Run If You Dare and Three Clams and an Oyster, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

Randy Powell

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Randy Powell

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Available Formats and Book Details

Swiss Mist
Randy Powell
Award

Kirkus Best Book of the Year

Hardcover

Hardcover
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
October 2008
Hardcover
ISBN: 9780374373566
ISBN10: 0374373566
Young Adult Fiction
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 224 pages
Age Range: 12 and up
Grade Range: 7 and up
$16.95
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Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

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