A Corner of the Universe is a children's novel by Ann M. Martin, published in 2002. It won a Newbery Honor in 2003.

Plot introduction

The summer of 1960 is a season that the novel's narrator and protagonist, 12-year-old Hattie Owen, expects to be as comfortably uneventful as all the others. She's looking forward to helping her mother run their boarding house, painting alongside her artist father, and reading. Then 21-year-old Uncle Adam, whom Hattie never knew existed, comes to stay with the Owens because his "school" has closed down. It soon becomes apparent that he has mental problems: he is a rapidly babbling, Lucille Ball-quoting, calendar-savant and emotionally immature child in a man's body. Hattie's grandparents act embarrassed whenever Adam is around, and her peers laugh at him. However, Hattie quickly finds a kindred spirit in her uncle, and the two embark on a summer during which Hattie will find adventure, tragedy and enlightment as she "lifts the corners of [her] universe" in order to better understand those around her and to learn to heal and communicate.

References

• A Corner of the Universe at Amazon.com

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