A Corner of the Universe

Martin, Ann M. A Corner of the Universe. 2002. 189p. 270 mins. ISBN 0-439-38880-5. Available both at FIC MAR on the library shelves and as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Hattie Owen leads an uncomplicated life. When school gets out in the summer, she gets the run of her small town of Millerton. Her parents run a boarding house populated by three eccentric individuals who are as much part of the family as her mother and father. Hattie’s maternal grandmother and father also live in Millerton and relationships between her father and her grandparents are often stormy. Her best friend Betsy and her family always go away on vacation for the summer, and Hattie is always invited but she likes her little town in the summer. Plus, she turns 12 in July and she looks forward to the presents the residents of the house will get her.

All of that changes, however, when her parents reveal that Hattie has an uncle she did not know existed. Adam Mercer has been away at a special school, but due to its closing he must spend the summer home while his parents find him a new school. Adam is different. He loves watching I Love Lucy, and knows every episode by heart. Adam speaks very fast, is unpredictable, but he makes the most of every day. At twenty-one, Adam is barely taller than Hattie. The two quickly become fast friends, but Hattie is concerned that her parents hid Adam’s existence because they think she’s a little like him.

Adam is often in trouble with his parents, Hattie’s grandparents, and she sees the small injustices that are committed against someone who appreciates the small details of life. But Adam also has issues and he can quickly lose control of himself.

When Fred Carmel's Funtime Carnival comes to town, Hattie cannot wait to go, and she knows that Adam is also very excited about attending the carnival. She meets a girl named Leila there, and they become friends. Hattie spends more and more time at the Carnival, playing with Leila and talking to her about her uncle. Eventually, Leila convinces Hattie to bring him down so she can meet him.

Adam loves the Carnival, and Hattie decides to return with Adam in the evening while her grandparents are hosting a dinner party. Adam sneaks out of the house, and the trio of Hattie, Adam and Leila soon have fun at the Carnival, and they even do the ferris wheel. But when the wheel gets stuck, Adam has a meltdown and ends up being placed in a straight jacket and taken to the hospital.

As Adam’s mental health deteriorates, Hattie is forced to confront the fact that, as Adam called her, she can lift the corners of the universe to reveal what’s behind her limited world. And that’s what she does, growing as an individual while in the face of tragedy. A bittersweet ending reveals that being different has a high cost, but it is possible to look past differences between people to arrive at a common understanding. That’s the lesson Adam’s life delivers.