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Anne Lindbergh's 'Three Lives to Live' read meal by meal

Three Lives to Live is a time-travel fantasy that tells the story of thirteen-year-old Garet. Garet's quiet life with her grandmother becomes forever changed when her "twin," Daisy, appears unexpectedly down the house laundry chute. Daisy's true identity is slowly revealed throughout the narrative as a living version of Garet's younger self. With the novel playing out in the grandmother's house, meals shared around the family table are recurring points for conversation and plot shifts. 1

Shepherd's Pie Flashback pp.17-21

People Present: Garet, Daisy and Gratkins.

What ensues during the meal:

Daisy ends up getting the canopy bed and Garet is jealous.

Shepherd's Pie Flash-forward pp.27-28

People Present: Garet, Daisy and Gratkins.

What ensues during the meal:

Daisy tells Garet that she could get a computer by faking a learning disability

Picnic p.44

People Present: Garet, Daisy and Gratkins.

What ensues during the meal:

Garet does not get any answers to her questions and Daisy will not eat peanut butter and jam sandwiches

Ice Cream Sundae pp.62-65

People Present: Garet, Daisy and Gratkins.

What ensues during the meal:

Gratkins tells Daisy that they are the same person

Formal Dinner: Hamburgers and Mashed Potatoes pp.73-74

People Present: Garet, Daisy and Gratkins.

What ensues during the meal:

Gratkins and Daisy talk about what happened to bring Daisy into the future

Pizza pp.87-92

People Present: Garet and Daisy

What ensues during the meal:

Daisy talks about not wanting to grow up to be Gratkins and breaks Garet's china pig. Garet slaps Daisy.

Cornflakes for Breakfast pp.98-100

People Present: Garet, Daisy and Gratkins

What ensues during the meal:

Daisy asks Gratkins if she can take her fingerprints for comparison.

"Sardines on soda crackers, followed by cold, canned chicken soup" pp.149-155

People Present: Garet and Gratkins

What ensues during the meal:

The meal occurs during blackout. Immediately afterwards Garet finds out that she too is Gratkins. Supper is one that Daisy will find VERY problematic.

1943 Dinner pp.172-173

People Present: Garet and the 1943 family

What ensues during the meal:

The scene is a dinner with Garet, Daisy and Gratkins' "real" family in the past.

Soup and sandwiches pp.177-181

People Present: Garet, Daisy and Gratkins

What ensues during the meal:

Immediately after eating Garet and Daisy return to 1993.

End Notes

Go to footnote reference 1.

All references are taken from Anne Lindbergh, Three Lives to Live, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1992.

Amie Rose Rotruck

Amie Rose Rotruck is a graduate of the Hollins University Children's Literature Program, earning her MA in 2006 and her MFA in 2009. She served as the Children's and Young Adult Literature division head for the International Association of the Fantastic in the Arts from 2008 to 2011. She is the author of Bronze Dragon Codex (writing as R.D. Henham) and Young Wizards Handbook: How to Trap a Zombie, Track a Vampire, and Other Hands-On Activities for Monster Hunters. Her main focus for both creative and critical works is middle-grade children's fantasy.