Library & Literary Miscellany

Adam Canfield of the Slash by Michael Winerip

Adam Canfield likes to stay involved–he’s involved in sports, music (the baritone), sundry clubs and quiz bowls, the voluntary/mandatory class to prepare state exams (in which he learns critical skills such as sharpening number 2 pencils). Even though Adam is already quite possibly the most programmed kid ever to walk the halls of Harris Elementary/Middle School, he has agreed to yet another commitment. He has agreed to be co-editor of the Harris paper, the Slash (it doesn’t take much coaxing considering that he has a bit of a crush on the other editor, his friend Jennifer).

The Slash has a reputation as a quality school newspaper to uphold, and Adam and Jennifer work hard to print interesting, relevant, and candid articles for and about their community. To accomplish this, they include articles covering everything from an exposé on a seedy law banning “accessory structures” (which includes basketball hoops), to a missing wooden cow reward offer, to a dental smiling contest, to a feature on the school janitor, to a mysterious gift to the school left by a benefactor for “general improvements”.

While all of these articles contribute to the plot, it is the latter story that ends up driving much of the novel’s action and discourse regarding truth, journalistic ethics, local corruption, and the prevarications of the mass media. Adam explains some hard truths of journalism to a young protegé who admires his work: “It’s not your job to write what Phyllis wants…Our job as reporters is to tell the truth as we see it. It has to be backed by facts, but that’s what good newspapers do. That’s why people read newspapers. They trust reporters to be honest about what they see…you are the public’s eyes and ears…” Phyllis and a few of the other adults in the book would have the Slash full of lies. Even as Adam and Jennifer face adult wrath and potential expulsion, they make difficult decisions about truth and compromise.

Winerip does attempt to balance the number of treacherous, nasty adults with the number of truthful, helpful adults. For every Mrs. Marris of his story he includes a Mr. Brooks. Mrs. Marris, the principal, charges them to always be sure to print stories that help “propel the Good Ship Harris forward” and not the kind that “poke holes in our bow, so to speak–bad stories, unhelpful stories, negative stories.”As Adam begins to despair in the face of so much treachery and obfuscation of the truth, his Latin-spouting, World Domination game creating, history teacher Mr. Brooks tells him, “…history certainly teaches us that treachery lurks around every corner. And yet, against all odds, despite every form of human stupidity, we Homo Sapiens are still here.”

While many (nor most, I hope) middle school editors will not be faced with the daunting task of exposing their principals avarice, all editors face decisions about what facts belong in the story and what can be omitted without sacrificing its truth. Adam Canfield of the Slash champions truth. Along the way, Winerip also satirizes the overprogrammed lives of many young people today and the prescribed nature of standardized testing.

For those who are involved in their own school papers or for those who like stories about principled young kids who stand up to and overcome adult deceit, then Adam Canfield of the Slash is a solid choice. Also, for those who like Winerip’s first book, more of Adam’s adventures with the Slash are now available in Adam Canfield, Watch Your Back! (Adam Canfield of the Slash)(2007).

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Bullyville by Francine Prose (2007)

* spoilers appear in the review

“What’s more important even than college,’ Dr. Bratton continued, ‘are the lifelong friendships that Baileywell students form, relationships that are not only sustaining in every way, but are incredibly helpful as our graduates find their path through a world that gets scarier and more threatening every day”

“And what’s most important…is the kind of young men we are graduating. Men who feel sympathy for the underdog. The little guy. Who can see things from the little guy’s point of view. Our hope is that the Baileywell experience will produce the sort of compassionate, feeling, deeply, human men who will lead us into a brighter and more caring future.”

Dr. Bratton (Dr. Bratwurst to Bulleywell insiders) has high hopes for his students. Unfortunately, his sentiments seem to pertain to some alternate universe as they don’t reflect the reality of school life for Baileywell’s students. Just ask Bart Rangely.

Bart’s eighth-grade year at Hillbrook Middle School in northern New Jersey begins just like his previous school years–school’s the place to go to hang out with friends and to fly miles under the radar, just like he likes it. However, flying under the radar becomes impossible after Bart stays home from school sick on 9/11/2001.

On that day, Bart’s father (who has not been home for six months anyway since he left them to live with another woman) goes to work on the ninety-fifth floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. His mother, who works in the North Tower also, remains home to take care of Bart.

When they receive news of his father’s death, Bart’s whole world turns upside down. Not only does he have to deal with the instant fame created by his “saving” his mother’s life; he’s also coping with the death of a father who deserted them before his death. He’s also received a full scholarship to Baileywell. His mother believe this scholarship to be the good coming out of the bad, but Bart’s not so sure.

Bart’s matriculation into Baileywell Prep (better known as Bulleywell but also known as Bullyville or Bullyreallywell) signifies his transition from “Miracle Boy” of 9/11 to “bully-ee.” Bart is assigned Tyro Bergen as his Big Brother, Big Brother like Big Brother in 1984 that is. Tyro’s watching Bart and thinking about Bart for the sole purpose of thinking up new methods of psychological torture to inflict upon him.

Despite Bart’s misery at Bulleywell, he endures because his mother seems so happy that he has such an “opportunity.” She clings to his Baileywell education as if it proves that 09/11 didn’t completely shatter her, her son, and their view of the world and humanity itself. However, when Tyro’s nastiness reaches a new level, Bart snaps and retaliates.

Repercussions ensue for the both Bart and Tyro, and they end up in community service. From there, they both find that outward appearances can be deceiving, that change can be very difficult indeed, and that one’s past impacts one’s future. Bart’s year at Bullyville changes him indelibly, and, as Dr. Bratton envisioned from the get-go, the Baileywell experience helps turn him into “the sort of compassionate, feeling, deeply, human men who will lead us into a brighter and more caring future.”

While the ending felt too neat and jarringly retrospective to me (it wraps up with Bart as a father looking back on his Bulleywell days), on the whole Bullyville creates an emotionally complicated and seemingly realistic picture of an underdog’s life. Bullyville covers what it’s like to be bullied and suggests possible responses of the bully-ee, but also it depicts a young boy’s coming to terms with loss, change, friendship, and his place in this world.

For other YA read-alikes about bullies and bullying that have equally disturbing pictures of bullies, try Brock Cole’s The Goats or Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War. And for even more ideas on this topic at all age levels view the recently posted booklist compiled by Tessa Michaelson and posted at website for the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison: Thick-skinned, Thin-skinned, The Skin I’m In: Books about Bullying, Teasing, Relational Aggression and School Violence. Does anyone else have any suggestions on this topic or thoughts on Prose’s novel?

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Summer camp anyone? If you aren’t going yourself, then perhaps you might enjoy reading about another’s experience. If so, try Elvin’s summer camp story on for size…

Slot Machine by Chris Lynch (hardcover 1995, softcover 1997, other editions available)

In Chris Lynch’s Slot Machine, portly, uncoordinated Elvin does not fit into any of the typical athletic slots. He has great difficulty discovering where he best fits—bouncing from one slot to another—from football (knocked out), to sick bay, to baseball (kicked out), to sick bay, to wrestling (thrown out), to sick bay, to golf (drinks out), to sick bay, to the Religion Sector (out, out, out). In the end, all that’s left for him, is to become an artist—a poet, in fact. Elvin discovers that traditional sports slots are not the only places where a young man is able to develop his potential and find a place in this world.

Elvin’s narration, being hilarious, poignant, and real, makes it easy to identify with him. His letters to his mother are laugh-out-loud funny and show Elvin’s indomitable spirit–he is not about to let his lack of a well-fitting slot (or his lack of more sick bay cards) get him down. A few noteworthy letter moments (which will be funnier in context, so just go ahead and just pick up the book) include:

• Elvin explaining that he’s at what has been labeled a retreat not a camp (but he’s not sure which dictionary definition of “retreat” applies): “It’s not a camp, it’s a retreat…They may mean definition 3, ‘a place of seclusion or privacy,’ or definition 4, ‘a period of retirement for mediation,’ But since they’ve left it open, I’m going with definition 7, ‘to slope backward’.”

• Elvin explaining why he wishes his mom were at “retreat” undergoing football scrimmages with him: “I wish you were here with me today, shoulder to shoulder, holding that line. Together, we could have done it. As it was, my success was a little spotty.”

• Elvin explaining why he’s writing with his left hand after a football trouncing: “Because that’s the hand that still has two fingers that can curl…There you go, another hidden skill that camp experience has drawn out of me. I was really dogging it back home, wasn’t I? Tomorrow they’re going to have me snag a salmon out of the river with my teeth.”

• Elvin explaining why his mother must come see him on Parents Weekend: “If your family does not show up, you’re put into a group informally known as “The Unloved,” who legend has it, roam around like a pack of wild dingoes all weekend doing unspeakable things to themselves and others.”

In the end, Elvin concludes, “I’m not an athlete,” and he’s okay with that. Readers who find themselves wanting to hear more about Elvin can follow his further adventures in Extreme Elvin and Me, Dead Dad, and Alcatraz. And may everyone have a wonderful summer, whether you’re able to attend a “retreat” or not. Feel free to leave a comment if you have thoughts on any of the books about Elvin or if you have other summer camp favorites!

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Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher (2007)

“And what about you–the rest of you–did you notice the scars you left behind?…No. Probably not…Because most of them you can’t see with the naked eye.”

Clay Jensen, living, and Hannah Baker, recently deceased, narrate Th1rteen R3asons Why. When Clay receives a shoebox-sized package in the mail he opens it to find seven audiotapes. He soon discovers that these audiotapes contain a final message from Hannah Baker narrating the story of why her life ended. She states, “And if you’re listening to these tapes, you’re one of the reasons why.”

Hannah set the ground rules for her listeners: “The rules are pretty simple. There are only two. Rule number one: You listen. Rule number two: You pass it on. Hopefully, neither one will be easy for you.” She also made a second set of tapes which she tells the listeners will be released if they fail to pass the tapes on.

The novel interpolates Hannah taped narration and Clay’s experiences as he listens to it. The two are clearly delineated as Hannah’s narration is italicized and Clay’s thoughts and conversations with other people are in normal font. Hannah also left behind a map that corresponds with the tapes, marking some of the places where the events in her story occurred. Clay follows along with the tapes and journeys to the places marked on the map all in one night as he desperately seeks to understand why he is one of Hannah’s reasons why.

Before her death Hannah made connections–she connected the people and experiences that indelibly marked her life and her reputation with their selfishness, cruelty, voyeurism, ignorance, ineptitude and the like until she began expecting all people to let her down. While Hannah remains ultimately responsible for her decision to commit suicide, thirteen such experiences (as well as indubitably many more that were unconnected and did not make the tapes) helped create her feelings of hopelessness and isolation.

Clay’s a “good” guy with a “good” reputation, and he’s baffled over his inclusion in Hannah’s list of reasons why. While he finds the tapes painful to listen to, listen he does in order to uncover the reason. As Hannah’s thirteen reasons are revealed, Clay experiences unprecedented feelings of anger and loathing for his fellow classmates.

By telling her story, Hannah relates to Clay that “All you really have…is now” when it comes to helping those who are hurting. It becomes clear to him that what’s done has been done; future chances are by no means guaranteed. Clay resolves to be more aware of opportunities to reach out to people he senses are struggling.

Th1rteen R3asons Why endeavors to tap into the human capacity for empathy and to engage us all in considering the influence we have on others’ perceptions of the world and overall mental health. Jay Asher is a member of the Class of 2k7, and Th1rteen R3asons Why is his debut novel. A few other works of young adult fiction that discuss adolescent suicide include Trigger by Susan Vaught, Pitch Black: Color Me Lost by Melody Carlson (Christian fiction), Shooter by Walter Dean Myers, After the death of Anna Gonzales by Terri Fields (Poems), and Tribes by Arthur Slade.

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Deadline by Chris Crutcher (2007)

“I figure if Doc is right about the time I have left, I should wrap up my adolescence in the next few days, get into my early productive stages about the third week of school, go through my midlife crisis during Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday, redouble my efforts at productivity and think about my legacy, say, Easter, and start cashing in my 401(k)s a couple weeks before Memorial Day. I don’t have to worry about making enough money to put kids through college so I can focus on the more philosophical elements of my life.”

Ben Wolf may seem to be taking his impending death in an offhand manner, but his deadpan assessment of his last year alive is a coping mechanism. He’s coping with the death sentence handed to him during a routine physical checkup to clear him for his senior year of cross-country. Instead of clearing him, Ben discovers he has a rare, aggressive, fatal blood disease; he begins to take a hard look at his life and to make some changes.

Instead of just going through the days, Ben wants the final year of his life to be meaningful for himself and others. He decides to tell no one that he’s dying. Ben also refuses treatment for, as he puts it, “…without treatment my chances sucked, but with it they still sucked and somehow I knew my chances aren’t about living, they’re about living well.” In this quest to live well, he quits cross-country and joins his brother on the football field, he speaks up for his beliefs (and for Malcom X) in class, and he befriends the town drunk.

Each character in Deadline helps Ben face his forthcoming deadline in his or her own way–his brother Cody as a football teammate and as the Wolf who will carry on, the love of his life Dallas Suzuki as his first, the town drunk Rudy McCoy as the man who teaches him about mistakes and covering up the truth, Coach Banks as his mentor and encourager, and his conversational partner during dreams Hey-Soos as the one who helps him think through the meaning of life and truth. Ben’s cantankerous teacher, Mr. Lambeer, even helps in his own way by forcing Ben to “hijack the curriculum” to speak up for his freedoms and his beliefs.

Deadline mixes levity with gravity. Deadline tackles many weighty themes: secrets, truth, family, mental illness, death, child molestation, and censorship to name a few. As Ben tells us and as we all discover at times, “Planet Earth is a tough town.” But he also shows us that that doesn’t mean we can’t make the most of our time in it.

There’s much to appreciate about Deadline. Some readers will appreciate the football action. Some will appreciate the relationships that develop (Particularly poignant, for me, was the relationship of Ben with his brother). Some will appreciate the philosophical aspects. Some will appreciate and admire Ben’s courage. Some will simply appreciate the fact that they’re alive and able to read a book.

Deadline’s plot has similarities with Jenny Downham’s Before I Die in that both stories chronicle the protagonist’s final time on earth. Before I Die mainly focuses on Tessa’s fulfilling her list of personal desires. In Deadline, Ben’s final actions and desires reflect both personal desires and desires to have a lasting positive impact on others. Both stories imagine the almost unimaginable–what would you do or want to do if you knew you were living out your final days?

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Leepike Ridge by N.D. Wilson (2007)

“‘I don’t know where to start,’ Tom said.

‘According to some people, the beginning is a good place.’

Tom puffed his cheeks. The beginning? His day dying. Jeffrey Veatch chasing his mom. Refrigerator deliverymen. Packing foam.”

At eleven years old, Tom already has quite a few stories to tell. Leepike Ridge is just a piece of Tom’s story–Tom’s life after his father’s death. It’s his life with his mother in their home on top of a rock in which he misses his father terribly and loathes his mother’s new boyfriend Jeffrey Veatch. And it’s his struggle to survive and to find the light again when he is pulled underwater metaphorically by the weight of his burdens and also literally by the current.

This struggle for survival begins in earnest when Tom decides to ride the packing foam down the local stream in the middle of the night (he can’t sleep after being informed that his mother is “considering” Jeffrey’s proposal). Tom awakens to being pulled underwater into a series of underground caverns from which there is seemingly no escape. This fact becomes all the more trenchant when Tom meets Reg, a man who has been stuck underground for three years with little light, with negligible diet variation (crawdads, crawdads, and more crawdads), and with no company save for the occasional visit from a partially lame canine named Argus. Reg tells Tom of his underground lair, “The hard part wasn’t finding this place; that was an accident. The hard part is staying alive, wanting to stay alive when you can’t get back out.”

Yet, together Tom and Reg (and Argus the dog) help each other to hope and to search for a way out. Reg tells Tom, “If you die trying, I’ll die alongside you. It would be a nice change of pace from firelight and pasty-looking crawdads.”

Above ground, Tom’s mother Elizabeth refuses to give up hope that Tom’s still alive. In searching for Tom, she discovers that her husband’s death may not have been accidental. Throw in a villainous group of men who pretend to search for Tom but are actually searching for treasure and who will stop at nothing to get their hands on it and a sinister dimension is added to an already gripping mystery-survival story. N.D. Wilson’s first novel for young children is a riveting adventure that cries out to have its pages turned to the very end in order to find out whether Tom will ever again see the light of day.

Fans of adventure-survival stories like those of Gary Paulsen, Will Hobbs, Harry Mazer, and Jean Craighead George (as well as fans of the more classic adventure authors such as Daniel Defoe, Robert Louis Stevenson, and H. Rider Haggard) will likely feel they’ve struck gold in reading Leepike Ridge.

Takeaway quote:

Reg: “After three years down here, I’ve not learned too much. But one thing I do know is that our bellies aren’t big enough for revenge. It turns sour and eats you up. We’ll get out, but we’ll get out for the sun, the moon, and mothers, not for small-souled enemies, though we’ll deal with them when we get there.”

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You Don’t Know Me by David Klass (2002)

*spoilers to follow…

“You don’t have to see things to know that they are happening.”

Or so says John, the fourteen-year-old protagonist of You Don’t Know Me. He is crying out to his mother (and the others that surround him) to see and to know him as she seemingly does neither. His mother also does not see that her new boyfriend is repeatedly beating John up–leaving shrewdly placed physical marks that only the most observant will notice. Conversely, the marks left on John’s psyche are clearly evident to all who take the time to know him.

John has a lot of “nots” in his life. His mother does not know him, the man in her life is not his father, his school is not a school (it’s an anti-school), his tuba is not a tuba (it’s a frog), his friend who is not his friend, and so on. At one point, his teacher Mrs. Gabriel (aka Mrs. Moonface) asks him, “John, are you thinking? Are the wheels turning?”

Truthfully, John is always thinking and his wheels are always turning. Sometimes he’s thinking about what the Lashasa Palulu would do in a certain situation and sometimes he’s reinterpreting what people are really saying inside his own head; these thoughts are laugh-out-loud funny. But sometimes he’s thinking about how his stepfather is going to hurt him next and the next time could possibly be worse than the last; these thoughts are not the least bit funny. His inner monologue throughout the book is at times humorous and at times horrifying but is at all times painstakingly real.

John’s home situation has colored his perception of others and has created a wall of isolation which he keeps solid with sarcasm and self-assurances that everyone else must be out to make him miserable and to hurt him too. Yet, while John fears not being known, he discovers that he does not know other people either–outward appearances prove often to be deceiving.

The girl of his dreams turns out to be shallow, his mother turns out to be much deeper than he thought, his music teacher turns out to be a hero, his math teacher turns out to have been hurt badly in the past, and the man who is not his father turns out to be a worse criminal than he thought. John begins to let people in and to break down his wall of isolation–through a new friendship with a fellow band member, through his music, and through his slowly rehabilitating relationship with his mother.

Most of the novel is largely comprised of John’s talking about his situation. His horrible treatment at home is largely witnessed through retrospective introspection; so, for some, the violent actions detailed at the end might be sudden and jarring. Yet, this violence is not gratuitous; rather it is a necessary plot device underscoring the horror of John’s situation and of the situation of others’ like him who slip through the cracks “unknown”.

Klass’s story is a reminder to some to be cognizant of the pain of others and to step in before it’s too late and to others (those in John’s situation) that people who want to help are out there, willing and ready to help if asked. You can find additional recently published novels on child abuse at my list at WorldCat.org relating to child abuse.

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Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr (2007)

Forgetting isn’t enough.
You can paddle away from the memories and think they are gone.
But they will keep floating back, again and again and again.
They circle you, like sharks.
And you are bleeding your fear into the sea,
Until, unless
Something
Someone?
Can do more than just cover the wound.

In poignant first-person narration, Deanna Lambert relates the story of a girl who is thirteen years old when her father catches her with Tommy Weber in the back of Tommy’s Buick. Ever since, the girl has been defined by that moment. Deanna is that girl–her father defines her by that moment, everyone surrounding her defines her by that moment, and she defines herself by that moment.

Now, three years later, Deanna still hears others define her as a total nympho…a psycho…beyond pathetic. In English class, Deanna begins to express her hurt and her feelings in her story of “the girl on the waves.” The story of the girl on the waves helps Deanna to recognize that she has to face others who have hurt her in order to begin to heal herself. She must face Tommy again but also she must face her father.Along the way of coming to terms with her past, Deanna adds other mistakes to her old mistake. She has two friends who have stuck by her, Jason and Lee (who are boyfriend and girlfriend). In the midst of her own pain and confusion, Deanna mistreats them. She also buries her hurt over her father’s ignoring her for three years.

Story of a Girl lays bear human fallibility; the very real characters make mistakes and disappoint each other. Intentionally or unintentionally, we all at times hurt those we love and care about. Story of a Girl exhorts us to face up to our mistakes and old hurts and to patch up those relationships instead of giving up on each other and discarding people along with the hurt. It’s also about being strong enough to define ourselves instead of letting other people define us.

Zarr’s writing style and her protagonist’s issues reminds me of the fiction title of other YA authors such as Sarah Dessen and Laurie Halse Anderson. For those readers who want to read other fiction that pertains to struggles with forgiving and forgiveness, a few possibilities include Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, Whirligig by Paul Fleischman, and A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb.

Author Interviews: Sara Zarr at Big A Little A, Sara Zarr at Cynsations, and an audio interview with Sara Zarr at Mr. Media

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Happy Valentine’s Day! Be sure to check out the 2007 Cybils winners that were just announced. After you read this review of Love Stargirl, of course…

Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

“I’m homeschooling again. Gee, I wonder why — my Mica High School experience went so well!”

Stargirl’s days at Mica High are behind her–days during which she danced around the cafeteria playing a ukulele, cheered for the opposing team at sports events, and rode out the extremes of popularity and unpopularity. She has also left Leo behind, but she has by no means forgotten him. Love, Stargirl is comprised of a self-described “world’s longest letter” to Leo regarding her feelings for him, her experiences at Mica High, and her new post-Mica High existence.

Whereas Stargirl is narrated by Leo; Love, Stargirl has Stargirl herself solidly at the helm. Not only has the point of view altered, but Stargirl’s inner thoughts of sadness, loss, and insecurity will make her seem to readers of the first book like an almost entirely unfamiliar girl. The letters reflect a girl trying to understand how she feels about a boy she loves who let her down.

Yet, while it becomes clear that Stargirl’s spirit took a beating during her experiences in the first book, traces of her essence shine through. Her happy wagon (the stones that represent how happy she is at the moment) is greatly depleted, but as she meets new people and makes new memories one gets the sense that she will be happy again someday. Stargirl’s world becomes full again with a little girl, an agoraphobic, a donut lady, a mourning elderly man who has lost the love of his life, and a boy who quite possibly has a criminal record. Leo changed her indelibly and others she encounters will change her too, but Stargirl at her core remains the girl who brims with small kindnesses and compassion for strangers, who effects others positively, and who is “not just any girl.”

Spinelli’s Stargirl books have a lot to say about conformity, individuality, and self-discovery. While Stargirl speaks to these themes within the context of high school cliques and outsider shunning, Love, Stargirl tackles these same ideas in the bigger world with a wider cast of characters. Both books are enjoyable in their own way and are recommended for young adults who are facing similar struggles of developing their own unique identities and discovering their place in this big world while facing peer pressure to conform to small, status quo ideas.

For other titles about identity and conformity, try some of the suggestions on the ATN reading lists “If you like Stargirl”:

• Alice, I Think by Susan Juby
• Buddha Boy, by Kathe Koja
• Dolores: Seven Stories About Her by Bruce Brooks
• Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
• Razzle by Ellen Wittlinger
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
• The Misfits by James Howe

A few other books for young people that offer unique characters facing issues of identity and conformity include Feed by M.T. Anderson, the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld, and Emma Jean Lazarus Fell out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis. The hope is that journeying alongside these unique fictional characters will support young people in their own journeys of self-discovery.

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Me and the Pumpkin Queen by Marlane Kennedy (2007)

“Now, as I was saying, my focus on giant pumpkins started when I was six.”

Five years later, eleven-year-old Mildred maintains her focus, which, as she sees it, is not so unusual. Other girls her age are focused on clothes or boys: “It just so happens that my thoughts are consumed with something out of the ordinary.” Yes, that’s right, she wants to grow a giant pumpkin.

You see, Mildred lives in Circleville, Ohio where every October ushers in Fall but also the annual pumpkin festival. Mildred’s late mother had wanted to grow a giant pumpkin and enter the giant pumpkin contest, but she never got around to actually growing one before she died. Mildred resolves to fill part of the hole left by her mother’s absence by planting and cultivating pumpkins.

Unfortunately, growing pumpkins is one thing; growing a prize winning giant pumpkin is another. Mildred has spent that past few years trying and failing as a prize winning pumpkin grower due to one unforseen obstacle after another. Fortunately, Mildred’s one determined (obsessed, focused, you name it) girl, and she continues to throw her heart and soul into the task.

All of the time Mildred spends in devotion to her prize pumpkin growing goal makes her Aunt Arlene nervous; Aunt Arlene fears it will cause Mildred’s heart to break yet again. But Mildred’s father recognizes that each person’s grieving process is unique and needs to be left free to run its course, and he supports Mildred in her pumpkin growing efforts. Aunt Arlene does not give up easily, and she tries to distract Mildred with boys and clothes.

Finally, Aunt Arlene insists Mildred take a vacation away from her beloved pumpkins. Mildred must trust her father and friend to take care of them for her for a few days. Although she does feel anxious leaving her precious pumpkins behind, she learns about trusting others, letting go, accepting help, and supporting friends and family.

Me and the Pumpkin Queen goes into great detail about the process of growing giant pumpkins, but along the way it also reveals a great deal about loss, about one girl’s process for going about living after loss, and about the slow process of healing.

A few other recent books that lack giant pumpkins but that also tackle the subjects of father/daughter relationships and grief after loss include Mary Amato’s The Naked Mole Rat Letters, Amy Hest’s Remembering Mrs. Rossi, and Jenny Lombard’s Drita, My Homegirl.

Me and the Pumpkin Queen is Marlane Kennedy’s first book. She’s a member of the Class of 2k7, so you can read more about her at her page on the Class 2k7 website.

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