Second Story Press

Gladdy’s Wake

mandy — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 08:00:00 +0000

It took me a while to really sink my teeth into Gladdy’s Wake. The book weaves in and out of three generations, each tying together through family, hints of religion, and the story of Nawal Habib, a devout Muslim. Nawal (once Janie Kelly) is suspected of terrorism, an act that reunites her with her estranged brother, Frank (now a priest) and hospitalized father, Daniel (a once devout Catholic); both of whom she left to eventually reinvent herself as Nawal Habib. The story runs through Nawal’s family tragedy, her rebellion, the birth of her son, and eventual religious transformation, all the while introducing the reader to her grandfather, James Kelly, a womanizing Irish immigrant interested in fast cash with no real ethical principles, lest it regard his passion: Gladdy Sage.

Though each story is captivating, the book is fractured and difficult to engage in. It seemed that each time I fell into the story, the author interfered with an abrupt switch from one narrator to the next. It was not until the near end of the novel that Anderson’s transitions became fluid and absorbing, the way a book should really grab your attention and not let go.

Nevertheless, the story is a unique twist on the post-9/11 novel and introduces the reader to the challenges of belief systems and the interconnectedness of the human race through the passion of moral conviction. While the protagonists devote their lives to different ideologies, from Islam to Catholicism, atheism and the idolization of romantic love, each struggle with the reality of their idols and the conflicts that exist within themselves and their systems of belief. In this way, Gladdy’s Wake takes a critical look into how we follow faith and why we accepts conceptions of the “moral life” that contradict our character.

Nawal struggles with jihad and the role of women in Islam; Frank with the Catholic vilification of his hidden sexual orientation; Michael Kaminsky (Gladdy’s object of affection and James Kelly’s match) struggles with his Jewish heritage in the Communist revolution; and James Kelly with the real Gladdy Sage – an alcoholic escapist, devoted to Michael Kaminsky and the drink. None of the characters in Anderson’s novel are able to see their deities for what they are. Each blinds himself or herself, excusing as a way of maintaining the pedestal upon which they have placed their flawed idea of morality.

In turn, the story employs a seemingly fractured start to reveal the connection between the disconnected by relating the characters on a moral level. In this way, the author recovers her initial shortcomings. Though this lends the question, what makes a book? Its ability to capture its audience upfront, or to engage its reader with a critical approach to a heavy issue?

Written by: Ani Colekessian, April 22nd 2011

The Orphan Rescue

andrea — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0000

By Anne Dublin

Second Story Press

The Orphan Rescue opens in Sosnowiec, Poland in the late spring of 1937 as twelve-year-old Miriam and her grandfather take her younger brother David to an orphanage. Miriam’s grandparents have no other choice. The Depression has been a financially trying time for everyone, and when her locksmith grandfather injures his hand and can no longer work, the family is faced with a difficult decision. Young Miriam is pulled from school to work as a butcher’s assistant, while David must go and live at the orphanage, headed by the beady-eyed, vulture-like director, Mr. Reznitsky. After already losing her parents, Miriam is devastated to say good-bye to her brother and vows to bring him home, one way or another.

The Orphan Rescue offers the pre-teen reader a strong girl character in Miriam, who is true to her word and perseveres until she fulfills her promise, even when it requires her to tell lies and transgress the rules. In the book’s afterword, the author, Anne Dublin, shares how The Orphan Rescue is based on the true story of her cousins, Miriam and Alter Chaim. Dublin also states in this section that she wanted today’s children to know that poverty throughout the world still forces families to send their children to orphanages and take them out of school to work.

Although this book is intended for pre-teens, I decided to read it to my 8-year-old daughter. She thought Miriam did the right thing because brothers and sisters have an obligation to protect one another. But she also believed “that was a long time ago, they don’t have orphanages today.” I told my daughter that these types of institutions no longer exist in our country, but we still have foster homes. This led to a fairly lengthy conversation about the few alternatives some parents have when they lose their jobs or become ill and have no immediate family to help them out.

As a former teacher, I can see that The Orphan Rescue would make a good class reader, as the subject matter holds the interest of strong readers, while the story is easy and short enough to accommodate those with lower reading skills. The book also provides teachers with numerous areas of discussion and starting points to explore other areas, such as European Geography, World Religions, the Depression, Genealogy and Child Labour.

Another idea might be to create a second version of this book for stronger or older readers. The first few chapters are very dramatic and could have been fleshed out with more period details to draw the reader further into the narrative.

Overall, The Orphan Rescue was a rich story and all the more compelling because it was true.

Written by: Heather Leighton, March 26th 2011

Old Photographs

gwen — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000

By Sherie Posesorski

Second Story Press

Old Photographs by Sherie Posesorski is the story of Phoebe Hecht, a teenage girl who is struggling through most boring summer of her life. Originally from the small town of Barrie, Phoebe moved to Toronto about a year ago when her mother married Greg, a very rich, very serious doctor. While her mother is excited about all the changes in their life, Phoebe is less than thrilled. Her only friend, Yuri, is spending the summer in Tokyo and her current crush, Colin, doesn't seem to know she's alive. Added to that is the fact that she misses her extended family back in Barrie, while her mother seems determined to erase any evidence of their old life, including forbidding any old family photos to be displayed.

Things don't seem like they're ever going to get any better until Phoebe comes across a garage sale being held by Mrs. Tomblin, an elderly neighbor. The two become fast friends and Phoebe soon discovers two things about Mrs. Tomblin. The first is that she suffers from Alzheimer's disease and is selling the majority of her belongings because her son is moving her to an assisted living facility. The other is that Mrs. Tomblin is in possession of a series of photographs taken by her aunt, a world famous photographer. Shortly after their first meeting, Mrs. Tomblin becomes the victim of a brutal assault and burglary. The police are baffled by the crime but Phoebe suspects it has something to do with Mrs. Tomblin's old photographs and vows to solve the case herself.

The characters are the strongest part of this book. Phoebe comes across as a normal teenager. She's very outspoken and hot-tempered but is completely tongue-tied around her crush. She argues with her parents but is never so disrespectful as to come off bratty or annoying. Colin, the object of Phoebe's affection, is smart and hard-working, spending his summer stocking groceries. He genuinely cares about both Phoebe and Mrs. Tomblin and his friendship with Phoebe naturally progresses into a believable relationship. Phoebe's mother is a conflicted woman. She loves her daughter and wants the best for her but has the misguided notion that the only way to achieve that is to ignore everything that happened in their past. The interactions between Phoebe and her mother are full of both friction and love, making for a very real mother/daughter relationship.

My only complaint is that we don't get to see enough of Phoebe's best friend Yuri, who serves as her sounding board for all things mystery-related. Since Yuri is overseas for the majority of the book, she and Phoebe mostly communicate via text messages and e-mails, which has the effect of making the interaction between the two girls pretty dull and lifeless until the end of the novel, when Yuri comes back from her vacation. For those last few chapters, the girls exchange such witty, natural dialogue that you wish that Posesorski had brought Yuri back a whole lot earlier.

The biggest problem in Old Photographs is that it is a mystery novel that lacks a mystery. The reader knows almost immediately what the burglars were looking for in Mrs. Tomblin's house and the only suspects that Phoebe comes up with turn out to be the guilty parties. There are no surprises, no suspense, and the entire novel comes across more as a coming-of-age story than a whodunit. The characters are so engaging, though, that I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel, albeit with a better mystery this time around.

Written by: Victoria Granado, February 2nd 2011

The Way It Is

mandy — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 20:00:00 +0000

By Donalda Reid

Second Story Press

Donalda Reid is gutsy to take on heavy racial undertones in her first novel They Way It Is. The story is historical fiction; although, aside from the creation of the main characters, this young adult book is more history than fiction.

Ellen Manery is quietly outspoken and smart. Your typical bookworm with big city ideas, Ellen is considered to be a radical in the small, Canadian town her parents forced her to move to. You have to feel sorry for Ellen, who is more comfortable with books than people, and starts her senior year at a new school where students and teachers alike believe she is way too ambitious for a girl.

All of this starts to change when we meet Tony Paul, a schoolmate of Ellen's who is seemingly as subdued as she is. As the friendship grows between this Shuswap Indian and former city girl, the reader starts to see the racial equality struggles of Canadians take shape. They Way It Is isn't just another book about racial discrimination. Donalda Reid makes it relatable; she doesn't just point out facts, she makes the reader live them.

The biggest lesson in The Way It Is is that while race gets in the way of many things, we don't have to let it. People create the dividing lines between people of different races and ethnicities. And if harmony and acceptance are employed, racism will no longer be justified as simply the way it is.

Written by: Nina Lopez-Ortiz, January 19th 2011

Our Earth: How Kids are Saving the Planet

mandy — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 08:00:00 +0000

By Janet Wilson

Second Story Press

Warm colours cover this book of global children’s experiences of how they are changing the world. Janet Wilson’s Our Earth is a brightly illustrated compact collection worth reading. The core message is simple: all people need to come together to heal the Earth.

Children such as David Suzuki’s daughter, Severn, are included. Part of her advice on protecting the earth is, “If you don’t know how to fix it, please stop breaking it!” Susuki certainly had an environmental hook-up through her parents, but her message is no less potent.

Other voices, such as that of twelve-year-old Adeline Tiffanie Suwana (Indonesia), present knowledgeable adolescent awareness of the devastating effects of humans on Earth. Part of her realization is that we are all connected and whatever damage we do in one region of the world influences other areas.

Part of the attraction of this collection (beyond the artwork and inspirational experiences) is the fact that all of these individuals have proved that activists, no matter their age, can make a difference in the world. Costa Ricans Janine Licare and Aislin Livingstone have started up Kids Saving the Rainforest, a nonprofit that helps maintain habitats for animals like the Titi monkeys.

Accounts go beyond dealing with the after affects of human destruction; Fan Minghe, a Chinese teenager, searches markets for endangered wildlife being sold illegally in China. Thanks to his efforts, China has an organization called Green Eyes Club that not only saves animals but also is responsible for a number of tasks including reporting poachers and maintaining animal sanctuaries.

The last few pages provide a number of inventions and ways that children have provided as alternatives to modern pollutants like plastic bags. There are also snippets of grassroots level awareness which educate the reader.

Another strong point about this book is that the author does not highlight human atrocities; Our Earth's goal is to present solutions to the current problems Earth faces as a result of our existence here. Wilson encourages the reader to implement such strategies in their own schools and neighbourhoods.

Pollution and destruction are not simply local problems; they are global problems too. But as Our Earth shows, the world’s children and youth are at the forefront of the change we need to repair the earth. Get a copy of this book and pass it along to a young person you know in order to keep the momentum going!

Written by: Nicolette Westfall, January 19th 2011

A Chanukah Noel: A True Story

annette — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:00:00 +0000

By Sharon Jennings

Second Story Press

A Chanukah Noel is a welcome addition to the limited but much-needed canon of interfaith children’s books, and it has the particular additional benefit of being entirely secular. This combination of qualities already sets it apart from most Christmas picture books. The story is about a young Jewish girl named Charlotte who moves to rural France and struggles to fit in. She is held back several grades until she learns French, she’s called ‘the foreigner’ by a classmate, she’s afraid she’ll be left out of the Christmas grab bag gift swap, and her parents tell her she has to study French while everyone else is enjoying their Christmas vacation. She finds Chanukah a poor substitute for what she sees going on around her–decorations, lights, a traditional travelling Christmas market, shops full of gifts and rich foods. It’s not entirely altruism-driven when she hits upon a great way to support a poorer classmate who celebrates, but can’t afford all the trappings. She convinces her parents to let her experience Christmas by proxy: they do all the usual holiday preparations and then donate the food, gifts and decorations to her classmate’s family.

The protagonist is flawed, but in touch with her emotions. Parents of children in Charlotte’s position will find this story valuable for modelling emotional literacy. Envy is named and owned, distinctions are made between religious and national customs, and the word miracle, which is nearly always used in religious Christmas and Chanukah stories, is applied very specifically to human generosity in this one.

It’s a very matter-of-fact take on a real experience of a child whose family doesn’t celebrate Christmas, and it acknowledges the benefits of sharing cultural traditions. The portrayal of class is glossed over more than some may like–a very brief conversation, where Charlotte insists that the family who receives the Christmas goose and decorations would be doing her a favour–sums up the exchange in a way that makes sense from the point of view of the young main character, and may oversimplify the complex hierarchy of charitable giving, but an event at the end of the story equalizes the exchange. This is a true story, and I appreciated it in the sense that it was a snippet of a real event retold to the author and illustrator. From that perspective, it stands alone well. However, after the story ended, I wanted to know more: why did they have to move to France? Was it during the war? A little more recently? Did it take Charlotte a long time to learn French? Unfortunately, these questions aren’t answered, but the rich honesty of the story–despite its deceptively simple narrative–makes me want to hear from this author and illustrator again.

Speaking of the illustrations, the expressiveness in each picture combined with the slightly muted color palate gives the impression of old film footage. The Christmas market actually looked just like the local ones that visit Yorkshire every year, to my surprise and delight. People, landscapes and kitchen utensils are afforded the same attention to detail and fit well with the story.

Half my family is Jewish and the other half is Catholic, and we do a bit of both holidays every December. I missed out on secular interfaith holiday books as a kid, and really appreciated this story personally. More, please.

Written by: Chella Quint, December 21st 2010

A Woman's Agenda 2011: Celebrating Movers and Shakers

beth — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 08:00:00 +0000

By Karen Helm

Second Story Press

Whenever I walk into an office supply store, my heart bursts into song. Traipsing rapturously down the aisles of Staples or Office Depot, it's all I can do not to spin like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. Five subject notebooks and highlighter markers, White-Out and staples and hanging file folders, colorful Post-its of differing size: these are a few of my favorite things.

As someone with a fetishistic love of organization, I appreciate a good annual planner. While I generally keep my schedule and to do lists updated using a variety of paperless tools—such as Outlook's calendar feature and Google Docs—there are benefits to having a hard copy version of my schedule: at a glance, I can see everything on my plate without needing to pull out my laptop. It also allows me to step out of the weeds of my day-to-day commitments and reflect about my workload and my year. Finally, because I'm shortly going to be spending the next two years volunteering abroad, I want to have a tangible, coherent vision of what's happening in my life next, during months of transition where I will feel lost and out of control for long stretches of time—and possibly with minimal technology available.

A lot to ask of a planner, I know. Still, A Woman's Agenda 2011 seems a good fit for my needs. Solidly spiral bound and measuring roughly five inches by eight inches, the calendar is hefty enough to accommodate the details of my schedule I need while still being small enough to fit in a purse or messenger bag—and feel manageable. Each month has two blank pages for notes; each week has space for an hour-by-hour breakdown of your schedule. Unfortunately, the weekends get short shrift, with fewer lines allotted for tasks on Saturday and Sunday.

This oversight is compensated for, to an extent, by the inspiration that dots the pages of this calendar: every month has a feminist luminary. Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and American politician Shirley Chisholm both receive two-page profiles, as do several Canadian women like women's hockey team captain Cassie Campbell-Pascall. Every week also has an inspiring quote, presumably by the woman profiled at the start of the month (those these are unattributed, so this is an assumption). Finally, there is a list of feminist websites to visit for further inspiration and community.

While A Woman's Agenda 2011 is flawed, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Snag one for the on-the-go feminists in your life, as they start to reflect on what they'll accomplish in the coming year.

Written by: Catherine Nicotera, November 15th 2010

Patrick's Wish

alicia — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 16:00:00 +0000

By Rebecca Upjohn, Karen Mitchell

Second Story Press

Patrick's Wish is a true story told from the perspective of a young girl whose brother had a serious illness. It is evident from page one that there was some serious hero worship going on when it came to her older brother, Patrick. The book itself has an almost scrapbook feel to it, with alternating pages of text and photographs from Patrick and Lyanne’s childhood, and it details Lyanne’s eventual discovery that her brother’s illness is terminal.

Patrick, a hemophiliac, contracted HIV from a blood transfusion, and while he and his parents kept this secret for many years, Patrick ultimately decided he needed to share his diagnosis with the rest of his family. As he moved through adolescence with relatively few symptoms, Patrick and his family became active in spreading the word about AIDS and raising money for medical research.

Patrick's Wish chronicles his journey as an active young man who eventually took the incredibly difficult step of educating his peers about HIV and AIDS in an effort to remove some of the stigma from those who suffer from the disease. When Patrick’s body finally succumbed to the effects of AIDS, Lyanne took up the torch and continued her brother’s work.

Patrick's Wish is aimed at children and does an admirable job of using the voice of a young girl to impart its message. Full color photographs help the reader to visualize Patrick and his family as any other family. The “hard science” of the disease itself is explained in a way that is understandable for children. I especially appreciated the HIV/AIDS facts on the last two pages of the book, which provide concrete information about the disease, its transmission, and its treatment.

My eight- and ten-year-old daughters both asked to read Patrick's Wish, which created the perfect opportunity to engage in a discussion about HIV and AIDS. The girls asked whether we knew anyone who was HIV positive and were interested to know whether their schools could benefit from presentations or special education on the disease. The book’s other merits notwithstanding, this gave us more than enough reason to read and recommend Patrick's Wish.

Written by: Kari O'Driscoll, November 4th 2010

The Second Trial

admin — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 08:02:00 +0000

By Rosemarie Boll

Second Story Press

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a scourge that affects families in every country and at every social class. Between twenty-five and fifty percent of women worldwide will be a victim of IPV at some point in thier lives, and forty to seventy percent of female murder victims are killed by an intimate partner. These statistics are shocking, but what is too often left out of the discussion about IPV is the way violence can affect so many lives. When those in pop culture or the media explore themes relating to IPV, the conversation is limited to finding safety for the survivor, usually a woman, and to utilizing the traditional legal system to prosecute and punish the offender, usually a man. In The Second Trial, Rosemarie Boll moves beyond the dichotomy of perpetrator vs. victim and focuses on the too often invisible children who are harmed by IPV. Through the experiences of an adolescent boy, the book tells the story of a Canadian family coming to grips with extreme violence.

Boll introduces us to Danny, a thirteen-year-old boy who witnesses a family court hearing after his father seriously and continually abused his mother. The book tracks the boy through the court proceedings and then through life in a protection program designed to prevent his father from causing further serious harm to his mother. Viewing complicated legal issues around IPV through the eyes of a child highlights the disconnect between the formality of the legal system and the complex, sometimes contradictory emotions involved in family violence. Outsiders are used to seeing an evil offender and an innocent victim. But what does a child do when this “evil offender” is also a father? The Second Trial addresses these complicated questions of family and safety within an abusive household. Boll captures how a child can love and idolize a parent, even an abusive one.

By delving into tricky questions that surround IPV, Boll raises questions about how clunky traditional legal systems deal with complex issues in family law. She shines a light on non-court based innovations to keep families safe and introduces readers to New Identities for Victims of Abuse (NIVA), which was started by the Alberta government in 1997 to provide additional protection to victims of family violence. IPV is a serious and complicated problem that demands creative solutions. The confines of the courtroom should not be the limits of our solutions to IPV.

The Second Trial provides readers a glimpse into a child’s relationship with family violence, revealing an often forgotten voice in narratives about the subject. By contrasting traditional court-based solutions with the NIVA program, Boll makes us question the bounds of the traditional legal system. She leads readers to demand alternative avenues to justice and creative routes to safety for victims.

Written by: Andrea Gittleman, August 2nd 2010

Fearless Female Journalists

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:00:00 +0000

By Joy Crysdale

Second Story Press

Fearless Female Journalists is a set of ten short profiles of female reporters, photojournalists, and newscasters hailing from various times and places over the last two centuries.

Among the women featured is one of the early pioneers of modern journalism: nineteenth-century American newspaperwoman Nellie Bly, a daredevil stunt reporter. Nelly Bly is perhaps most famous for circumnavigating the globe in seventy-three days in an era before airplanes, but she also took on assignments designed to do good as well as to make a splash. For example, she got herself admitted as a patient to the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island in order to expose the terrible conditions there. In a later chapter, we meet Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian reporter who, despite her privileged origins as the daughter of diplomats, made the decision to risk–and ultimately lose–her life in order to report on the Russian occupation of Chechnya. (Politkovskaya was assassinated on October 7, 2006, at age forty-eight.) The book closes with a portrait of Thembi Ngubane, a young South African woman who recorded an audio journal about her life with AIDS as part of an effort to end the stigma around AIDS, as well as to push the South African government to acknowledge the tragic proportions of the AIDS epidemic.

The book is geared towards children–I estimate that it is most appropriate for an audience aged seven to eleven. The profiles are attractive and highly readable, complete with photographs and sidebars containing “fun facts.” The stories are entertaining and inspiring, and the selection of featured journalists reflects some variety in terms of era, type of journalism, and nationality (although the book still skews heavily toward heterosexual North American white women). Unfortunately, the book does have a downside–it is written from a “nice, liberal” standpoint, in which history is presented as an inexorable march towards progress, driven by a few exceptionally determined actors. This perspective glorifies individual high-profile “heroines” while erasing the history of communal struggle. It also obscures the reality that, in most cases, the few exceptional people who “make it big” do so not because they are more courageous or determined than thousands of others, but rather because they got lucky or started out with some “extras,” such as racial or class privilege.

The book reaches its nadir at the beginning of the final chapter, when it begins the profile of Thembi Ngubane by blatantly exoticizing her ethnicity: “Thembi Ngubane had a beautiful voice. Like her name, it was wonderfully African. Her voice flowed and lilted and swam around words, especially words with ‘r’ in them."

While I enjoyed reading Fearless Female Journalists and learning about the ten outstanding women profiled within, I could have happily done without the book’s uncritical, unconscious approach to the narrative of history and social change.

Written by: Ri J. Turner, July 23rd 2010

Sandy's Incredible Shrinking Footprint

admin — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 20:00:00 +0000

By Femida Handy, Carol Carpenter, Adrianna Steele-Card

Second Story Press

Struggling with the idea of how to teach your child about the concept of his or her environmental footprint? Who isn't! With young children being so literal, it's hard for them to think about how a footprint could be anything other than, well, a footprint. In steps (pun intended!) Sandy's Incredible Shrinking Footprint.

With interesting, creative fabric and wood sculpture art introducing us to Sandy, and her dog, we learn about her summers with her grandparents at the ocean. Her grandfather teaches her all about sea creatures, and Sandy loves to explore the beach. When she stumbles over some garbage, and begins to clean it up, she meets the "garbage monster" who is really not scary, but an older women who collects garbage. She shares some environmental words of wisdom with Sandy, and then Sandy is off to tell her family how they can reduce their footprint on the earth as well.

This book is simple, clear and not preachy. The illustrations give life to the story, and provide some clues for developing knowledge beyond the literal. For example, the pictures of the earth clearly illustrate what can happen to the earth if we don't take care of it, and what will happen if we do. Children can see and understand this.

I only wish there was a page filled with adult ideas for lessening our footprints and kid ideas for lessening their footprints. A resource page with these lists would be nice to review with a child. But, of course, you can generate those lists with your children, yourselves. We brainstormed some ideas after reading this book together with my three- and five-year-old girls. Perhaps doing this ourselves makes it more meaningful than if it was in the book in the first place.

Looking to teach environmentally responsible lessons and meaning through books? This is a great addition to your green book collection. And rest assured, this book wasn't created by using rainforest pulp, as I shared that many environmentally-themed books are. Sandy's Incredible Shrinking Footprint is printed on Forest Stewardship Council certified paper. A big thank you to Second Story Press for being a publisher that values the environment and minimizes its impact (or, shrinks its footprint! I couldn't resist). More publishers need to join you in this regard.

Cross-posted from Non-Toxic Kids

Written by: Katy Farber, June 25th 2010

Song Over Quiet Lake

admin — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

By Sarah Felix Burns

Second Story Press

In Song Over Quiet Lake, Sarah Felix Burns tells several intertwining stories of loss, love, and healing. The novel centers on an unlikely friendship between a young white woman, Sylvia, and a Tlingit elder, Lydie Jim. Both are students at the University of British Columbia, and they meet when Sylvia is assigned to be Lydie’s tutor. Although their relationship is formal at first, they gradually become deeply drawn into each other’s lives.

Sylvia learns the painful story of Lydie’s past: snatched away from her family at a young age and forced to attend a residential boarding school, Lydie has spent her entire life struggling to salvage enough dignity, rootedness, and love to take care of her own children in the face of a world determined to tear First Nations families apart. In return, Lydie learns about the tragedy in Sylvia’s past: the younger brother who was kidnapped as a toddler, leaving Sylvia’s mother frozen in time and grief, unable to love her two remaining children.

Sylvia and Lydie narrate most of the novel, but interspersed with their voices are the voices of the other characters in the web—Sylvia’s erstwhile boyfriend River, Lydie’s sons Jonah and Mitchell, Sylvia’s mother Miriam, and several others. Serving as an overlay to the personal stories, the broader historical narrative shows up in the voice of a priest who was once one of Lydie’s boarding school teachers. Well-intentioned but passive, the elderly priest relives his memories of complicity—his participation in the residential school system, his failure to stop a cruel practical joke that resulted in a young boy’s death, his refusal to demand that Canada grant asylum to Jews fleeing Nazi Germany.

All the characters in Song Over Quiet Lake are victims of the ravages of historical or personal tragedy, and they are victims of the intergenerational transmission of unresolved trauma. They are struggling to move forward with their lives, to emerge from past sorrows in order to build something new. They are also struggling to be able to give at least a little bit to each other, like the song (referenced in the novel’s title) that Lydie’s mother gave to Lydie as a young child. Even when Lydie returned from boarding school having lost her native language, with the result that she could no longer speak with her mother in words, they could still sing together and know they had each other’s love.

The novel’s dialogue is limp and stilted, and the prose as a whole lacks life. However, the characters are convincing and moving, and their complex, interwoven lives tell important stories about national guilt and communal resilience.

Written by: Ri J. Turner, April 7th 2010

The Last River Child

admin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:01:00 +0000

By Lori Ann Bloomfield

Second Story Press

The Last River Child is the story of a town caught up in a legend: they believe there are children possessed by the spirit of the river meant to bring misfortune to everything around them. Everyone is taught to stay away from the river, but a young girl named Peg feels drawn to the river and refuses to believe the story. She becomes an outcast and whenever something goes wrong in the town, it’s blamed on her.

The book begins with the story of Rose, Peg’s mother, who grows up alienated from her family and peers. Her story is told in a few chapters, and then continues with Peg’s own childhood. Her life is full of strange coincidences and unfortunate occurrences, including a meteor hitting the town on the day of her baptism and her mother’s death on the day World War I is declared. The town is affected by the war in all the ways you might expect, but in that time, Peg finds friendship in a boy from a neighboring town and by becoming pen pals with her sister’s husband.

While the story itself is an interesting one, what makes this book compelling are the relationships between the characters. Peg’s mother, Rose, has a bad relationship with her family and is also an outcast in the town she grew up in. As soon as she gets the chance, she takes matters into her own hands, moves away and marries a man with whom she develops a close relationship. When they have children, their relationship becomes strained. Peg’s father resents her and her sister, Sarah, and I couldn’t help but sympathize with him later in the novel as he becomes more aware of his treatment of his daughters and wife.

I can’t discuss the relationships in this book without touching on Peg’s relationship with Sarah. Because of her label as a "river child," Peg grows up spending most of her time by herself because her sister Sarah values her friendships more than the relationship with Peg. They grow up alongside each other, but not really together. When circumstances force them to spend several months alone together, their relationship is put to the test. It’s strengthened at first, but then expectedly splinters.

The one criticism I have of this otherwise great book is the lack of relationships between women. Rose resented her mother, Peg and Sarah aren’t close, Sarah’s more interested in her desire to be with her best friend’s brother than in strengthening the relationship with her best friend, and the only meaningful relationships Peg forms are with men. I was admittedly quite happy to see Peg become friends with anybody by that point in the novel, but it would have been nice to have one healthy relationship between women somewhere in the book.

Despite this, I really did enjoy The Last River Child. It was satisfying to see Peg gain more confidence and take control of her life, just as Rose had done so many years earlier. While the book lacked strong relationships between women, it certainly didn’t lack strong female characters.

Written by: frau sally benz, March 29th 2010

Thinandbeautiful.com

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:00:00 +0000

By Liane Shaw

Second Story Press

As someone who has struggled with disordered eating, I was very eager to dig into Thinandbeautiful.com. This young adult book was written by Liane Shaw, a teacher who once struggled with anorexia. The story follows Maddie, an anorexic teenage girl who finds herself sucked into the "pro-ana" (pro-anorexia) website thinandbeautiful.com. Thinking no one understands how she feels about her weight and her body, Maddie pushes her friends and family away, finding her only comfort in the virtual arms of her online friends.

The story finds Maddie in a sort of rehab facility for eating disorders where she is told to keep a journal chronicling her descent into anorexia. The action shifts back and forth between the journal entries describing how Maddie fell into anorexic thinking (it all began when a doctor during a routine examination warns her to be careful about gaining "unwanted pounds") to the present day, her time in the rehab facility and her feelings that no one understands her "need" to be thinner. It's only when Maddie gets tragic news about one of her online friends that she begins to come to terms with the idea that she might have a problem.

Thinandbeautiful.com starts slowly. The journal format is difficult to get into, partially because it didn't really feel like the words of a seventeen-year-old girl. It read like the words of an adult trying to write as if she were a seventeen-year-old girl. In fact, it is reminiscent of the after school specials you might have watched in the late eighties.

Describing the descent into anorexia is difficult; the early parts of the book are slow and convoluted and don't really help to explain why someone would decide that their weight it isn't good enough, no matter how thin they may be. In fact, as much as the early pages of this book talk about Maddie's desire to be "thin and healthy," there is little mention of what her actual weight currently is or what she thinks it should be. Her goal is simply to be thinner, but there is little behind that desire. Her desire to be thin is fueled only by a vague notion that "thinner is better," not any idea about how her life will be different when she reaches her undefined magic goal weight.

I’m not saying there has to be a rational reason behind an irrational way of thinking, but I do think eating disorders are usually fueled by more than just a desire to be thin. It’s a perception that something else is lacking or that the thinness will help the sufferer achieve something, such as control. That’s why I found Maddie’s struggle difficult to identify with and understand.

About halfway through the book, once the journal entries reach their apex and Maddie really starts to confront her feelings about her family and her online friends, the story starts to resonate. You may not understand why Maddie has an eating disorder, but you do understand she’s hurting and that she’s struggling to find a way to conquer her illness. It is in the last third of the book that you feel the author's connection to the material; the words finally start to ring true and the book becomes genuine, just when it matters most.

However, Thinandbeautiful.com is a case of too little, too late. Those final glimpses aren't enough to recommend the book. Someone struggling with the same thoughts as Maddie may find Thinandbeautiful.com comforting, but those trying to understand why someone would starve themselves will find this novel lacking.

Written by: Jennifer Lee Johnson, January 19th 2010

Violet

admin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:01:00 +0000

By Tania Duprey Stehlik, Vanja Vuleta Jovanovic

Second Story Press

A first day in a new school. Stomach butterflies, lunchroom trades, art projects. Kids asking why you’re not the same color as your dad. This is the story of Violet, a children’s picture book by Tania Duprey Stehlik with edgy illustrations by Vanja Vuleta Jovanovic.

Violet’s mom is red, her dad is blue, and Violet is, well, violet. Back home at the kitchen table after school, Violet asks her mother to explain. She brings out the paints: “If you take red and mix in a little blue, you get a lovely purply-violet.” When Violet asks whether there are others like her, her mother responds by assuring Violet that “...many children are mixed, just like you.”

Ouch. The word “mixed” as a description of a person’s ethnicity is jarring, especially in this storybook context. Doesn’t a “mix” refer to a dog or Betty Crocker? Connotations aside, the word is more problematic than meaningful. A heck of a lot of people, especially in North America, have some element of mixed ethnicity. Another approach to Violet’s story would be to emphasize this fact and dispel the myth that skin tone can be classified into a set few colors. Surely of the red, yellow, and blue kids at Violet’s school, some had lighter skin and some had darker skin, each with a distinct shade and tone. But in an illustration depicting the schoolyard, the matching skin colors of the children are starkly in contrast with the careful individuality Jovanovic gives the rest of the children’s features, clothing, and expressions.

Nevertheless, Violet seems to find her mother’s explanation sensible and confidence-building enough to proudly use it herself. Perhaps the matter-of-fact explanation of color-blending is just the ammo Violet needed to quickly mollify her bewildered classmates and get back to art projects and making new friends. However, one hopes the teachers at her school will look into some activities with multicultural play dough.

Written by: Jonelle Seitz, December 8th 2009