The Book of Living and Dying by Natale Ghent
Summary: After her older brother John’s death from cancer, Sarah finds herself adrift in grief. Constant headaches led Sarah to self-medicate with alcohol and pills, but when her brother begins to haunt her, Sarah steps up her substance abuse. Trying to rid herself of her brother’s ghost, she confides in her friend Donna and tries different rituals from The Book of Living and Dying to help him move on to the afterlife. When it doesn’t work, Sarah finds herself descending into madness, having repetitive dreams that don’t make sense, hearing voices, and fixating on a tarot reading she doesn’t quite understand. A new friendship with a fellow classmate named Michael gives her a place to turn to as things get worse, and his talent with creating videos brings her some comfort.
Number of Pages: 212
Age Range: 15-17
Review: The mark of a skilled story-teller is when they spin a complete tale, only to completely change your perception of it in the last few pages. It leaves the reader with a stunned feeling, wondering what happened, and, if the book is especially amazing, a burning desire to go back and re-read it immediately to try and pick up on missed clues to the book’s true nature.
Natale Ghent’s The Book of Living and Dying is exactly that, a story about a teen girl named Sarah grieving the death of her older brother who is haunting her. Plagued by continuous migraine headaches, Sarah drinks and takes prescription medication that isn’t hers to cope, avoiding the doctor at all costs because of her experiences with her brother’s cancer. Her mother is devastated by the loss of her son John, having already lived through the death of her husband, and isn’t a good support for her daughter in her time of need.
When Michael starts at her school, Sarah is first repulsed by him but quickly finds he is a kindred spirit she is increasingly attracted to. As the haunting grows worse and she begins having intense dreams she doesn’t understand, Sarah finds herself wasting away while trying to cling to the good in her life. Michael becomes a source of comfort and a guiding force in her life.
This is the kind of book that doesn’t really come together until the end, but when it does, it puts the whole story in a new light. It’s difficult to write about it without ruining it, but suffice it to say that Ghent shows her considerable talent in a multi-layered story that reveals its true beauty in the last few pages. I loved it beyond words, because it is brilliantly crafted and also contains great insight into hospital life at its bleakest, and the true nature of terminal illness as Sarah reflects on her time with her brother.
I know that reading it a second time will be a completely different experience due to the nature of the book and I look forward to being able to enjoy Sarah’s story with a new perspective.
Memorable Quotes:
“The blue ink spiral he had drawn on her hand winked from her palm. ‘For life,’ he had said. And so it seemed to be true, that life had a way of asserting itself, reinventing itself, of taking an unexpected turn and springing it up in the most unlikely places – in alleyways, beneath uprooted trees, in the cracks of sidewalks, in the palm of your hand. ‘So does death,’ she abruptly thought.” – Sarah from The Book of Living and Dying by Natale Ghent, pages 50-51
“It was the worst part of being in the hospital: the constant fussing without the comfort of human contact. Hands touching without feeling. Performing duties. The needle pricks and examinations pushing the memory of intimacy father and farther below the skin, until it contracted completely and hid in a secret corner of the subconscious, to be realised only, and tantalizingly, in the liquid world of dreams.” – from The Book of Living and Dying by Natale Ghent, pages 181-182
The Book of Living and Dying by Natale Ghent is published by HarperTrophy Canada, (2005).
Three Songs for Courage by Maxine Trottier
Summary: Sixteen year-old Gordon and his friends, the Lakers, are a group of guys living it up in the summer of 1956. Given a car for his birthday, Gordon is distressed when Lancer, a member of a rival group, is careless with his cigarette and mars the paint job. As the summer progresses the tension between the two continues to build, escalating when Gordon starts going out with Mary, the girl Lancer had his eye on. But when Lancer goes too far, his actions will change Gordon’s life forever, forcing him into a position where he has to decide what he would do to get revenge. By the time school begins again, Gordon has matured in many ways, learning the hard way about what is really important in life.
Number of Pages: 321
Age Range: 15-17
Review: Gordon starts out in Three Songs for Courage by Maxine Trottier as an arrogant teenage boy, devastated by finding a cigarette butt on his new car that he worked so hard to clean and wax. Fancying himself as a James Dean type, Gordon has a pretty normal life hanging out with his friends and pursuing women. An already tension-filled acquaintance with a guy named Lancer gets worse when Gordon and Mary begin a relationship because Lancer is under the delusion that Mary should be with him instead.
It seems harmless at first, this rivalry between the two, but Lancer is mentally unstable and willing to go to extreme lengths to get what he wants, deriving intense pleasure from causing Gordon pain because he feels his actions are justified. Gordon is helpless to protect himself at first because events caused by Lancer seem random, but when he finds out what Lancer has done, he is overcome. Before he can make up his mind to act on his anger, the decision is taken out of his hands and Gordon finds himself wondering what would have happened if it had been up to him.
I enjoyed reading about the 1950s, but what struck me most about Trottier’s book is that again and again, Gordon is surrounded by love and support. He goes through a horrible summer that changes his life, and every time he needs someone, they are there for him. From his parents to his friends to his new girlfriend Mary to Joely, his mentor of sorts, Gordon is supported through his grief and the decisions he makes. He quickly becomes a character worth loving, because so many others care about him. Ultimately, the events of the book end up strengthening the relationships of his life and Gordon comes to realize how lucky he is to have these people in his life.
Trottier is especially skilled at capturing the cockiness of youth and the teenage male. Though I was disgusted at times by the crude detail of the male adolescent psyche, Trottier’s writing really helped me get into Gordon’s experience, and opened me up to a new perspective. I loved it as a piece of historical fiction that captures a time period, and as one young man’s journey through grief to adulthood.
Memorable Quotes:
“The night when someone you love dies, especially if you have never before been stroked by death’s wintry finger, is the longest night of your life. It’s one of those nights you will always remember, no matter how old you become. An unwelcome specter, the memory will tuck itself away in your mind, sleeping, waiting patiently, and when you least expect it, rise up and slash at your heart with its claws.” – from Three Songs for Courage by Maxine Trottier, pages 169-170
“David put his arms around Gordon, not just around his shoulders, but entirely around him. Gordon wept then. For the kindness and goodness of his friend, for the loss of his little brother, for his own misery, but mostly just for Stan.” – from Three Songs for Courage by Maxine Trottier, page 171
“But, then Gordon did something that perhaps no other teenage boy in history had ever done or would do. It was an act so unique in young male sexuality, that it was beyond time and space. If it was ever discovered by, and recorded by future anthropologists, they would win the Nobel Prize for Implausibility and get their own stars on the Sexual Walk of Fame.
Gordon took his hand away.
He loved her that much, and he was that afraid of losing her. Gordon could not imagine getting through a night without the sweet and perfect knowledge that Mary was his girl. That’s how much he loved her.” – from Three Songs for Courage by Maxine Trottier, page 233
“Gordon stood up and going to his father, put his arms around him. ‘Thanks, Dad.’
Ben Westley, caught off guard, returned the unexpected hug, his heart aching with love. He watched his son leave the den and climb the stairs. ‘He is so young,’ he thought. ‘There are so many things that can happen to make it all go wrong for him. One stupid thing and that’s it; his life could be ruined. Dear God, let him be safe. Let me give him the right advice when he asks.’
Caught in the powerful grip of his love for Gordon, an emotion so strong that he felt as though he were choking, it would not occur to Ben Westley for quite a while that Gordon had just thanked him for far more than his advice.” – Conversation between Gordon and his dad, Ben, from Three Songs for Courage by Maxine Trottier, pages 304-305
“My brother’s life was not an easy one, as you must know. Perhaps things might have been different for Joseph, had his fiancé not died of influenza while he was in France. I hope, Mr. Westley, that you, a fellow, have not suffered as he did. To fight for your country for three long years and survive, is a miracle. To be doomed to fight that war every day for the rest of your life is a horror beyond comprehension.” – Geraldine Ryan from Three Songs for Courage by Maxine Trottier, page 318
Three Songs for Courage by Maxine Trottier is published by Tundra Books, (2006).
True Blue by Deborah Ellis
Summary: As their summer as camp counsellors draws to a close, best friends Jess and Casey find themselves with their most challenging camper yet. Stephanie is an uncooperative eight year-old who likes to stir up trouble whenever she can. At their wits’ end with her, Jess and Casey are almost relieved to be taking their campers on their last camp-out, until one of the girls ends up with appendicitis and Stephanie disappears, only to turn up dead. Casey is arrested, charged with killing Stephanie while Jess was taking the other girl to the hospital, and Jess is left without a best friend, finding herself being taken advantage of by users interested in fame. Although Jess never doubts Casey’s innocence, she continually refuses to defend her or even write to her in prison. With Casey’s court case quickly approaching, Jess must decide if she will change her ways or let her friend down once again.
Number of Pages: 229
Age Range: 13-15
Review:
In True Blue by Deborah Ellis, main character Jess is not very likeable. When faced with opportunity after opportunity to make better decisions and stand up for her best friend in the face of her being charged with murder, Jess continually fails to step up and do the right thing. But what I liked about Ellis’ challenging character is that her actions made me think hard about how I would act in the same situation. I’d like to think I would have the strength to make different choices, but I honestly don’t know if my high school self would have been able to do that in the face of peer pressure and loneliness. Ellis’ writing helped me have empathy for Jess, and to continually hope one day she would turn her life around. Perhaps though I am seeing this the wrong way though. Perhaps when Jess leaves town and starts working at the restaurant, that is a sign of her packing up and refusing to play anymore.
My favourite character was Jess’s mom. I loved the comment Casey’s lawyer made about sanity seeming insane in an insane world. Through Jess’s mother was crazy in some ways, her heart and empathy were boundless, leading her to try and make things up to Casey’s parents for the horrible way they were being treated by the townspeople of Galloway. Unfortunately, her giving turned manic and required her to be hospitalized, but my heart just broke when I read about her under the fridge because she was trying to give it away to the Whites.
Ellis titles her book True Blue, implying that though Jess is not the true blue friend she should be, there are others in Casey’s life who are, helping her through her ordeal. Casey emerges from her experience like a butterfly from a cocoon, changed forever, but ultimately untouchable and unaffected by those around her.
I enjoyed reading Ellis’ book for a second time, because it gave me a chance to mull it over and see the characters in a clearer light. I didn’t need Jess to be likeable to be drawn into the story, and this time because I already knew the ending, I was able to do a closer reading of how Jess was being influenced by different people.
I’d recommend True Blue for young to mid teen readers.
Memorable Quotes:
“Something special, something private, which had remained a secret between us all these years, was now out in the open for the world to see and laugh at.
I leaned against the newspaper box and vomited all over it.” – Jess from True Blue by Deborah Ellis, page 92
“‘What if I turn out like my mom?’ I used to ask Casey. ‘What if I turn out like my dad?’
‘What if you wake up one morning and you’re a giant cockroach?’ Casey would answer.
That answer always gave me great comfort. Some things you can control, some things you can’t. For the time being, I wasn’t like either of my parents and I wasn’t a cockroach. I could go on with that.” – Conversation between Jess and Casey from True Blue by Deborah Ellis, page 97
“Even though it seems to happen a lot, you know – school shootings and things – children killing children is news. I don’t know why. Children can be terrorists. I think adults block that out of their memories and create instead this picture of childhood as a time of joy and innocence. They forget about being bullied, being tormented, being left out. They forget the violence on the schoolyard and in the hall between classes – body slams and kicks, and hard things flying at your head for no reason you can see.
Why do people think children can’t be violent? Children are people. People are violent.” – Jess from True Blue by Deborah Ellis, page 110
“Mela stood up. ‘I won’t repeat any of this to Casey. She wouldn’t believe me anyway. She knows what it means to be a friend. At least I have your mother as a witness.’
‘My mother is not well,’ I said.
‘Your mother is well enough,’ Meta said, putting on her jacket. ‘Sanity looks like madness in an insane world.'” – Conversation between Mela, Casey’s lawyer, and Jess from True Blue by Deborah Ellis, page 127
“Things started disappearing from the house. Mom had been taking casseroles and muffins over to the Whites for a while, but that was no longer enough for her. She emptied all the food from our cupboards and took it to Casey’s house. She took them other things as well – our good china, the toaster oven, lamps, my old toys, anything she could carry. It’s like she was saying, ‘Here, take this, let me try to make up for all the bad things the town is doing to you.'” – Jess from True Blue by Deborah Ellis, page 155
“Miss Burke kept talking. ‘I have been on this Earth for many more years than any of you, more than anyone else in this school. I have seen injustices visited upon the world by greed and ignorance. I have seen the world explode in war and witnessed the sad march of humanity struggle with starvation and unnatural disaster. Throughout the whole sad history of the human race, there have been moments when things could have gone the other way, when individuals could have chosen a different path.'” – Miss Burke from True Blue by Deborah Ellis, pages 174-175
“‘A school is a community, just like a town or a city – any town or city, but we have an advantage. We are an enclosed community. We can set our own standards. We have a chance to be better in here than the world is outside. Do we dare take a chance? Are we brave enough?'” – Miss Burke from True Blue by Deborah Ellis, page 175
“Dishonesty is a fungus, I’ve discovered. Once it settles into your soul, it just keeps growing and clinging to everything.” – Jess from True Blue by Deborah Ellis, page 192
“Shame flooded through me. ‘How can I face her?’
Mrs. Keefer was quiet for a moment. Then she said, ‘Do you remember the inscription on the plaque in the center of the ten willows?’
‘Of course. “On the willows, we hung up our lyres, for our captors demanded songs, and our tormenters, mirth.”‘
‘Do you know what it means?’
‘No, I don’t.’
‘It means when people who are doing wrong want us to do something to please them, we don’t have to do it. We have a choice. We can pack up our lyres and refuse to play.'” – Conversation between Jess and Mrs. Keefer from True Blue by Deborah Ellis, page 214
“I remind myself that I’m the same person, in or out of prison. There are bugs everywhere, and my life, my passion, my self, will not be ruined unless I let it be ruined.” – Casey from True Blue by Deborah Ellis, page 227
True Blue by Deborah Ellis is published by Pajama Press, (2011).
Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis
Summary: Living in Iran in 1988, Farrin attends a girl’s school working to become educated to help lead a future Iran. An outsider with no friends, Farrin’s life takes a turn for the better when Sadira, a new student at school, befriends her. Their friendship improves their grades as they study together, and new feelings are stirred within both of them as they continue to share in each other’s lives. But Iran is not a country that accepts homosexuality, and before long Farrin and Sadira are labelled deviants and advised to change their behaviour. Convinced there is nothing to be ashamed of in their love for each other, Farrin and Sadira plan a secret meeting and an escape from both of their families. Their hopes for the future come crashing down when they are arrested, and Farrin can only hope that her wealthy family will rescue her and Sadira from execution.
Number of Pages: 218
Age Range: 14-16
Review: Above everything else Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis has to offer, it is first and foremost a love story. Though I would have wished for a less tragic ending, Ellis’ historical fiction setting and the fact that her book is based on a true story means the ending was predestined.
Moon at Nine is quite frankly one of the most powerful love stories I have ever read, as Ellis shows her reader love is love, no matter what the sexual preference of those involved. My favourite memorable quote is the last one, because Sadira’s words capture the true nature of love, making a choice to care about someone no matter what others think. I could almost imagine her saying those words as vows in the wedding she and Farrin never got to have.
With a backdrop of an almost post-war Iran, Farrin and Sadira are vibrant and inspiring characters consciously deciding to live in the moment by clinging to each other in the face of great opposition. Ellis’ writing is passionate and informative, creating a realistic and frightening picture of Iran’s reaction to homosexuality.
I could say more, but I would prefer to let Ellis’ story speak for itself. Moon at Nine is certainly worth putting on your to-read list.
Memorable Quotes:
“To those who have loved and have perished for it, and to those who love still, dancing and rejoicing in the face oppression.” – Dedication from Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis
“‘The end of the war does not mean the Iranian revolution is without enemies. We know that there are forces inside our country that collided with Saddam Hussein, that collude still with the Americans. They are betrayers of the revolution and all that Iran stands for. I would like now to speak directly to those enemies. If you thought you were safe because we were busy fighting for our lives against the imperialist lackeys who would bring crashing down everything we have built, know this – the revolution is stronger now, Iran is stronger now, and the Iranian people are stronger now than ever before. We will hunt down these enemies of the state, and we will deal with them in a way that will leave no doubt in the minds of everyone who is in control of Iran.'” – Ayatollah Khomeini from Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis, pages 88-89
“‘If we hadn’t fought back, Saddam would have taken over Iran,’ Sadira said. ‘We had to fight.’
‘I guess so,’ Farrin said. ‘We didn’t gain anything, though.’
‘My father says that if anything is gained by war, it should be given back, because something gained through violence is a form of theft.'” – Conversation between Sadira and Farrin from Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis, page 92
“‘The world is run by demons,’ Sadira said.
‘We can’t waste time,’ said Farrin. ‘My mother and her friends – they put off living until an event that may never happen. I can’t do that. I can’t put off my life.’
Sadira agreed. ‘We can’t postpone living. We never know when we are going to die. There could be another war at any time. We have to just live while we can. For me, that means doing everything the best I can – cooking the best meals for my father, doing my best on all the exams, having the most possible fun I can have with you, my best friend.’
‘So, we will live, then,’ said Farrin. ‘We will live and work as though we could die tomorrow. And then we will have no regrets.'” – Conversation between Sadira and Farrin from Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis, page 96
“‘No death invades a heart that comes alive in love: Our immortality is etched in the book of life.'” – Hafez from Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis, page 118
“All I have now is my book about demon hunting and my memories of you. If that is all I ever have in my life, it is enough. But I am not yet ready to bow down to the demons that run the world!
Know, my love, that I am always looking out for you. We will find a way…” – Letter written by Farrin to Sadira from Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis, page 144
“But first and most important, we are human beings with a right to choose for ourselves how we want to live. All we have is our lives. Each person gets just one. We owe our parents and the revolution our respect, but we don’t owe them everything. And everything is what they want.
I choose you, not just because you are wonderful and not just because you love me.
I choose you because the act of choosing you belongs to me. It is mine, my choice, my free will.
I choose you over my father. I choose you over my country.
And even if you decide you don’t want me, I still choose you.
Because in choosing you, I am choosing myself.” – Letter written by Sadira to Farrin from Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis, page 151
Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis is published by Pajama Press, (2014).
The Hunger by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Summary: When puberty changes her body and comments about her weight begin to get to her, Paula endeavours to lose some weight over the summer. But what starts out as losing a few pounds turns into over-exercising, binge eating, vomiting and not eating at all, and Paula’s doctor recognizes she has become anorexic with bulimic tendencies. A school project has Paula researching her family’s roots, and she uncovers her grandmother’s connection to the Armenian genocide beginning in 1915. As her weight gets lower and lower, Paula has a heart attack one day while exercising and finds herself transported into her Armenian great-grandmother’s body at the time of the genocide. Drawing on her strength, Paula consents to treatment for her eating disorder when she wakes up, using her vivid dream as a conversation starter to suss out her grandmother’s memories of that time.
Number of Pages: 184
Age Range: 14-16
Review: The Hunger by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch is actually two stories combined into one book. Each story could be a book in their own right, but together they leave the reader unsatisfied as the story-telling itself becomes fragmented.
The characters themselves are interesting and engaging. I liked Paula and thought Skrypuch did a decent job of setting up her gradual development of an eating disorder. Paula had everything in her life under such tight control, but when puberty changed things she fought back and it turned into an unhealthy obsession that threatened her life on several occasions. When she had the heart attack though, trying to burn off calories by running up and down a flight of stairs, my focus went from Paula’s present to her great-grandmother’s experiences during the Armenian genocide, and I found after the dream/vision was over I was reluctant to go back to Paula again.
It’s like there’s this whole historical fiction story within a story about a girl dealing with anorexia. And once they intertwined, I found I didn’t get any of the answers I wanted about the characters Skrypuch encouraged me to care about. Especially when it turned out that the girl Paula inhabited was actually her adopted great-grandmother, and not her biological one.
I had so many questions after that seemingly brief passage of text! How did Kevork and Marta end up reuniting? When did Marion die and why did her sister end up raising her child? Who is Pauline’s biological father? What happened to Marion after she was separated from her sister and how did they find each other again?
As for Paula’s story, I did appreciate that although she changed her mind about wanting to live after vicariously experiencing her great-grandmother’s life, Skrypuch acknowledged that food wasn’t suddenly and magically appealing to her. Instead she had to work toward her recovery on a daily basis, and it was a struggle with many setbacks.
But all I’m left with is an overwhelming desire for more information. I, too, didn’t know about the Armenian genocide and will now be adding it to my list of subjects to read about on a non-fiction basis after my Marathon of Books.
*Well, that will teach me to do more research before writing my review. Skrypuch has written more about Marion in a sequel called Nobody’s Child. Have to get my hands on that book because I’m sure it will be an intriguing read.
Memorable Quotes:
“Paula’s face was adorned with a radiant smile by the time she walked through the double doors of her high school. She relished the stares of the guys and the covert looks of jealousy from the girls. Thinness was power.” – Paula from The Hunger by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, page 51
The Hunger by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch is published by Dundurn Press, (1999).
About Amy
Amy Mathers has been passionate about reading from a very young age, and hopes others will share her enthusiasm for funding a teen book award. Read more Follow Amy
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