Namesake by Sue MacLeod
Summary: 15 year-old Jane Grey is dealing with an erratic, alcoholic mother at home and a challenging school assignment about Lady Jane Grey, the nine days queen, at school. After getting books from the library to read up on her subject, Jane finds a peculiar little book among the others that she didn’t check out. Turns out it is Lady Jane Grey’s prayer book and it acts as a portal to 1500s England just after Queen Mary has taken the throne and banished Lady Jane to Tower of London. Jane and Lady Jane become friends, and Jane is witness to the effects of Lady Jane’s imprisonment. Driven by knowing how Lady Jane’s story ends, Jane tries to convince Lady Jane to renounce her new faith and return to Catholicism to no avail. Desperate to stop the impending execution, Jane is forced to come up with another plan.
Number of Pages: 230
Age Range: 13-15
Review:
One of the things I like about reading fiction is that it can often serve as a non-threatening way to introduce topics readers might later want to read about in a non-fiction capacity. Where reading non-fiction books can at times be dry and daunting, fiction opens up the same topics in a new way, providing characters a reader can personally connect with interspersed with historical facts.
Sue MacLeod’s Namesake is a spectacular example of this. I loved the way she took some liberties with Lady Jane’s story, while still staying true to the historical aspects. MacLeod also manages to make Jane and Lady Jane’s characters equally fleshed out and relatable. The contrast of Jane and Lady Jane’s lives and worlds was thoughtful, stark and very enlightening, but despite all their differences Jane and Lady Jane were able to connect and become good friends. I especially loved when Lady Jane is in Jane’s house and keeps asking her if she really is a commoner because of the house’s indoor plumbing and the spices she has in her kitchen.
MacLeod creates a complicated character in Jane’s mother, Analise, that could have been easily over-drawn and written off as evil. Instead, while I didn’t like how Analise acted, I could still see why she acted the way she did and I had empathy for her. MacLeod provided depth to her emotional outbursts, making me care about Analise and whether she would or could ever work to turn things around. The conflict between Analise and Jane was realistic and I enjoyed Jane’s analysis of her mother’s behaviour.
Throughout this book are literary references, ranging from Jane calling her neighbour Mrs. Rachael Lynde to referencing Thomas More’s Utopia. Reading books with literary references makes me feel like I am on an Easter egg hunt, thrilling me with every reference I find that I am familiar with. Namesake did not disappoint.
I also liked how MacLeod leaves the ending open. Did Jane’s plan to bring Lady Jane to live in 2012 work? There are hints that perhaps it did, but the reader can’t be entirely certain. It’s ultimately left up to the reader to decide.
MacLeod never reveals exactly how Jane got a hold of the prayer book, but can’t you just see a well-meaning (and perhaps somewhat mischievous) librarian slipping the book into her pile at the library?
I would recommend this book more for early teen readers, but it’s a must read for lovers of historical fiction.
Memorable Quotes:
“Blue on blue. The sweater was spread out on my comforter when I got home from school a few days later. They were both the shade of blue you sometimes see at twilight. You look up and fill up with happiness, but you also get an ache inside. That blue. – Jane from Namesake by Sue MacLeod, page 73
“‘But you’re not into blood and guts.’
‘No. But maybe I go for tragedy instead.’ I leaned back against the sink now, facing him. ‘Maybe it’s all the same,’ I said. ‘Like there’s something bloodthirsty or. . .’ I searched for the right word. . .
‘Voyeuristic?’
‘Yeah. About being human.'” – conversation between Tom and Jane from Namesake by Sue MacLeod, page 164
“I thought of an expression my mom had used when some of the office staff at her university were being laid off: ‘Everyone’s just waiting for the ax to fall.’ The stuff we say, not even getting it.” – Jane from Namesake by Sue MacLeod, page 193
Namesake by Sue MacLeod is published by Pajama Press (2013).
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A Sky Black With Crows by Alice Walsh
Summary: Thirteen year-old Katie is about to head to Labrador for a summer of cod fishing with her family that will change her life. By the end of the summer, her father is lost at sea, her mother is dead and her youngest sister, Hannah, is missing. Trying to find a way to keep her remaining family together, Katie makes the hard decision to leave her sister Ruth in the Grenfell orphanage in St. Anthony, Newfoundland to go to Halifax, Nova Scotia in search of Hannah. Following one false lead after another, Katie remains determined to find her lost sister, even if it means giving up her life-long dream of becoming a nurse.
Number of Pages: 258
Age Range: 13-15
Review: Over the course of a single summer, Kate Andrews becomes the head of her family at only thirteen years-old. Grief-stricken over the deaths of her father and her mother, Katie turns her focus to finding her lost sister and bringing her home.
A work of historical fiction, A Sky Black With Crows shines a light on the hardships of the mercantile system on fishermen and their families in the early 1900s. Katie’s story is set amidst the backdrop of the beginning of World War I, when Newfoundland was still separate from Canada and moving to Halifax meant moving to another country. This book is informative, and I have to confess that up until I read it I never really thought about a Canada without Newfoundland and Labrador, or, alternately, a Newfoundland and Labrador without Canada.
When Katie went to school in Halifax and was caught off guard by students singing a song about Nova Scotia instead of “Ode to Newfoundland” and “God Save the King” like she was used to doing at home, I was a little tripped up though. Katie goes on to say that Canada’s mother country was England making it sound like Newfoundland did not have a mother country. Why then would Newfoundlanders sing “God Save the King” before they were part of Canada?
A Sky Black With Crows does what good historical fiction should do, it makes me want to read more non-fiction books about the time period featured in Walsh’s book. Reading this book made me painfully aware of how limited my knowledge of pre-Canadian history is. As I tend to think though, when in doubt, turn to books. (Or more books in this case.)
Memorable Quotes:
“Etta’s eyes lit up. ‘Oh, Katie. I still got pictures in me head from that last book yeh read me. I can’t understand how so many pictures can come about from just letters in a page.'” – Etta from A Sky Black With Crows by Alice Walsh, page 33
A Sky Black With Crows by Alice Walsh is published by Red Deer Press(2006).
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Nix Minus One by Jill MacLean
Summary: Nixon (Nix) Humbolt is a fifteen year-old who pretty much keeps to himself. Working with his hands in his father’s carpentry shop seems to be the only time when things make sense and words aren’t needed. A friendship with a neighbour’s dog he names Twig gives him some confidence, but then his sister Roxy starts pushing the family boundaries with her new boyfriend. Left to pick up the pieces when the relationship goes south, Nix does his best to keep things together when the unthinkable happens.
Number of Pages: 287
Age Range: 15-17
Review: For me, the beauty of this book begins with its title, Nix Minus One. What happens when you subtract one from nothing? The answer might be more surprising than you’d think.
Through MacLean’s expressive use of free-verse poetry, Nix grows into a sensitive and caring young man despite the tragedy he faces. MacLean is so talented at putting her reader inside Nix’s mind that in one scene when Nix was drunk, I felt drunk reading about it.
There are so many things I love about this book. The characters of Blue, Twig, and Nix. Reading the descriptions about Nix’s intricate woodworking. The complex relationship between Nix and his sister Roxy. Nix Minus One is an authentic portrayal of hardship and grief while still maintaining a sense of hope that will leave the reader feeling uplifted.
This is my second time reading Nix Minus One, and I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time.
Memorable Quotes:
“Houses cast up onshore
like lobster traps.
Two skiffs and a longliner
moored in the lee
of the government wharf.
In front of our place, a dirt road and the landwash,
clatter of rocks rounded by the tides.
Glizzard Island and Bullet Reef with their roughed-up surf.”
– Nix from Nix Minus One by Jill MacLean, page 9
“The first time
I came across the word
introversion
was the first time
I recognized myself. Like,
there was a category
for me.”
– Nix from Nix Minus One by Jill MacLean, page 36
“When I try to describe where I’m at
with the joints, the words tangle
my tongue. So I pick up the dovetail saw,
cut into the sockets, chisel out the waste,
and fit the rail into the leg.
Other side the same,
and by now I’ve forgotten
anyone’s watching. Screw the slots next, counter-sinking the holes.
As I lay down the drill,
Blue says, ‘You don’t need words.
Your hands
do the talking.'” – from Nix Minus One by Jill MacLean, page 42
Nix Minus One by Jill MacLean is published by Pajama Press (2013).
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Ann and Seamus by Kevin Major, illustrated by David Blackwood
Summary: Based on a true story from 1828, seventeen year-old Ann Harvey lives with her parents and her numerous brothers on the Isle aux Morts, Newfoundland. Her father is a cod fisherman and their lives revolve around fishing season until one day there is a shipwreck on their shores. As everyone focuses on saving the ship’s passengers, a subtle romance develops between Ann and Seamus, one of the survivors.
Number of Pages: 108
Age Range: 13-15
Review: David Blackwood’s illustrations are haunting and beautiful with a soft quality about them, perfectly complimenting Kevin Major’s free verse poetry narrative.
This is my third Kevin Major book and I am officially hooked on his writing. In this book he takes the true story of Ann Harvey and her father saving over 160 passengers after the shipwreck of the Despatch from Ireland. Major expands the story to give a wider view into Ann’s life and captures the gritty, hard life of the fisherman’s family. I only picked one of Major’s poems to share, but as he proved in Thirty-Six Exposures, Major is an adept poet.
I really wasn’t sure if Ann was going to go with Seamus to Boston or not. One the one hand, I wanted her to be with Seamus because his dreamy, optimistic character, but on the other hand I couldn’t believe she was considering moving away from the only life she’d ever known to a foreign place without knowing how to read and write. Definitely reveals bias on my part from my pampered existence.
When I read Major’s historical note about how Ann and Seamus was based on a true story and Ann’s father received a medal that he gave to Ann for saving all of those people, I couldn’t help but think that having Kevin Major write a book about their story was the greater reward for their heroism.
Memorable Quotes:
“For the families who fished cod off the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador” – from Ann and Seamus by Kevin Major, illustrated by David Blackwood, dedication
“Come away with me, lover
stay with us, daughter
share my life, precious
share with us all
follow your heart, dreamer
take your part, sister
Be true to yourself, Ann
But share with us all” – from Ann and Seamus by Kevin Major, illustrated by David Blackwood, page 103
Ann and Seamus by Kevin Major, illustrated by David Blackwood is published by Groundwood Books(2003).
(Buy this book: Amazon
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The Secret Under My Skin by Janet McNaughton
Summary: Blay Raytee is an orphan living in a Committee (or government) work camp. Her life changes one day when she is chosen to be the tutor/maid for the new Bio-Indicator, Marrella. Living with Marrella gives Blay a chance to become part of a community and also allows her a chance to figure out the secrets of her past, something Blay is reluctant to give up when she realises her time with Marrella is coming to an end.
Number of Pages: 238
Age Range: 13-14
Review: Janet McNaughton goes from Scotland circa 1164 in An Earthly Knight to a dystopian Canada circa 2368 in The Secret Under My Skin. As with any futuristic novel one of the challenges an author faces is fully immersing their reader into a new dystopic society while providing sufficient explanation as to how the world got that way.
McNaughton’s glimpse into a technology-phobic society affected by climate change is complicated yet intriguing. While I was a bit puzzled by how all of the different sects fit together, I liked the return to handmade wares that a lack of technology would require. Having a homemade knitted sweater serve as a love token from a guy to a girl he likes was my favourite.
Reading The Secret Under My Skin reminded me of similar books like Margaret Atwood’s Year of the Flood and Lois Lowry’s Gathering Blue, but McNaughton makes it her own by showing the struggle to return to using technology and to reorganize a democratic society.
This book is suitable for younger teen readers.
Memorable Quotes:
“In St. Pearl, there was a black-and-white hologram on the streets for a while, advertising something. The black part looked like the outline of some kind of vessel but if you looked long enough, the white part looked like the outline of two faces almost touching. Reality now seems like that hologram. The truth could be what the warders told me, or it could be what Erica says, but, unlike the hologram, it can’t be both.” – Blay from The Secret Under My Skin by Janet McNaughton, page 78
“I shake my head. ‘I can’t imagine what she wants.’ Then I remember the look on her face when William rejected her the day we set out for the Tablelands. ‘Maybe she’s just looking for a place to belong, like the rest of us.'” – Blay from The Secret Under My Skin by Janet McNaughton, page 157
“‘Maybe. But Fraser, will there ever be a time when there are no kids like Violet? Or kids like Hilary who need love so badly that they have to steal it? Will there ever be a time when kids get all the love they need?'” – Blay from The Secret Under My Skin by Janet McNaughton, page 236
The Secret Under My Skin by Janet McNaughton is published by HarperCollins Publishers(2000).
(Buy this book: Amazon
| Canadian Booksellers)
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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