Random House: NY, 2007. Originally David Fickling Books: Oxford, England, 2006. Siobhan Dowd's first novel is a cry-your-eyes-out story. It is riveting and stirring. I cried half the way through it and wanted to shake the citizens of the town for ignoring Shell's problems-things the whole town was aware of. Shell's mother died more than a year ago. Her father's inability to cope leaves her to raise her two younger siblings. Dealing with her own grief and teen concerns, she needs guidance which she doesn't receive, until the unthinkable happens, landing her in the middle of what the local authorities consider a murder case. Gossip and her father's guilty conscience compound the suspicion surrounding her. There is so much going on in this story. It totally took me by surprise. It also brought up so many feelings from my adolescent years. It deals with a village that is secretive and gossipy, saying they look out for their own, and not doing so. It deals with teen pregnancy-the desperation of keeping it a secret (although that's not really possible), the heavy burden of guilt which keeps them from asking for the help they need, and the isolation that the situation propels the teens into. It compares a young caring priest who personally wants to help the needy with the more experienced, politically-minded pastor who cautions him about getting involved. Most surprising is the case of the dead babies with the detective's determination to pin them on Shell even when the facts are not adding up. Looking at the plot of the book, it might seem like it's such a lot of trouble and just thoroughly depressing. There is a strength in Shell, though, that makes you believe somehow it will be okay. There is also beauty in the writing of the story and Shell's character. A wonderful surprise also was Father Rose, of which I believe there are too few in the world. He reached out to Shell when no one else did. When I finished the book, I did some searching to find more about the author. I was sad to see that she died in 2007.
Previous ChoicesNovember 2006 - The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce December 2006 - Victory by Susan Cooper January 2007 - Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett February 2007 - Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel March 2007 - A Bone From A Dry Sea by Peter Dickinson April 2007 - The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages May 2007 - Firehorse by Diane Lee Wilson June 2007 - Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt July 2007 - The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper August 2007 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J K Rowling September 2007 - Wind Rider by Susan Williams October 2007 - Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge November 2007 - The Secret of Sarah Revere by Ann Rinaldi December 2007 - Going Postal by Terry Pratchett January 2008 - Firebirds Rising ed by Sharyn November February 2008 - Click by 10 authors March 2008 - Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale April 2008 - The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan |
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