The Brightwood Code by Monica Hesse

Eighteen-year-old Edda Grace St. James had been a telephone operator with the American Expeditionary Forces, on the western front in France, in 1918. Her job was to "...answer the line, match the code name to a number, insert the right plug into the right jack, connect the telephone call." The codes changed every day so every night, Edda and the other girls had to memorize two pages of new codes. Then the next day they would sit down at their switchboards, "and when a caller asked to be connected to Montana or Buster or Wabash," Edda and the other operators would understand that they wanted to be connected to a specific division or general.  

Now back in America, in November of 1918, Edda is working at the Central switchboard in Washington, D.C. Her supervisor, Miss Genovese is not happy with Edda: she has incurred several "infractions" for her dress or not following proper protocol on the switchboard. Edda has been home from France for two months now. The last call of her night shift is a caller who tells her she has to tell the truth before it's too late and ends with the word, "Brightwood". Unable to find out more from the mysterious caller, Edda leaves work very upset.

She returns to her Aunt Tess's boarding house where she has a room on the fourth floor, along with other boarders including a young man, Theo Graybill who has a limp from a hip injury. Theo notices immediately that something is not right with Edda and he presses her to tell him. But all Edda will reveal is that she took a local call that was "odd". He tries to reassure Edda that the call was likely just random as it is impossible to choose the operator on a call. 

Unable to sleep after her shift, Edda decides to purchase new clothing instead of doing her laundry. While Edda is in Hecht's to purchase new white blouses and navy wool skirts, two women run in, announcing the war is over. An Armistice has been signed! This leads to partying and celebrating everywhere including at Edda's aunt's boarding house. Intoxicated after drinking champagne, and still deeply upset over the call, Edda finally tells Theo what actually happened that fateful day seven months ago in France.

She explains to Theo that as a "Hello Girl" and part of the American Expeditionary Forces, it was Edda's job as an operator to transfer calls between platoons, bases and generals, speaking and translating between French and English. Everything was in codes that changed daily. Ordered to place a call one night to Brightwood, the code Edda believes was for Baltimore's Forty-Eighth Regiment, Edda froze, unable to remember the code. The Forty-Eighth Regiment had advanced beyond the front and were trapped. Thirty-four men perished. The recent caller to her switchboard used the code, Brightwood and told her to tell the truth. 

Edda decides that she has to return to her home in Roland Park in Baltimore to retrieve a Polk's City Directory. When she calls Aunt Tess to ask her to bring money to the train station, Edda learns that one of the switchboard operators, Louisa Safechuck has killed herself. However, it is Theo who brings her the money and who accompanies Edda to Baltimore against her wishes.  On the train, Theo confesses to Edda that he shot himself in the leg to avoid going to the front.

In Baltimore, Edda and Theo have a difficult run in with her father, who is dismissive towards Theo and unkind towards Edda. After visiting the home of Charley Dannenberg, one of the soldiers who died that night, and meeting his angry father, the two return home. The very next shift, Edda receives yet another telephone call telling her she's the only one who can help them, once again mentioning Brightwood. Hysterical, her adjoining operator, Helen Gibson takes Edda to the break room where she is offered a chance to do a publicity shoot for the Hello Girls.

Back at her room, Edda tells Theo about the second call and the two sit down to try to determine which families might be the most suspect. But as Edda and Theo continue to investigate the families of the dead soldiers, Edda must finally face the reality of the trauma she experienced and tell the truth about what really happened that fateful night. 

Discussion

The Brightwood Code is a historical fiction novel set in 1918, at the end of World War I. The story focuses on Edda St. Clair, a former Hello Girl who has returned suddenly from France, traumatized by an event that led to the deaths of thirty-four young soldiers.  The story alternates between Edda in the present, in Washington, attempting to uncover the mystery of the caller and the recent past events that occurred while she was at the front in France.

Believing that she could forget what happened if she left France, and found work in a different city Edda's returns to the United States. However, her life begins to unravel. She returns home to Baltimore, her father describing her arrival "...like a ghost, telling us nothing is wrong but of course something is wrong. Her room is a pigsty. She has to be dragged into the bath." She flees from her own homecoming party and is unable to dance with the son of her father's boss. Soon after, Edda flees from Baltimore, to Washington where she is able to find work as a telephone operator with Bell. It is at this point that Edda receives two mysterious calls, mentioning the code word Brightwood and begging her to tell the truth. The past has come back to haunt her and Edda is determined to find out who is behind the calls.

Initially Edda believes that the mysterious caller is someone related to one of the dead soldiers, all of whose names she has memorized, and is asking her to claim responsibility for their deaths. Edda is certain that she is responsible because she failed to do her job. "Of course there are things I left out. But nothing that would excuse any of my behavior...Boys were dying on the front. My job was to answer telephones. My only job was to answer telephones." However as the story unfolds, it is not quite that simple.

Edda believes she must investigate each soldier's family to determine who is making the calls. Theo challenges her as to what she hopes to achieve, telling her, "But what kind of endings do you think you can give?....You can't rewrite what happened, no matter what you do. None of us can. Whatever happened is what happened." Edda tells him, "There has to be something. There has to be some kind of finality. Some kind of way of making peace. It can't be the case that something horrible happens and you just have to live, forever, with this feeling of..." 

 As Edda continues to struggle to solve the mystery of who is contacting her, her feelings of guilt and conflict intensify. "I need peace, and I need an ending, and I need to make amends and have amends made to me. And I need to bring my soul back from France. I cannot keep living divided this way, I cannot keep feeling as though I am still in that switchboard room, still in that switchboard room with Luc." 

When Edda meets Charley Dannenberg's father a second time she recognizes the "primal woundedness", the "pain stuffed down" and the "untended grief" he is experiencing because she is experiencing the same. But it's after meeting August Danneman's sister, Eliza, that Edda begins to make sense of what happened to her in France. "Is it possible that I did the best I could with the choices I had? Is it possible that what happened to the boys of the Forty-Eighth was because of something I did, but not my fault? Is it possible that I am to blame, but not to punish?"

When Theo explains how he got out of fighting in the war, he tells Edda that his choice to do anything to get out of the war means he is a coward. But Edda tells him that maybe our choices simply  show "who we were forced to be in the moment that we made them."

Early in the novel, Theo quickly and correctly surmises that Edda's trauma is somehow related to a man named Luc. Edda refuses every attempt to discuss him and it isn't until much later when she remembers the details of that night in the office that it is understandable why this is. Eventually, Edda discovers the person behind the calls and learns that they were not asking her to take responsibility for the deaths of the men of the Forty-Eighth Regiment but to expose a man who had harmed her and possibly many other Hello Girls. These revelations lead Edda to realize that she had been so focused on what happened to the young soldiers, she missed recognizing her own trauma. "I was so focused on the story of the boys who were hurt and lost at war that I missed the story of how I was hurt and lost at war. I missed part of the story. I missed my own part of the story." 

The novel highlights some of the terrible realities of World War I, a war that saw many young men humiliated into enlisting, believing that their honor depended upon doing so. The reality of the war was young soldiers were sent out again and again by generals behind the lines, to face the muck, machine gun fire and gas without any chance of success and little of surviving. As the war dragged on with neither side winning, many people came to see the war as a hopeless endeavor with little regard for the soldiers. Mr. Dannenberg states this to Edda when they meet a second time.  "The truth is that boys like him are expendable. They fought in trenches but the decision about their lives were made over the telephone by people who got to keep their hands clean. That boys like my son never belonged in France, died their because of people like you. Because you were cruel and careless. My son paid with his life, and the people who drove him to enlist, and the people who should have looked after him once he got there -- they didn't pay at all."

The character of Theo Graybill is representative of those young men who were terrified to go to war, who in some way knew the measure of what was happening, but who had no say. " 'I was so scared, ' he continues. 'When my number was called, going was what I was supposed to do. Be a man. Be the first brave man in the family. I wanted to go but I was so scared to go, and I would have done anything not to go. And then I got there and I did. Do anything. I did anything I could do to come home again....' "

The novel also highlights the almost impossible predicament women who have been sexually assaulted faced in the early twentieth century. The conversation between Edda and her supervisor, Miss Genovese portrays the difficulty they faced in reporting Luc. When Edda asks why she didn't report him, Miss Genovese states that it didn't happen to her, that she needed someone who had been harmed by Luc L'Enfant, and that she would have been blamed for allowing the assault to happen to Louisa Safechuck. She knew that Edda was likely also a victim of Luc because of her premature arrival home from France and so she needed to try to get her to report him. And still she wasn't even sure if that was enough.  "It doesn't work to have just one girl's word against a man. You need two. You need twenty...Maybe twenty still would not have been enough. Maybe none of them would have been enough."

The Brightwood Code is a well written and thought-provoking novel that uses the historical fact of the Hello Girls as its backstory. What starts out as a character trying to solve a mystery, reveals a whole other story, in a twist that is heartbreaking. In spite of all that has happened, the novel does end on a positive tone, with Edda open to developing her friendship with Theo.

The Hello Girls were female switchboard operators in what was known as the Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators Unit during World War I. The unit was formed in 1917 and was made up of two hundred twenty three women, most of whom served in France.

The Brightwood Code is another excellent novel by author Monica Hesse and is highly recommended for older readers due to the issues explored in the novel.

Book Details:

The Brightwood Code by Monica Hesse

New York: Little, Brown and Company    2024

321 pp.

Open Fire by Amber Lough

Seventeen-year-old Ekaterina Viktorovna (Katya) Pavlova lives in Petrograd, Russia where she works in a factory making the M1914 stick grenade, filling each one with 320 grams of TNT. Katya's father, Colonel Pavlova is at the front fighting the Germans while her brother Maxim Victorovich is at home recovering from his wounds. Katya had been attending university studying to be a chemist, but  had dropped out to help with the war effort.

On February 23, 1941, Masha Gubina, Katya's best friend convinces her to attend the women's march on Nevsky Prospeckt, Petrograd's main street. Katya is not keen to attend but she agrees. At the march, Katya encounters Sergei Fyodorovich Grigorev, a friend from university. Sergei is a Bolshevik. Katya, whose father is a colonel in the Imperial Army, has been taught to be loyal to the Tsar. Despit this, at Sergie's urging, Katya attends the march.

Socialists along with grandmothers, mothers and school girls begin chanting "Free the people. Free the workers! Free the bread!" Then suddenly the Cossacks, cavalry in the Imperial Army appear. The Cossack leader tells them to end the march and go home. When the marchers do not disperse, and someone throws a rock at the Cossack commander, the soldiers aim their rifles and open fire. Katya is horrified that Russians would fire on their own people.

Katya reveals to Sergei that she knows about the Tsar through her father's connections. This leads him to attempt to enlist Katya to pass on information about the Tsar to the Bolsheviks who want the Tsar to abdicate so they can form a socialist government to run the country. However, Katya, still loyal to the Tsar, refuses.

At home Katya discovers that Maxim has gambled away the money she saved to pay off his debts. Maxim had been at the front for two years when he was injured during a battle in October. Now home recovering, he has nightmares and can't sleep and spends his time gambling. He is unable to work because once employed he will be sent back to the front. As a last attempt, he decides to write their father to ask for a discharge. Maxim's debts leave Katya no choice but to supply Sergei and the Bolsheviks with information about the Tsar.

To this end, Katya attends a dinner at General Yudenich and Elena Stefanova's home. General Yudenich's son, Ilya was killed in action November 9, 1915. Katya secretly loved Ilya. They had spent their childhood together; he taught Katya about military rules, how to march, and how to hold a gun and saber. At the dinner Katya learns about Sergeant Bochkareva who wants to form a women's battalion to shame the Russian men who are fleeing the front. She has obtained permission from General Kerensky, the Minister of War to do so.

The Women's March ends up bringing down the government, forcing Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate and the forming of a moderate provisional government. In the factory, Katya begins making gas grenades filled with chloropicrin. Masha's father has now left to fight at the front as does Maxim, whose father refused to get him the discharge.

In May, Katya and Masha attend a rally for the Women's Battalion of Death at the Mariinsky Theatre. At first Katya refuses to go, but when a telegram from her father arrives announcing that Maxim has deserted, she relents. There is now no reason for her to remain at home, since Maxim will never return. At the women's rally, Katya is inspired by Bochkareva's rousing speech and signs up. When she tells Sergei, he is furious that she has joined, telling her that it only means more people will die. Katya is determined to remain loyal to the Tsar and save her beloved country. But as Katya first trains to become a soldier and then is sent to the front, the realities of war and life under the Tsar come to bear.

Discussion

Open Fire is a historical novel, set in 1917 Russia, that offers a portrayal of a very interesting and little known aspect of World War II, the Women's Battalion of Death. In this respect, Open Fire is similar to several other recent historical novels about Russia and the world wars. In the novels, Night Witches and Among The Red Stars, the Soviet Union's female bomber regiment infamously nicknamed "the night witches", is portrayed. In Open Fire, readers learn about the formation of an all women's battalion whose goal was to humiliate Russian men into joining the war effort. 

Maria Bochareva

The Women's Battalion was the brain child of Maria Bochareva, a peasant woman who had distinguished herself as a soldier in earlier years of the Great War. Bochareva was born in 1889 and had a difficult life prior to serving in the Great War. Her home life growing up was abusive and impoverished, and she was abused by both her first and second husband. She fled her second marriage to join the army in 1914, obtaining special permission from Tsar Nicholas Alexander. 

In 1917, Russian soldiers were deserting in large numbers due to poor morale. In a meeting with General Kerensky in May of 1917, Bochareva received permission to create a special women's unit. Her speech on May 21 resulted in two thousand women volunteering, of which only five hundred were chosen. They were rigorously trained and followed a strict code. The women carried a small capsule of  potassium cyanide to take if they were captured by German soldiers.

The Women's Battalion of Death fought valiantly but in the end they were betrayed by Russian soldiers who refused to help the battalion at the front. There was a great deal of opposition to the women soldiers. As author Amber Lough notes in her Author's Note at the back, the women's battalions were officially disbanded once the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin came to power in Russia.

Lough does a good job of capturing life during the final days of Tsar Nicholas as Russia hurtled towards revolution. The novel covers a very short period of time, from February 23 to July 31, 1917. This period was the beginning of the end of Imperial Russia. During this time, Russia was involved in World War I, having been drawn into the war after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, an ally of Russia. Russia had previously lost the Russo-Japanese War of 1904/05 and was ill-equipped and poorly trained. In addition the country was struggling with political and social unrest. Much of the population consisted of poor peasant farmers who had little representation in Russia's autocratic government. Cities were crowded and filthy. Factory strikes were common.

As World War I dragged on Russia began suffering tremendous causalities. By 1916, almost five million men had been killed, were missing, or prisoners of war. Russian soldiers lacked weapons, munitions and even proper clothing and boots. In some situations soldiers were sent into battle without weapons, told to scavenge weapons from dead soldiers. It was no surprise that morale was low and that  soldiers began to desert. It was in these circumstances that the Womens Battalion was formed.

In Open Fire, the story of Katya and the Women's Battalion touches on some of this through the experiences of the main character, Katya. Katya's father, a Colonel in the Imperial Army and their family are loyal to Tsar Nicholas II. With her mother having left the family years earlier and her father at the front fighting, Katya is determined to help with the war effort. To that end, Katya works in a munitions factory, having giving up studying chemistry at university. The work is dirty, tiring and pays poorly. A member of the upper class, Katya is working with women who are mostly peasants.

Her family's special status is first hinted at during the march when Katya thinks about how her family has "access to food stores not publicly available." Unlike other workers at the factory, Katya attends army wives' functions, such as Easter tea. She dresses up in beautiful gowns and pretends that life in Petrograd is going on as normal. Conditions in Petrograd and the civil unrest are only briefly hinted at. Readers are told, "The Tsar had put out a ration on bread, and since the city was already strained by three years of war and a bitter winter, the women were taking to the streets. I didn't blame the, given that the last loaf I'd bought had been gray, not white, and I'd had to wait in line for nearly an hour to get it." 

In contrast to Katya is her friend Sergei, also a former student and a Bolshevik, who believes revolution will bring about a "golden future" for Russia. "Once the Tsar abdicated and a socialist government took power, Russia's troubles would end. We'd all have what we needed, he said with conviction, and no one would be sponging their wealth off the backs of the poor. There would be equality and justice, for man and woman alike." But Katya believes "a revolution would be tart, biting back." 

Nevertheless, before she enlists, Katya finds herself conflicted over the war and her loyalty to the Tsar. She reluctantly agrees to supply Sergei with information about the Tsar and later on refuses to sabotage the Women's Battalion as he requests.

Katya enters the war determined to fight for Mother Russia. She wants Russia to win the war.But her war experiences, such as the death of her best friend Masha or bayoneting a man to death change Katya's perspective forever. After recovering from her wounds, Katya's view on the war, Russia and the revolution have changed. War does not solve problems. It doesn't solve the world's problems or a country like Russia's problems. She now understands why her brother Maxim deserted. "I wanted to find Maxim and tell him that I finally understood. He needed to find peace. There are worthy wars fought badly and unworthy ones fought well, and all of them are hell. They may save nations or break them, but they always take more than they give back." 

Unlike Sergei who remains a committed Bolshevik, Katya tells him, as they are setting up a chess game, that she will choose "Whichever side plays with the most honor." The novel ends with her determined to face the future with courage and hope.

The main strength of this novel is its portrayal of war. Lough, a U.S. Air Force veteran, was able to capture some of the terror and horror of World War I with her descriptive battle scenes. The novel's perspective is unique because it portrays women soldiers engaged in bloody battles at the Eastern Front. It portrays the gruesome ways soldiers die, the suffering and the debilitating effects of battle including the special risks the Women's Battalion encountered not just from enemy soldiers but their own men.

An interesting feature Lough has added into her story is a second story within a story; Katya recounts her father's telling of the legend of St. Olga of Kiev and her dealings with the Drevalians who murdered her husband, Igor. Before her conversion to Christianity, Olga is considered a true warrior queen who exacted a terrible revenge on the Drevalians for her husband's murder. As such St. Olga exemplifies the strong, dauntless Russian warrior: a fitting example for the daughter of a Russian officer and a soldier in the Women's Battalion.

Readers can learn more about the 1st Russian Women's Battalion in Lough's Author's Note at the back of the book. Maria Bochareva whose larger than life persona Lough attempted with some success to capture, is a historical figure few readers will know about. Bochareva was executed by the Red Army in 1920. She had worked to prevent the communist takeover of Russia and was seen as an "enemy of the people." Lough offers young readers Topics For Discussion section along with some recommendations to learn more about the events covered in her novel.

Maria Bochareva image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Bochkareva#/media/File:Bochkareva_Maria_LOC_ggbain_26866.jpg

Book Details:

Open Fire by Amber Lough
Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Lab        2020
255 pp.

Sweetgrass Basket by Marlene Carvell

Sweetgrass Basket is a heartrending story of two Mohawk sisters sent to a residential school by their parents with the belief that this is best for them. Instead the sisters discover an institution focused not so much on educating them as in destroying their heritage.

Matilda (Mattie) Tarbell and her younger sister, twelve-year-old Sarah  are sent by train to a school in Carlisle for Indian children. When Mattie was unhappy about this her father told her, "You must go to school.
Life will be better for you.
It is for the best."
Their brothers and sisters were sent to other schools, some closer to home, others further away.

They are met at the train station by Mr. Davis whom Sarah describes as "the blackest man I have ever seen...". There are four other children besides Mattie and Sarah who ride with them in "the strangest, strangest thing on wheels."

Although Mr. Davis assures them they will be fine and will like the school, Mattie and Sarah immediately experience harsh treatment at the hands of Mrs. Dwyer who runs the school. Dressed all in black, with "eyes that look like tiny chunks of coal set into a snowbank muddied by a January thaw." Mrs. Dwyer immediately makes both Mattie and Sarah fear her.  A woman who has a severe and unfriendly face and who constantly taps a ruler in her hand, Mrs. Dwyer elicits fear is almost all the students.

Mattie states the first thing they learn how to do is march, which they do whenever they go anywhere in the school. Mattie is able to read and speak English and her writing is deemed beautiful by Miss Weston, a kind teacher who becomes Mattie's favourite. Although Miss Weston loves Mattie's essay about the sweetgrass baskets her mother used to make, Mrs. Dwyer refuses to allow it to be printed in the school's paper.

While Sarah struggles to adjust, Mattie finds a friend in Gracie Powless from the Onondaga. Their days are filled with work and lessons. The girls are taught by Miss Prentiss how to use a sewing machine: Mattie excels at mending, a skill her mother taught her. Miss Prentiss decides that she will have her do finer work. Meanwhile, Sarah works in the laundry under the tutelage of the kindly Miss Velma. But when Sarah is allowed to rest outside after the heat causes her to collapse in the laundry, she is scolded by Mrs. Dwyer and Miss Velma is sent away.

When Mattie is accused of stealing Mrs. Dwyer's brooch, a chain of events is set in motion that will lead to tragedy and a heartbreaking loss for Sarah.

Discussion

Sweetgrass Basket is a much needed novel about the experiences of Native Americans who were sent away from the their families to residential schools to be "educated". Carvell provides an Author's Note at the very beginning of the novel in which she explains that The Carlisle Indian Industrial School did in fact exist from 1879 to 1918. Located in southern Pennsylvania, it was the first off-reservation school for Native Americans in the United States. Children from many different tribes attended the school, among them children from the Mohawk nation. The author's husband's great-aunt Margaret attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in the early 1900's and this novel is based on her experiences.

Set in the early 1900's, Sweetgrass Basket is told from the perspective of two fictional Mohawk sisters, Mattie and Sarah Tarbell, using free verse. In some instances, events are described by both sisters, at other times, their alternating voices carry on the story. Both Mattie and Sarah do not want to attend the school but do so in obedience to their father. However, instead of being treated with dignity and compassion, with understanding and kindness, the young Indian girls are subjected to physical abuse and in some cases even neglect. The Indian children, in a strange environment far from home, find themselves at the mercy of the school matron, Mrs. Dwyer, a dour, cold woman dressed in black.  It soon becomes apparent that the focus of the school is not just to educate them but to wipe out the practice of their own culture and replace it with the ways of the white people.

In the Carlisle school, the children are given new names that are different from the names given to them by their parents. Unlike the other students, Mattie and Sarah both have English names, but they also have Mohawk names. Their father advised them to tell only their English names which they obey.
"He said our Mohawk names are special,
and we should keep them for special times."

The words written above the chalkboard in the classroom, "Labor conquers all things." are eerily similar to the words, "Arbeit macht frei" or "Work sets you free" that will be placed on the gate at Auschwitz 1 years later in Nazi-occupied Poland. The girls are told by Mrs. Dwyer,
"...if we work hard,
we will be as good as white people.
She says this is our chance to prove
we are as good as white people."
Sarah and Mattie and the other Indian girls are made to feel inferior, less than white people.

They are not allowed to bring anything from home that might remind them of their culture. However,  Sarah and Mattie keep the memory of their home alive in their minds, remembering life at home with their parents and their siblings. In secret, they use Mohawk words to describe their world, reminding each other of their heritage. For example, Sarah reminds her sister that as Mohawks they are Keepers of the Eastern Door. Mattie states,
"She said I must always remember that we
the KANIEN'KEHAKA, the Mohawk people,
are Keepers of the Eastern Door,
and that long  ago it was through us
that people were allowed to travel the lands
of the HAUDENOSAUNEE, the Iroquois;
that we allowed all to pass through our lands,
as long as we knew they traveled in peace."

The title of the novel is a reference to the sweetgrass basket that belongs to Mattie. Although they were told not to bring anything from home, Sarah brings a scarf that their mother made for her and Mattie's sweetgrass basket. Mattie had wanted to bring the basket but their father had told her not to bring it. Having "...heard the tears in her heart." Sarah decided to pack the sweetgrass basket with her. When she reveals it to Mattie one day at school, she feels she has lifted the sadness from her sister's heart. After showing her best friend Gracie, Mattie hides the basket in her bottom drawer. It will be a special basket where she and Sarah will keep their womanly thoughts.

The basket becomes a metaphor for Mattie and Sarah's Indian culture. After being accused of stealing Mrs. Dwyer's brooch, Mattie's basket goes missing from her drawer. She is unable to discover who took the basket. After Mattie is accused by Mrs. Dwyer of stealing her brooch and runs away, the basket ends up in the possession of Mrs. Dwyer, who calls Sarah into her office to question her about it.  In a move symbolic of what she stands for - the destruction of Indian culture, Mrs. Dwyer crushes Mattie's sweetgrass basket in the presence of Sarah.

"But as I lift my arms to take it from her,
she pushes her hands together in one sharp
movement, and Mattie's beautiful basket
made from our mother's love
is turned instantly into a misshapen mass
that now looks oddle like a small winter squash
flattened on one side from where it grew....

Mrs Dwyer takes two steps to her right
and drops the object of her scorn
into the waste bin that sits beside a wooden chair..."
The message is clear, the Indian culture has nothing redeemable about it, it is something to be jettisoned in favour of the white man's culture.

Although there is heart-breaking tragedy in the novel, Carvell does leave her young readers with a sense of hope. At the very end, Sarah is given Mattie's basket, saved from the garbage by the kindly Mr. Davis who enigmatically tells Sarah he has fixed her bottom drawer. Puzzled, she checks the drawer:
"There, tucked in among my nightclothes,
there under the scarf my mother made with love for me,
was Mattie's gift from her.

Mattie's beautiful basket.

Mattie's beautiful sweetgrass basket."

The return of the basket signifies hope for the future that their way of life can and will be preserved.

In a delicious twist near the end of the novel, it is Sarah who finds Mrs. Dwyer's brooch, but convinced she will never be believed, she disposes of it. Had Mrs. Dwyer been more understanding, the brooch she cared so much for, might have been returned to her.

Sweetgrass Basket is a well written novel that is both timely and overdue. Carvell's simple poetry is deeply moving, allowing readers to experience the pain, the sense of loss and the anger Mattie and Sarah experience as young Indian Americans who have been suddenly separated from their family and their way of life. Those who read this novel with sensitivity will weep at the fate of Mattie, at the lack of care for these young girls and at the lack of understanding of their way of life. Although we cannot change the past, through novels like Sweetgrass Basket  which explore the Native American experience in residential schools, we can remember it, learn from it and change the future.

Book Details:

Sweetgrass Basket by Marlene Carvell
New York: Dutton Children's Books    2005
243 pp.

The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine

The Promise of Amazing tells the story of two young people who have a completely unplanned, incongruous encounter that leads to a relationship.
Wren Caswell is an average student in the junior class at Sacred Heart Academy. Her average marks means she's unlikely (according to Mrs. Fiore) to apply to Harvard. Ranked 49th out of 102 students, she has been denied admission to the Sacred Heart Honor Society.

Wren lives with her dad, who is a lawyer and her mother who runs the family wedding business called Camelot where Wren helps out. She also has two older siblings, Josh and Brooke.

She has just come off a break-up with her boyfriend, Trevor DiMarco, who dumped her so he could be free for his first year of college at SUNY Purchase in the fall. Trev was a friend of her brother Josh,when they attended St. Gabriel Prep.

Grayson Barrett lives with his dad and his new wife, Tiffany. His father is in the real estate business and they are well off. Grayson's parents split 6 years ago, with his mother taking off for another man. Grayson was one of the stars of St. Gabriel Prep, a top student and star of the lacrosse team. But last year he was expelled for selling term papers. Gone is his chance to get into Harvard.

While serving at a wedding one night, Wren steps in to save a boy who is choking. The boy happens to be Grayson Barrett. Grayson is immediately attracted to her and decides to pursue Wren. He knows he needs to change the path he has gone down, and Wren seems like the ticket to make that happen. He feels that Wren is a good person, someone he can be himself around. When Grayson comes clean about why he was expelled from St. Gabe's, Wren backs away from him. Undaunted, Grayson decides to apply for a job at Camelot so that he can get to know her better.

But Wren has no idea just what a bad boy Grayson is, because pimping term papers was just the tip of the iceberg. Over the next few weeks Grayson and Wren see each other and fall in love. Motivated by his feelings for Wren, Grayson tries to break away from the group of guys he's been involved with. But this proves to be more difficult than he imagined. His friend Luke, refuses to let Grayson leave. Can Grayson find the inner strength to do what is right and win Wren back?

The Promise of Amazing has some great strengths and some terrible weakness. This book brilliantly portrayed modern life with all its tragedies and difficulties. Especially poignant is the Thanksgiving dinner Grayson experiences with his mother's second family. Grayson is lost between the two worlds his divorced parents have created. He doesn't fit in with either.

His mother has remarried and started a new family, with two young children, Ryder and Gwen. When Grayson goes to the holiday dinner there, he still has a great deal of anger towards his mother for cheating on his dad. He has a disparaging name for his stepfather and ends up leaving the dinner early. This scene realistically portrays the alienation and loneliness teens often feel and are forced to accept when the adults in their lives behave selfishly. It also accurately reflects the anger many children feel towards the parent (in this case, Grayson's mother) who abandons the home without sufficient cause.

"The day my mother left wasn't monumental. My parents' divorce was sickeningly amicable....No glasses thrown across the room. No heated debates over who got what. They simply woke up one day, decided they didn't like the life they were living, and said, "Okay, done with this...next." But the one thing they couldn't split down the middle was me."

His parents divorce seems to be the force behind Grayson's bad behaviour - pimping term papers and becoming involved in a theft ring to finance a graduation trip to Europe. His world seemed, not surprising, to have unraveled. However, Constantine has her character come to realize that his problems have arisen BECAUSE he has not moved on rather than being due to the fact that his world was shattered when his parents divorced. While it's true that Grayson, like all children, must come to terms with his parent's divorce, this is often easier said than done and often assumed by adults to just happen.

Constantine told her story using two narratives, those of the main characters, Grayson and Wren. For the most part their entire relationship was unappealing. Credibility was strained as to how quickly Grayson and Wren's relationship developed, despite Grayson repeatedly stating he wanted to move slowly and develop a friendship first.Wren seemed determined to give Grayson chance after chance despite his behaviour demonstrating again and again that this was not a good boy to be with.

Neither character was particularly appealing. At times the things Grayson says and thinks seem either too mature for someone his age, or too immature. There's plenty of "f" words or variations of the same and a total obsession with sex. Grayson's prime motivation for changing his life was the brief encounter he has with Wren while choking. For some inexplicable reason, Grayson's conscience seemed to assert itself when he was with Wren. Even he was puzzled by this. He was a mostly despicable character whose immoral behaviour, rationalization and lack of conscience made him wholly unlikeable even when he was trying to redeem himself.

Grayson's redemption is accomplished gradually through the novel, although he's a liar right to the very end. He gradually changes from the sexy boy with a bad attitude, a player, thief and liar, to at least a person who has come to the realization that he has been "stealing trust". His attempt to leave the theft ring that he and Luke created, his confession to Wren about his past and the realization that he needs to repair his broken relationship with his mother are commendable but don't outweigh the fact that for the balance of the novel Grayson is genuinely unlikable.

Wren is good, kind and hard-working and in a word boring until she meets Grayson. Her indecision regarding Grayson when it's obvious he's not a good person, and her repeated rationalizing of his behaviour is tiresome. She too experiences her own journey in the novel. Always known as the quiet, obedient daughter and student, she begins to assert herself and even tells Mrs. Fiore how her speech about Harvard affects the students. Wren comes to realize that a piece of paper labeling her doesn't define her.

I also didn't like that this novel perpetuated the all too common perspective that hooking up with multiple people is a normal part of teenage years as expressed by Wren's girlfriend, Jazz who advises "What I'm getting at is -- so what if he's been with other girls? It only means he's experienced.....We're sixteen... this is what it's supposed to be." This kind of boy drama is best left to older girls in college, or maybe never. Sixteen year old girls should be focused on school, sports and other extra curricular activities that build character and social awareness.

The Promise of Amazing doesn't deliver the promise of the title. There is lots of mature content in the book making it more suitable for older teens who will likely find Grayson and Wren's relationship silly. Most annoying was the repeated us of phrases such as "a hormonal puddle of hotness" that are awkward and cliched. The Promise of Amazing is a take on the good girl meets "the sexy, troubled bad boy" theme with an ending that is most unsatisfying, making it a novel that is best passed over.

Book Details:
The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine
New York: Balzer & Bray An imprint of HarperCollins     2014
371 pp.

Just Like Fate by Cat Patrick and Suzanne Young

Have you ever wondered if your life would be completely different if you'd made a different choice at a certain point? As we get older, it is not surprising to look back and see pivotal points in our lives and wonder "What if I had chosen differently?"  Well that is the premise behind Cat Patrick and Suzanne Young's jointly authored novel, Just Like Fate.

Caroline Cabot has been living with her Gram for the last five years, after her parents bitter divorce. When she is called down to the principal's office, she learns that her beloved Gram has had a serious stroke. Caroline races to St. Mark's Hospital to be with her, not bothering to wait for her brother Teddy to pick her up at school. At the hospital, her older sister, Natalie meets Caroline and takes her to Gram's room where they meet their mom and their two year old stepsister, Judith.

Outside Gram's room, Caroline's mom tells them that Gram's cancer has spread and that she will likely die within days.  Gram is transferred to a hospice and Caroline goes back to school while members of her family keep vigil. Caroline has moved to her mom's house to be close by her Gram. Three days pass without much change in Gram's condition.  Caroline's friend, Simone, asks her to go to a party but Caroline refuses, explaining to Simone that she can't simply abandon her grandmother at this time. She explains to Simone that her gram is not going to get better - "People don't get released from hospice... she's still dying."  But Simone encourages her to take a break, telling her the party will be a distraction from what is happening at home.

After school Caroline returns to the hospice to see how her Gram is doing and learns that she is becoming weaker. Natalie and Caroline, who have not gotten along for years, become involved in an argument when Natalie warns Caroline not to act out. Caroline decides that she is fed up with Natalie and decides to leave the hospice. When Simone calls her to ask if she has made a decision regarding the party, the novel breaks off into two separate stories, one told in the chapters titled "Stay" where Caroline decides to stay at the hospice that evening to be with Gram as she lays dying, the other told in chapters titled "Go" where she attends the party with Simone, leaving Gram to die. From this point on the reader follows what happens to Caroline, comparing the consequences of each choice in two separate story lines.

In the "Stay" chapters, Caroline returns to the Gram's room and apologizes to Natalie, leading to the sisters making up with one another. When Caroline's mom and stepdad, Albert, return, Gram wakes up and asks to speak to each of the grandchildren alone, beginning with Natalie, then Teddy and finally, her favourite, Caroline. Gram passes away and Caroline settles in at her old room at her mom's house. Meanwhile Simone fills her in on the party that she missed telling her that the boy she's been crushing on since forever, Joel Ryder, was asking about her. In school after Gram's funeral, Joel surprises Caroline by reaching out to her, although why he does is a mystery to her.

Caroline is confused about Joel's intentions because he is dating another girl, Lauren who is attending college out of town. Caroline at first tries to steer clear of Joel but he is persistent. Although he sends Caroline mixed messages, being overly affectionate and then ignoring her in school she can't seem to resist him. After several make-out sessions in which Caroline still feels confused about Joel's intentions, she decides to tell Natalie what is going on.  Natalie, whom Caroline has become closer to, tells her that being a cheater never makes you feel good about yourself. Despite Joel breaking up with his girlfriend, Caroline finds her relationship with him not to be what she expected or wants. When Caroline, Joel, and Natalie attend a rock concert, fate intervenes and Caroline meets a boy she repeatedly seen over the last few months.

In the "Go" chapters, Caroline makes the decision to go to the party with Simone, to escape some of the family drama while believing that she may have a few more days with her Gram. At the party she meets a cute blonde haired boy named Christopher Drake (Chris) who attends Clinton College. Chris is friendly and has a great sense of humour and despite her sad feelings, Caroline finds herself attracted to him. Caroline is surprised to see Joel Ryder, the boy she's crushed on since grade four, at the party. As she goes to meet up with Joel in the backyard, Caroline receives a phone call telling her Gram is dying. Caroline races to the hospice but does not make it in time to say good-bye to Gram. In shock, she leaves the hospice and unexpectedly meets Chris who has left the party and needs a ride to his friend's place. Chris who is a freshman at Clinton tries to ask her out, but Caroline tells him she's not ready.

After the funeral Caroline ends up estranged from just about everyone; Simone, her mother and Natalie. This leads her to make some big changes in her life; she moves in with her father and his new wife, Debra, and she attends Clinton High. Caroline's repeated encounters with Chris lead her to start dating him even though she learns from Simone that Joel Ryder has broken off with his girlfriend, Lauren.

Despite enjoying a good relationship with her father and stepmother, Debra and her new boy friend Chris, Caroline must deal with bullying at Clinton High, and heal her relationship with her sister and mother. But things start to go awry when Caroline suspects Chris of cheating on her. When she learns the truth from Teddy about Chris, instead of running, Caroline tries to repair her relationships

This novel is very similar to the 1998 film, Sliding Doors in which a young woman's relationship and future vary depending upon whether or not she catches a subway train. When I read this novel I decided to read the Stay chapters only and then return to the beginning and read the Go chapters. Readers will be impressed with both story lines however they choose to read the novel, and will come to understand the significance of the book's title.

The Go storyline was more interesting and was better written, demonstrating growth in Caroline. At the hospice, Natalie accuses Caroline of being a "runner", that is, she runs away from all her problems instead of dealing with them. In the Stay storyline, Caroline continues this behaviour to the very end, abandoning Joel who is a problem for her at the concert and leaving with Chris. However, in the Go storyline, Caroline actively reaches out to Natalie, Teddy, her mother, and Chris to repair the relationships that have been broken because of misunderstandings and poor choices.

The epilogue ties the theme of choices and fate together using the lead singer from a fictional rock group, Electric Freakshow, whose concert the characters in the novel attend in the last chapters. The group has a song entitled Magnates For Fate, which seems to suggest that our lives are controlled by fate. In an interview, the vocalist, River Devlin is angry that people, including his own band-mates, don't understand the message of the song; that we are free to live our own lives, making mistakes, because even those mistakes are important. After listening to the interview, Caroline comes to realize that whatever choice she made, the life that came out of that decision is important and relevant. Regardless of the choices we make, we may very well end up in the same spot in our lives, but the journey getting there is significant and makes us who we are. We will never know how another choice might have changed our lives, but that doesn't matter because the choice we made,  for good or bad, make us who we are today.

Another important theme in this novel is that of family no matter what choices we make. This is emphasized in the Go storyline through the character of Debra, who encourages Caroline to heal the rift between her and her mother and Natalie when she tells her, "But I promise you, there will come a day when you really need someone -and it'd be nice to have a sister. Everyone needs family."

Overall, Just Like Fate has a unique concept behind it coupled with a sensitive, realistic protagonist in Caroline Cabot.

Book Details:
Just Like Fate by Cat Patrick and Suzanne Young
New York: Simon Pulse
294 pp.

September 17 by Amanda West Lewis

September 17 has a large cast of characters and tells the story of the sinking of the SS City of Benares from the perspectives of three different characters. It is early September, 1940 and thirteen year old Kenneth John (Ken) Sparks is terrified of taking shelter under the arches of Wembley Park Station. Every air raid, Ken has pleaded with his father to allow him to stay in their flat and every time his father has refused telling him has to shelter there along with his younger sister Mollie and his stepmother. With their situation becoming more dire in terms of being able to feed everyone, Ken's stepmother convinces his father to place him into the CORB program. They arrange for Ken to stay at his stepmother's sister in Edmonton. Ken packs a small suitcase and his stepmother gives him his father's new overcoat to keep him warm.

Fourteen year old Elizabeth (Bess) Walder doesn't want to move to the country in the fall to attend St. Alban's school. She wants to stay at home with her parents and get to know the young fire man, Gareth she recently met. When Gareth enlists, Bess is disappointed but she learns from him that his younger brother is being sent to Canada as part of the CORB program. This leads Bess to try a different tact with her mother and suggest that she and her younger brother Louis go to Canada too. Eventually her parents agree to send them both to an aunt who lives in Winnipeg. Bess and Louis connect with CORB at the train station and board a train to Liverpool. During their journey to the port they meet a young girl, Gussie Grimmond, who is in charge of her four younger siblings. Bess also meets another girl at Fazakerley, Beth Cummings, who will live in Toronto with her aunt and uncle. Beth is just as excited as Bess to be traveling to Canada. They quickly become good friends and nickname each other Princess Elizabeth and Queen Bess.After a brief stay at the Children's Homes in Fazakerley, they board the ship for Canada.

Sonia Bech, her sister Barbara and younger brother, nine year old Derek, live in Aldwick, south of London, near Portsmouth. Sonia's father works in London and returns home only on the weekends. Compared to many British, Sonia and her family are well off. Fearing an invasion by the Germans is imminent, Sonia's father purchases four first class tickets on the SS City of Benares to send his family to safety in Montreal, QC. While Sonia is thrilled to be leaving on such an adventure, Barbara views the trip as an act of cowardice. Nevertheless, they pack their steamer trunks and take the train to Liverpool where they board the City of Benares.

On the City of Benares, all the children settle into the respective quarters. The CORB children are placed in the stern of the ship along with their escorts while the wealthy paying passengers are located up front. The crew of the City of Benares consists of the British officers as well as Indian men called lascars who cook, clean and keep the ship functioning. Captain Nicolls assures Sonia and her mother that they will be quite safe from the German U-boats as they will be escorted by a navy destroyer.

Ken, Bess, Beth and the rest of the CORB children are fed delicious food, have access to a playroom filled with toys and are told that they must carry their lifejackets with them at all times until they are out of the range of the U-boats. During rough weather, many of the children suffer from sea-sickness, but they do manage to spend some time enjoying themselves and making new friends. Then one morning they awaken to find that their navy escort is gone and they are considered to be in safe, neutral waters. But the British couldn't be more wrong. Their exciting adventure is about to turn deadly.

Discussion

In the summer of 1940, Great Britain was in the throes of what became known as "the Blitz" or the Battle of Britain- the bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany in an attempt to force the British into either surrendering or as a prelude to invasion under the code name of Operation Sea Lion. The bombing began in July and lasted throughout the remainder of 1940 and into 1941, but most of the severest bombing occurred between July and October of 1940. Both civilians and the military were targeted, with much destruction and loss of life. However, the Royal Air Force (RAF) valiantly fought back to protect British airfields, industries and cities. The destruction, fires and general terror that the bombing caused made many British decide to send their children into the countryside away from the bombing, or further north and west, away from German bombers to Scotland and Wales.

Some children however were to be sent overseas to Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. The Children's Overseas Reception Board (CORB) organized the transport of over 200,000 children to these countries as a way to protect them from the bombing and the possible, imminent invasion by Germany. This was to be a temporary relocation as the children were expected to return after the war was over. The children could apply through their schools and they were to travel alone (without parents) but in the company of escorts who were often teachers and young people selected for this dangerous job. The children were placed on boats as part of convoys guarded by navy destroyers from German U-boat (submarine) attacks. But with the escalation of the war against Britain, these attacks turned deadly.

In August 30, 1940, the SS Volendam which was transporting three hundred and twenty children to Halifax, Nova Scotia was torpedoed by a U-boat. All of the children survived but the Volendam had to be evacuated and it was towed to Scotland for repairs. There were 120 CORB children on the Volendam.  However, a second CORB transport was torpedoed on September 17, 1940. This ship, SS City of Benares was not so lucky. September 17 tells the story of some of the crew and CORB children and what happened on that fateful voyage.

September 17 is a vivid recounting this terrible disaster which ultimately ended the CORB program of transporting British children out of the country. Only thirteen of the ninety CORB children on the City of Benares survived the sinking. Because the ship sank in approximately thirty minutes, it was very difficult to launch the life boats properly meaning that many of the ships crew and passengers did not end up safely in the boats. Instead, many were dumped into the frigid Atlantic waters and likely died of hypothermia.

Lewis was inspired to write the story of the sinking of the SS City of Benares after seeing an exhibit called "The Children's War" in London, England. The author did considerable research for her novel and she explains in an interview in the back of the book how the survivors of one of the lifeboats coped with the tragedy throughout their lives. Her excellent research is reflected in the novel as Lewis effectively combines historical information with her story. For example, we learn that the British families were truly struggling during the early part of the war to feed their families. The children in the novel complain about being hungry and are completely overwhelmed by the choice of food they are given on board the ship to Canada.

The dialogue between the children and the adults and also between one another is realistic. Lewis also effectively demonstrates that for each child, the journey to Canada was perceived differently and that each had their own emotional response to being sent away. Ken Sparks had mixed feelings, but mostly as a boy on the cusp of manhood, he wanted to grow up and enter the navy. In contrast, little Louis was not so keen to leave home.

September 17 is a well written novel about an event that has mostly been forgotten by history, remembered only by the family of those who lost loved ones and those who survived. But it's good that we remember the unexpected tragedies of war - the sinking of a boat carrying innocent children to a safe life in another country and also the cost of war. The U-boat commander claimed he did not know the convoy was comprised of a ship carrying children. When the Germans saw such a large convoy, they determined that it must be an important one and so made the decision to attack the ships. Even later, he did not apologize for what he had done, although the radio operators on the submarine felt remorse. We must remember and learn if we are to prevent such tragedies in the future. Lewis dedicated her novel to the children who died on September 17. In the front of her novel, Amanda Lewis has a wonderful quote by poet and director, Eve Merriam,

"I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, 'Mother, what was war?' "

Book Details:
September 17 by Amanda West Lewis
Markham ON: Red Deer Press 2013
313 pp.

Champion by Marie Lu

Champion opens with Daniel Altan Wing (Day) living in San Francisco with his younger brother Eden. They have settled there so Eden who was made into a biological weapon by the Republic can recover from the effects of the experimentation done on him. Day is contacted by the Denver City Patrol requesting that he attend an emergency meeting in Denver during the Independence Day Ball. Day is also personally contacted by June Iparis, one of the Princeps-Elect. She tells Day that the Republic has received a communication from the Colonies stating that the plague is spreading throughout their war-front cities. For the last four months, the war has been on hold, while the Republic and the Colonies have worked on a peace treaty. That treaty is now off.

When Day travels to Denver and attends the emergency meeting he learns the truth about what is happening. The Colonies are demanding the Republic hand over the cure or they will invade the Republic with the help of the world superpower, Africa. June tells Day that they want him to bring Eden in for more experiments so they can try to find a cure for the new plague. Day refuses June's request.

After meeting with Day June attends the sentencing of those Patriots who intended to follow through with the assassination of Anden. Razor has already been executed and June attends the sentencing of Captain Thomas Bryant and Commander Natasha Jameson.

Meanwhile Day who has an infection in his hippocampus, suffers a severe setback and is hospitalized. Doctors treat him, changing his medication but tell him he has at most two months to live. While he is recovering at home, the Republic Armor is attacked by the Colonies. Due to the timing of the attack and the fact that both Bryant and Jameson are freed when their cohort of guards is changed, it appears that the Colonies are being aided by traitors within the Republic. At this time Eden is evacuated to Los Angeles.

Anden decides he must contact Antarctica for military help so he, June and the two other Princeps-Elects, Serge and Mariana travel there. June finds the Antarctican society to be much more technologically advanced. President Ikari refuses to supply military aid, instead offering scientists to help find a cure for the plague. He does indicate that Antarctica will supply military aid however, if they are offered land. Ikari also tells Anden that the Republic of America and the Colonies borders and ports must be sealed.

Denver falls to the Colonies just before Anden and June return to the Republic, forcing them to land in Los Angeles. There they meet up with Day at the Central Hospital where they learn that Tess has become ill with the plague. This event is the impetus that finally pushes Day to bring in his brother Eden for further testing.

At this time Day reveals to June that the Chancellor of the Colonies has offered him immunity as well as a guarantee of June's safety in exchange for Day leading the people into accepting the rule of the Colonies. Day has no intention of doing this but he knows he must come up with some kind of plan.

When the testing on Eden reveals a stunning result, and the Colonies prepare to attack Los Angeles, June and Day devise a plan to both  thwart the attack and force military intervention by Antarctica. Can they save the Republic from the Colonies' insidious grasp without losing everything they hold dear?

Discussion

Champion is a thrilling finale to the Legends series, with a page-turning climax that leads to a sad but hopeful ending. Lu ties up all the lose ends and even takes her readers ten years into the future. Readers learn a bit more about the larger world as June and Day step outside of the Republic to travel to Antarctica. The encounter an advanced society where behaviour is strictly monitored, where everything has points - a feature June soon tires of.

Like the two novels before it, Champion is well written and essentially plot driven. Nevertheless, Lu does a good job of developing the two main characters throughout the series, focusing on their heroic journey to creating a more just society. Day and June, although initially on different paths, band together to forge a new path, mirroring the journey the Colonies and the Republic take. Day began his journey to rescue his brother, reveal the true nature of the Republic and take it down in doing so. June was the Republic's prodigy but Day made her aware of what was truly going on. Both Day and June quickly discovered the Colonies did not offer the alternative they had hoped for. Instead, they end up working to save the very regime they worked so hard to bring down. And, as a result they just might affect society in the Colonies too. In many ways, Day and June are both very tragic figures who have lost everyone dear to them, and almost lose each other.

Readers will enjoy the action sequences which are well written. Lu maintains the tension by telling the story in alternating chapters written from June and Day's perspectives. The world map at the front of the novel helps readers develop a sense of the world June, Day and Anden live in.

Overall, a solid, exciting finish to a well written series.

Book Details:
Champion by Marie Lu
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons 2013
369 pp.

Kid Soldier by Jennifer Maruno

Fifteen year old Richard lives with his widowed mother in a dilapidated home in the Stoney Creek area. He's still in school but since they badly need money and Richard covets the bike in the window of Cupola's Bike Shop, he sets out to find work. Eventually his goal is to travel the world but first he wants that bike. It is 1939, and Canada is in the throes of the depression with many men unable to find work.

Richard, whose father died when he was young, is an enterprising young man, who is willing to work hard. Despite his much younger friend, Tommy's reservations about strange Mr. Vogel, Richard goes to work for Vogel helping him harvest peaches on his farm.

From there he finds work helping the town baker, Mr. Black make his deliveries. Richard soon befriends the Black family with his hard work and willingness to help. It turns out that Mr. Black is a veteran of the First World War.  Black worked in the signal corps and he encourages Richard to sign up for the army training camp he will be attending. He peaks Richard's interest by telling him about learning wireless telegraphy, and how this might be his way to getting into the Navy to travel the world. Richard comes to see the demonstrations and finds himself pushed into attending the camp.

Richard is able to enroll in the camp, despite the fact that he's underaged. After completing the camp he becomes determined to enlist some day. That time comes sooner than later when World War II breaks out. Richard enlists at Camp Niagara and is sent first to Kingston and then onto England via the Empress of Britain where he begins training. From this point on the story focuses on Richard's experiences in England and the eventual discovery that he is too young to serve.

Discussion  

Kid Soldier is a gentle story about a young teen who enlists at the start of World War II so that he can experience travel and adventure. Although Maruno's story is an important one, the bland cover and a narrative that has little action will likely not engage young readers. A book's cover should be an invitation to read, but the cover of Kid Soldier does nothing of the sort.

Richard Fuller is a truly honorable character who has a keen sense of duty and is not quick to form an opinion about those he doesn't know. When Tommy speaks badly of Mr. Vogel, suggesting he is strange for crying, Richard decides to forego expressing his opinion. Vogel offers him a chance to work and despite Tommy's reservations and refusal himself, Richard accepts, deciding he will see for himself what the farmer is like. Richard eventually learns the reason for Mr. Vogel's tears, suggesting that we can never truly know what burdens another person carries.

Although Richard doesn't seem to have a good relationship with his mother, Maruno's narrative suggests that she too is like Vogel with many burdens. Since the death of his father, Richard's mother has struggled to survive; her life is filled with endless work. Richard's dream of the bike in the store window is soon forgotten as he signs over some of his army pay to go back home. This is yet another example of his caring and responsible attitude towards others, but especially his mother.

This novel will likely appeal to boys who enjoy war stories told in a slow paced narrative style. Kid Soldier provides an glimpse into the life of young Canadian men just before the start of the second World War that is both informative and detailed.

Book Details:

Kid Soldier by Jennifer Maruno

Toronto: Dundurn Press   2013

198 pp.

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau is a Hunger Games read-alike, which will definitely appeal to fans of Suzanne Collins' famous trilogy. As with Hunger Games, The Testing is a dystopian story about a group of teens selected to undergo a series of tests, some of which are deadly. The tests are designed to select those most qualified to lead in the reconstruction of a devastated country. Set in post-apocalyptic America, The Testing deals with themes of trust, loyalty and self-survival.

The novel opens with Malencia (Cia) Vale and her classmates preparing for their graduation. Cia lives in Five Lakes Colony, one of the smaller colonies containing only about one thousand inhabitants. Cia lives with her father, mother and four brothers, Zeen, Hart, Win and Hamin. Her father's job it to genetically alter plants so they can thrive in the devastated areas of the Five Lakes Colony. Their colony is one of eighteen spread throughout the continental United States, now known as the United Commonwealth. A world war, known as the Seven Stages War has completely destroyed society.

Cia hopes to be chosen for the Testing, which if she passes, will allow her to study at the United Commonwealth's University. Cia's father is a University graduate who was chosen and passed The Testing. So when no Tosu City official shows up at the graduation, Cia is very disappointed. However, the next day Cia and four other young graduates learn from Tosu City official, Michal Gallen, that they indeed will be part of this year's Testing. Included are fellow colonists, Tomas Endress, Malachi Rourke, and Zandri Hicks.

Before she leaves for Tosu City, however, Cia's father warns her that the Testing is not what she thinks it is. She learns that her father has no memories of  the Testing, that somehow his memory was wiped clean. He found University challenging and when he was assigned to a new colony he began to have nightmares. He never knew what happened to the people who did not pass the Testing, nor his roommate. Cia's father warns her to question everything she sees and to trust no one.

Each candidate is given a bracelet which has a unique symbol on it. Cia's symbol is an eight-pointed star with a lightning bolt in the center. The first test is a series of written exams which test for knowledge of science, mathematics, history, and reading. The second set of tests is a series of hands-on problems which prove to have brutal consequences for some of the candidates. The third test involves a series of problems to be worked out within the framework of a team. This too is not as innocuous as it appears. Through each level, Cia comes to the realization that a wrong choice could mean death.

After passing the first three levels of the testing, Cia and the remaining candidates are told about the fourth and final test; they are to be dropped off in the poisoned wilderness and must make their way back to Tosu City. Those who do so will have passed the test. Cia and her close friend, Tomas make a pact to find each other and do the final test together. Cia has known Tomas from childhood and she is gradually falling for him. But can Cia trust Tomas in what will likely be the most deadly test yet?

Discussion

The Testing is a fast-paced novel that bears many similarities to Hunger Games; a group of teens facing a deadly test, a love triangle hinted at in the first novel, a government with sinister motives, and a group of rebels willing to help one special candidate outwit the authorities.

The novel's protagonist, Cia Vale is a resourceful, strong character, in fact, sometimes overly so. She seems to be incredibly adept at detecting traps and outwitting the challenges of The Testing, so much so that it sometimes stretches the credibility of the character. Cia discovers almost immediately just how sinister the Testing will be with the discovery of cameras in the skimmer. Like Katniss in Hunger Games, Cia works with a boy from her own colony/district to survive against enormous odds, buries a dead candidate, and manages not to kill anyone, preserving her moral integrity in the story. Like Katniss, Cia doesn't think about the horrors of what is happening to her, nor the ethics of her choices; she is too busy simply trying to survive. That will come for later.

This novel works because Charbonneau is able to create and maintain suspense through much of the second half of the book which tells the story of the fourth test- Cia and Tomas's journey though the wilderness back to Tosu City. What at first seems to simply be a race to return to Tosu City evolves into brutal contest of survival in which candidates are permitted to injure or kill fellow candidates in order to prevent them from getting a passing grade. Not only does Cia struggle with how she will deal with the other candidates as she meets them but she also remains uncertain about Tomas, especially after she leaves him and another candidate, Will, alone for a day and returns to find them unwilling to explain what has happened during her absence.

Overall, The Testing is a great start to this new dystopian series. It's unfortunate that it is so similar to Hunger Games; the lack of originality and the many similarities are quite obvious. Nevertheless, it is an exciting novel with a worthy heroine.

Author Joelle Charbonneau studied vocal performance and was involved in opera before becoming a writer. The Testing Series will see two more books, Independent Study and Graduation published in 2014.

Book Details:
The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
New York: Houghton Mifflin 2013
325 pp. 

Golden by Jessi Kirby

"None of them look at me, but I'm nervous all of a sudden because right now it feels like I'm holding in my hands something I shouldn't be. Like I've just brushed my fingers over a ghost. And by all accounts and definitions, I have."

Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost hopefully has her ticket out of Summit Lakes with her placement as a finalist in the Cruz-Farnetti Scholarship. Her dream of attending premed at Stanford is now that much closer. All she has to do is write a winning speech and the scholarship will be hers.

Parker is a TA for Mr. Kinney's freshman English class. One of her final chores is to take the journals written by students ten years earlier and mail them back to them. Every year Kinney gives his students a journal after spring break and the task of writing in it for the remainder of the school year. On the board at school, Mr. Kinney writes a quote from a Mary Oliver poem, "Tell me, what do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"  Students then spend the last few weeks of their senior year answering this question in the journal Kinney has given them. On graduation day, students hand in their sealed journals and ten years later they are mailed back to the students using their updated addresses from the school's alumni database.

As Parker is locating addresses to mail out the diaries, she comes across the sealed journal of Julianna Franetti. Julianna and her boyfriend, Shane Cruz were the town's "golden couple" destined for a "golden life" together forever. They had been together for four years and it was expected they would marry and stay in Summit Lakes to be a part of Shane's family's business.

But a freak storm and a terrible accident changed that forever. First responders never found their bodies in Shane's jeep half-submerged in the river at the bottom of the gorge. The official statement was that their bodies were swept downriver and into Summit Lake. The golden couple are immortalized on the town's bulletin board; their portraits a reminder of what was lost.

Julianna's journal was written before her accident and Parker, in a moment of weakness, decides to take the journal home. Parker wonders why no one thought to ask about Julianna's journal and why Mr. Kinney never read it. At first Parker doesn't think she will read it but then changes her mind. Partly she does this because her best friend Kat has been encouraging Parker to take a chance in life, to try the road less traveled; to "do something unexpected that would leave me with something I could keep and remember. An experience instead of a goal." Parker also decides to read the journal because she wants to know the real Julianna, "who she was and what she wanted".

However, the journal reveals that all was not entirely golden in the life of Julianna, that she was struggling with the choices she had made and was filled with self-doubt. The revelations of the journal lead Parker to try to discover what happened that fateful night. When Parker makes several astonishing discoveries about Julianna's life, she decides to take a chance in the hopes of solving a mystery and giving love a second chance. And through her journey investigating they mystery of  the deaths of Julianna and Shane, Parker finds the courage to apply the lessons she learns to her own life.

Discussion

Golden is a novel that combines mystery and romance. Jessi Kirby has crafted an intriguing story to explore themes of identity, forgiveness and redemption, love, and the importance of being true to oneself. These are things that many young people find very relevant in their lives. The hook, the discovery of the forgotten journal of crash victim, Julianna Franetti is perfect for drawing readers into this well-paced novel. Although the storyline is predictable, there are twists along the way that make it interesting. Not only is the story of Parker's attempts to get to the bottom of the mystery of Julianna and Shane riveting but so is her journey of self-discovery.

Parker Frost, who is related to the famous poet, Robert Frost, identifies with Julianna Franetti's struggle to find meaning in her life. Julianna's life was mostly planned out for her by the choices she made. Like Julianna, Parker realizes that her life is all but planned out for her but not by her choices, instead by her mother whose life is focused on practicality and stability. But Parker is like her poet father and his relative Robert Frost - she has a need to find meaning in life, to be creative, to express herself. Like Julianna, she wants a life that's more expansive and more open to chance and change, something Parker begins to understand is a part of life.

The major characters in the novel are well developed and unique. Parker is a likable heroine, intelligent, caring and romantic. She believes in love, despite her parents divorce. Her best friend Kat, is confident, flirty, and very self aware. Kat's favourite motto is carpe diem ("seize the day") and she's the driving force behind getting Parker to seize her life and make it her own. Trevor Collins, the boy Parker is crushing on but too afraid to acknowledge her feelings for, is both humorous and sweet. At first it seems like he might be superficial, but it soon becomes evident that he truly cares for Parker.

Making the main character, Parker Frost, a distant relative of famous poet, Robert Frost allowed the author to incorporate many quotations from Frost's wonderful poems into her novel, adding to the overall beauty of the storytelling. The novel's title, Golden, is also a reference to Frost's poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay. Julianna and Shane are the "golden" couple, perfect in love with the perfect life awaiting them. But it didn't happen. Because in life, nothing is assured and nothing lasts forever. Change is part of life and that is expressed in Frost's poem:

Nature's first green is gold

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf,

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day,

Nothing gold can stay.

Each chapter has a short quote from one of Frost's poems, that are relevant to what will happen in the chapter. Readers may be familiar with some of the quotes, especially those from Robert Frost's Fire and Ice and also his well known poem, The Road Not Taken. It is truly wonderful, the interweaving of many of the ideas about life, Frost expressed in his poetry with the novel's overarching themes of choices made in life, of love and finding meaning.

Golden is by far the best young adult novel this year. Well written, well paced, with a great storyline, it would make a good novel for book clubs. The lovely book jacket has gold detailing which entices the reader to pick up this very good novel. Not to be missed! Maybe readers will get to see what happens to Parker in ten years time??

Book Details:
Golden by Jessi Kirby
Toronto: Simon & Schuster BFYR    2013
277 pp.

Unremembered by Jessica Brody

When Freedom Airlines Flight 121 crashes into the ocean during a flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo, there is only one survivor. That survivor is a stunningly beautiful sixteen-year-old girl who cannot remember her name or any other details of her life. Strangely, she is not listed on the passenger manifest for the flight. Given the name Violet by a nurse because of her violet eyes, she does not remember anything from before the flight. Violet was discovered with a locket which has the Sanskrit symbol, the eternal knot on one side and is inscribed with S + Z = 1609 on the back. But Violet has no idea what the inscription means nor who gave her the locket. Doctors believe that Violet is suffering from amnesia and so they post her picture on the news and on the internet in an attempt to try to learn her identity and find her parents.

Even more unsettling to Violet, is the appearance at the hospital of a handsome, brown-haired boy with maple eyes and a crooked smile who causes an intense response in her. He tells Violet that she shouldn't be here and that he has come to take her back. However nothing happens and the boy disappears leaving Violet believing that he was an impostor.

When no one comes to claim Violet, she is placed with a foster family, Heather and Scott Carlson, who have a thirteen-year-old son, Cody. They take Violet to their home in Wells Creek about three hours outside of Los Angeles. Gradually Violet uncovers small clues to her past. The locket is one clue, but also she finds a small piece of paper with "Trust him" written on it. Violet also discovers she's very good at numbers, after quickly calculating the cost of a grocery bill.

The boy Violet saw in the hospital approaches her again in the supermarket parking lot, where he tells Violet that her real name is Sera, short for Seraphina. He also tells her that they fled after discovering something about her and he entreats her to try to remember and not to trust anyone. He tells her that she knows she was not on the plane that crashed. But Sera still doesn't believe him so she sets out to prove that she was on the plane. She manages to convince Cody to take her to Los Angeles to see if she can stimulate a memory of her boarding a plane. The travel to LAX where they inadvertently meet the gate attendant, Brittany, who was working the day of Flight 131. She doesn't remember Sera because she's certain that she would have definitely remembered seeing a girl who was as beautiful as Sera.

Then on a shopping trip with Heather, the mysterious boy appears in the dressing room while Heather is paying for their purchases. The clues he reveals, such as his name, Lyzender (Zen), and who Sera really is and the circumstances of her life, leave her reeling. But when Zen quotes the beginning of a Shakespearean sonnet, Sera is able to remember the poem - her first memory. The fact that she can remember something connected to this boy leaves Sera conflicted, confused and in denial. Despite Zen pleading with her to meet him at a certain address, Sera refuses his offer and runs away. With the help of Cody, who has never had a beautiful girl speak to him, Sera begins to unravel a mystery that leads to more and more disturbing revelations.

Not wishing to bring harm to her foster parents and Cody, Sera leaves in the middle of the night. But she soon becomes involved in a cat and mouse game with those tracking her every movement in an effort to capture her. When Sera is captured by Rio, a man who has been following her, she is freed by Zen who takes her to hide in a school that is closed for the summer holidays. There Zen helps Sera regain her memories and to understand what she is. Cody manages to catch up with Sera and Zen and helps by securing a vehicle for them to escape. However, when Sera is seen and recognized by teens at a gas station and her picture is tweeted on the internet, her location is discovered by someone who will stop at nothing to find her and bring her back to the life she had before.

Discussion

Unremembered is a unique story that involves both time travel and genetic engineering that doesn't quite live up to expectations. Brody succeeds in keeping her readers interested with the mystery surrounding "Violet", the use of action sequences and plenty of plot twists. But this is a novel that doesn't have much in terms of character development. Instead, the focus is on the protagonist who has a major problem (she doesn't remember who she is and that she's being hunted ) that needs to be resolved quickly. It therefore, rushes from one scene to the next, giving only cursory effort to the development of characters Sera, Cody, Zen, Rio, and the nasty antagonist, Alixter, who appears at the end of the novel. The focus is on the innocent individual fighting against an evil scientist and his minions who are attempting to reclaim his trillion dollar creation.

Violet/Sera is an interesting character who at first is completely and believably undone by her current circumstances. She can't remember how to open a door or use a computer yet she can solve a major mathematical problem and speak various languages. She has a strange tattoo on her wrist and incredible physical attributes. She's rebellious and strong-willed, capable of feeling deep love and taking risks.

Her true love, Lyzender, is not well developed, except that he is handsome and very loyal to Sera. He's as determined to save her as she is to save him. In contrast, Cody is probably the best developed character in the novel; he's faithful, hopelessly attracted to Sera, intelligent and resourceful. The one characteristic I felt was out of place about Cody in this novel, was his age. I felt that it would have been more appropriate if he was fifteen or sixteen years old. Those readers who enjoyed Mary Pearson's The Adoration of Jenna Fox will be interested in this novel, but will find Pearson's novel more appealing.

Unremembered poses the question of what makes us human? How much of our physical bodies make us human? Is there something more than just our bodies that make us human? It's not an in-depth exploration - only a superficial mention that could have been explored more in the novel.

The next book in the series is UnForgotten which is expected to be released March, 2014. Hopefully Jessica Brody will use this second novel to further develop the characters and elaborate on the future world to which Sera and Zen belong.

Book Details:
Unremembered by Jessica Brody
New York: Farrar Straus Giroux 2013
304 pp.

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

Hattie Big Sky is a well-written novel that might be overlooked because of its generic historical fiction cover.  This young adult novel offers readers a delicious dose of the pioneer spirit set during the last year of World War I. Those who enjoyed the Laura Ingalls saga in Little House on the Prairie will certainly enjoy Hattie Big Sky and the recent sequel, Hattie Ever After.

It is December 1917. Sixteen year old Hattie Inez Brooks lives with her Aunt Ivy and Uncle Holt in Arlington, Iowa. Hattie lost both her parents when she was very young; her father was a miner who died from lung disease and her mother died a few years later from a fever. After her Mama died, her Aunt Seah took her in and was very loving towards her. But after Aunt Seah became too elderly to care for Hattie, she was passed from one relative to the next until she ended up in the home of her distant cousin, Uncle Holt. Aunt Ivy was not happy about this and now that Hattie is sixteen, she wants her to move out and work.

Hattie has a good friend in Charlie Hawley, a boy who stuck up for her, walked her to and from school every day. He also taught her how to throw a baseball properly and gave her a cat named Mr. Whiskers. Charlie enlisted in October and now in December is on his way to England and eventually to France. Although Hattie, along with the rest of the town believes Charlie is sweet on Mildred Powell, she decides to write him. When Charlie left for war, Hattie gave him a "wishing rock". 

One day Hattie receives a letter informing her that her Uncle Chester has bequeathed her his 320 acre land claim in Montana. The letter was written by Chester's neighbour, Perilee Meuller, who writes to tell Hattie that if she wants to come out to claim the land, they will help her. Knowing she has no future in Iowa in home where she is not loved,  Hattie decides to take a chance and move to Montana. So in January of 1918, she and Mr. Whiskers take the Great Northern Railway to Wolf Point, Montana. There she is met by Perliee Meuller and her husband, Karl, as well as Perilee's children, eight year old Chase, six year old Mattie and the baby, Fern. In Wolf Point, Hattie learns that in order to "prove up" on the claim, she must set 480 rods of fence and cultivate 40 acres of land by November 1918. She has no idea how she will accomplish this but Hattie decides that she needs to go to Montana because all her life she has been Hattie Here-and-There. Montana offers her the chance to have a real home of her own.

The Meuller's drive her out to the claim the next day, and Hattie is dismayed by what she sees. The house is a mere shack set in the middle of a vast tract of land and sky. While winter sets in, Hattie gradually adapts to the homesteading life, making good friends with Perilee and Karl, Rooster Jim a crochety, bad-smelling old friend of Chester's, and Leafie Purvis, an older woman who makes a living training horses.

Another person Hattie encounters is the handsome Traft Martin, a young man who runs his family's ranch, The Tipped M, which is the largest ranch in the area and which butts up against the northeast boundary of Hattie's claim. Traft is attracted to Hattie and tries to court her, but she isn't fooled by his good looks. It soon turns out that he has more than just courting on his mind. She also discovers that despite his winsome smile, Traft has a darker side. When Traft and those on the Council of Defense begin singling out Americans of German descent, Hattie refuses to follow along and break ties with the Meullers even after she is threatened by Traft. Tragedy follows tragedy but Hattie remains strong, faithful to those who have helped her, and learns about herself and life. Although Hattie works hard on her claim can she succeed in spite of bad weather, little money, and a rancher trying to steal her claim?

Discussion

In Hattie Big Sky, author Kirby Larson has crafted a truly delightful story that engages the reader right from the beginning. Hattie is a strong heroine, determined to make her way in the world, despite terrible odds in a troubling time. She remains true to herself when she stands up, at great personal risk, for those who are being unjustly attacked only because they come from a country that America is at war with. In this way, Hattie demonstrates that she is maturing into a principled adult who knows what she believes in and acts on those beliefs.

Hattie's story is told in a strong first person narrative but also includes the letters she writes to Charlie and Uncle Holt as well as her submissions about homesteading to the Arlington News. This allows us to know something about Charlie and to see how both Charlie and Hattie change over the year. Charlie's view of the war changes in that time. At first he brags about killing Germans, but later on when his best friend is killed, he realizes that killing another person is nothing to brag about. In Hattie's case, she came out to Montana to find a home for herself, but instead found friends who were as good as family. Initially she was only concerned about herself, but as she matures, she begins to develop a concern for those around her.

Many of the characters in the book are memorable, from Rooster Jim with his wild ways, to Perilee and Karl, the stoic couple who help Hattie and who are attacked because Karl is German. Traft Martin, who at first seems like a potential love interest, is revealed as a complex character. Even the animals have interesting personalities as evidenced by the hilarious descriptions of Hattie's cow, Violet, and the three hens she gets from Rooster Jim.

Hattie Big Sky is a wonderful novel about the meaning of friendship and loyalty, finding your place in the world and coming of age.

Larson indicates that many of the events in the novel actually happened. It was her great-grandmother Hattie Inez Brooks Wright who homesteaded in Montana. While doing her research on homesteading during World War I, Larson realized that anti-German sentiment was very common during this time period and therefore, needed to be part of the story.

Book Details:
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
New York: Delacorte Press 2006
289 pp.