Sisters of Glass by Stephanie Hemphill

This novel in  free verse tells the story of two daughters of a glass blower destined to marry the man the other loves. It is set in the 15th century Republic of Venice, on the Island of Murano and is based on a real historical person, Maria Barovier, who was one of the first women to open an enameling furnace.

Maria Barovier is the youngest daughter of Venetian glassblower, Angelo Barovier. Her father's family has molded glass on the Island of Murano since the 13th century when the Republic of Venice required all glassblowers to relocate to the island as a way to prevent fires and to protect the trade secrets of the glassblowers.

Angelo Barovier was preparing to leave Murano to study at the University of Padua when a terrible fire destroyed the family furnaces and killed most of the family. Angelo as well as a surviving brother, Giova, sought out work with other furnaces until they were able to restart their own business. Maria's father worked hard re-establishing his glassblowing business, training his two daughters, Giovanna and Maria. Maria's brothers were also a part of the family business; Paolo blew glass while Marino looked after the business.

The Barovier fornicas (furnaces) were the only ones to produce the cristallo, a clear crystal glass and this made her family renowned. But, someone who worked in the family business stole the secret and soon all the furnaces on Murano were making cristallo. A year later, Maria's father was dead from a heart attack. Now Maria's mother intends to marry her off to a wealthy nobleman to restore the family name and fortune as per her husband's will.

When the family's fortunes continue to fail, and Maria's brother Paolo spends his time pursuing a courtesan rather than blowing glass, they decide to take on a young gaffer (glassblower), Luca, who has no family name but whose work is exceptional.


 As suitors are brought before Maria and her mother, none seem suitable. In the meantime, Maria, who shows considerable talent as an artist begins visiting Luca and mixing batches for him. These visits lead her to see Luca in a different light, as an artist similar to herself and she begins to fall in love with him. But it seems that Luca does not feel the same towards Maria.

Eventually, Maria's mother settles on one man for her to marry, but she doesn't love him. Instead, her heart has turned towards another and towards the art of glassblowing. Complicating things even more, her suitor seems to have fallen for Giovanna. Can Maria find a way to be with the one she loves, or will she be required to sacrifice all for the sake of her family?

Discussion

In Sisters of Glass, Stephanie Hemphill has chosen a little known subject for this short novel geared towards younger readers, the Barovier's who were renowned for their beautiful glass making from the 1300's to the present. 

The Barovier glass making business was founded by Iacobello Barovier. The Barovier's became glassmakers and eventually came to own furnaces. The Barovier glassmaking company was established in  1324 on the island of Murano in the Venetian Lagoon. The glassmaking businesses were forced to relocate to Murano because of the fire risk from the glassmaking furnaces. Glassmaking was controlled by powerful families which included the Barovier family. Angelo Barovier who lived from 1400 to 1460, developed and patented a new kind of crystalline glass. His daughter, Marietta also was known for her glassmaking.

At the time Marietta lived, glassmaking was mainly done by men. Women worked to threat glass beads. However, Marietta created new glass beads which led the Doge Agostino Barbarigo to offer her the use of a small furnace. Marietta's creations included glass with floral motifs, sacred themes and many other symbols, as well as rich colours of emerald, ruby and white. She is best known for her creation of the Rosetta bead. Created in 1480, this bead features a twelve petal rose motif created using concentric red, blue and white (lattimo) layers which are then polished. These Rosetta beads were used in trading beads in North America, Asia and Africa in exchange for gold, gems or just as tokens given to tribal chiefs.

Hemphill takes the basic elements of the Barovier family history to create an interesting storyline while including numerous glassblowing terms throughout her novel that capture the life of the artisans on Murano. The author provides her readers with a glossary at the back so they can understand the terms used.

The two sisters in Sisters of Glass, Giovanna and Maria, are strong women who are torn between following tradition and their hearts. In this novel they find a way to do both, although realistically in 15th century Venice, that would have been difficult but perhaps possible given that the family was a powerful one in Venetian society. Women were not generally allowed to work in glassmaking because the work was deemed to difficult. However, Marietta was allowed to use a furnace, so this concession may possibly have paved the way for other breaks from tradition and social expectations.

Although this novel works well written in verse, because the subject is so unique and interesting, it would have been exceptional if it was done as a full novel in prose. Still as a short historical novel, it is well written, laced with themes of identity, familial duty and responsibility, with a fulfilling conclusion.

Book Details:
Sisters of Glass by Stephanie Hemphill
Knopf     2012
170 pp.

Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker

Small Town Sinners explores the conflicts one young woman experiences between her faith and living in the modern world.

Lacey Anne Byer is the sixteen year old daughter of Ted and Theresa Byer, who are "pillars of the community" of West River. Lacey's dad is one of the pastors at the House of Enlightenment, an evangelical Christian church in the town of West River. Her best friend, Starla Joy Minter is a free spirit, with a caring, easy going manner. Starla lives with her older sister, Tessa, and their mother, a single woman who has been abandoned by her husband. Lacey's other best friend, is Dean Perkins, a boy who has gained considerable weight in the last year and is being bullied by Geoff Parsons.

Like other girls in her church community, Lacey wears a purity ring, symbolizing her decision to remain chaste until marriage. Lacey's life is characterized by always following the rules, something she's not happy about because she feels that she is missing out on life and excitement. She also feels this makes her boring and unattractive. She longs to step out of her comfort zone and try new things instead of always following the rules.

The novel opens with Lacey taking her drivers test and noticing a cute blond boy at the DMV office. A few days later, that same boy initiates their first meeting when he stops the car in the street to introduce himself. Lacey eventually recognizes him as Tyson (Ty) Davis, a kid she remembers from her first grade class and who left town ten years ago. Now sixteen-years-old, he's back living with his aunt, Vivian Moss who is the church librarian. Lacey and Ty begin a friendship that sees them meet up at Ulster Hill and sit and talk about life, about their faith and what it means to them. Lacey's parents do not know that she is meeting Ty on a regular basis.

Meanwhile at the church, efforts are on to prepare for their annual Hell House, which happens just before Halloween. The Youth Leaders meet to plan the Hell House which Lacey describes as follows: "They're kind of like haunted houses, which is why we do ours over Halloween weekend. Tour guides dressed as demons take the audience through the church, room by room, to view scenes of sin: a drunk driving crash, a suicide, domestic abuse, and an abortion."  The purpose behind Hell House is to show young people the reality of sin and to draw them into committing to Christ. Lacey is fully committed to participating in Hell House and desperately wants to be Abortion Girl, a role usually only given to a senior student. This year's Hell House will include scenes on gay marriage, drunk driving, abortion, and spousal abuse. Lacey decides to audition for the part of Abortion Girl despite her parents reservations.  "In the past, I haven't gone for what I want. I've been safe and good and all those things that were expected of me...."

Against the backdrop of her faith community's preparations for Hell House, Lacey begins to question her beliefs, especially when she learns that her best friend Starla Joy's sister, Tessa is pregnant.  what she believes in, and how her community treats those who have made choices similar to the ones portrayed in Hell House. In an effort to resolve her conflicts, Lacey talks to both Ty who urges one approach - a nonjudgmental and more liberal view, and her father who urges another - faithfulness to Biblical teachings.

Discussion

In her novel, Small Town Sinners, Walker explores the use of the haunted houses, known as Hell Houses to evangelize Christian teens about their faith and social issues. This is done through the character of  Christian teen, Lacey Anne Byer, whose father is one of the pastors of their evangelical church. Lacey along with her friends, Starla Joy and Tessa Minter, Dean, and classmate, Geoff participate in their church's Hell House. Newcomer, Tyson Davis however, is the older teen questioning their beliefs and motives.

An alternative to haunted houses, Hell Houses use tableaus or scenes depicting a specific serious sin such as a teen drunk driving or a girl undergoing an abortion. The scenes are often gory and vivid but the purpose is not to scare but to evangelize. There are over three thousand churches in the United States that participate in the Hell House movement which was started by Jerry Falwell. However, most mainstream Christian churches do not subscribe to this type of fire and brimstone Christianity. Walker does address this in the novel, through the character of Starla Joy who tells a questioning Ty,  "But Hell House is our chance to show people our own age what the consequences are if you don't accept Jesus into your heart. And it's shocking -- it has to be so they'll pay attention."  However, Ty believes there are better ways to get teens to turn to Jesus and live good lives.

As the daughter of one of the pastors of their church, Lacey Anne begins struggling with what she believes and why she believes what she does. When initially discussing the concept of Hell House, Ty asks asks Lacey, "Do you think murder and using drugs are the same level of offense in God's eyes?" to which Lacey responds that they are both sins. Later on Lacey explains that having a pregnancy tableau in Hell House show "...girls that the wrong choices can lead to really painful consequences."  Ty tells Lacey that it's not that he doesn't believe in God, it's that doesn't agree with what he's been taught. He asks Lacey if she believes "all the people who commit sins are bad?" Unfortunately Lacey doesn't provide that answer, that it's the sin that is bad, and not the person.

When Starla Joy's sister, Tessa becomes pregnant by her boyfriend Jeremy Jackson, the town and the faith community is thrown into a crisis. Tessa is taken that night to Saint Angeles Home to stay until she gives birth. Meanwhile the next day Jeremy is seen having fun with friends. This leads Starla Joy to note: "The guys get to go on with their lives, doing whatever they want, taking no responsibility because they're not physically tied to the sin they've committed." 

Lacey becomes disappointed with how her parents and her church community are responding to the situation of Starla Minter's pregnancy. She tells Ty, "...there's something about the way people are acting in his name that isn't sitting right with me."

Once Tessa's pregnancy becomes known, Lacey's parents suggest that she distance herself from Starla Joy, in effect, encouraging her to abandon her friend in her hour of need. "Lacey Ann... when girls like that get themselves into trouble, they can affect other girls in the community too." This leads Lacey to remember how unaffected Jeremy seemed at school, while Tessa has been sent away. And she wonders why her parents don't refer to Jeremy Jackson as "boys like that". Instead Lacey tells her parents she is not abandoning Starla Joy, "...I'm also not going to stop spending time with my best friend when she needs me the most. That's not what I was taught."  and refuses to obey their request to find new friends.

Later on, Lacey and her father talk about how the consequences of sin seem uneven. When she mentions that Jeremy seems unaffected by what's happening her father tells her that she doesn't know what Jeremy is experiencing because there is no obvious physical manifestation. Lacey questions Jeremy's participation in Hell House to which her father counters that Jeremy should be "taking his mind off things" and that "He's got a bright future, that boy. With basketball and --" Lacey is stunned by her father's inability to understand how unfair this seems. She asks her father, "What about Tessa and her bright future?" Lacey wonders, "How does he not see that Jeremy gets to do everything the he wants to do while Tessa is locked away like she's contagious until after she's had the baby?" She is further upset when her father seems to blame Tessa for the situation she's in because she's expected to be the gatekeeper of self-control.

In Small Town Sinners readers are presented with a group of Christian teens who are struggling to understand their faith.  Lacey believes certain behaviours are sinful but is often  unable to provide answers for why she holds the beliefs she does.  For example, when Lacey and Ty are discussing the abortion scene and its very gory depiction of a late term abortion, Ty states that he's "pretty sure it's quick and clean and safe ninety-nine percent of the time.....And I'm positive that it doesn't involve major blood or anything really violent. Most women walk out the same day."  Lacey really has no response to Ty, instead acknowledging to herself that "I guess I hadn't ever really thought about what an actual abortion might be like."  It would seem that Lacey is against abortion simply because she's been told its wrong. It doesn't appear that she's thought much about the issue, done some research to explore what's involved or determined why she thinks it is wrong. 

Later on after the friends visit Tessa at Saint Angeles, Starla Joy reveals that her sister is "pro-choice and anti-abortion" because while she wouldn't would choose abortion, "...she thinks it should be everyone's individual choice." However, Dean correctly points out that the girl who was abused and became pregnant is an extreme situation and that it is a life. Everyone rightly seems confused by what Tessa believes,  including Lacey. Ty accuses Lacey of not listening and states that "Tessa's not in favor of abortion. But she does believe in choice."  Which is what most supporters of abortion believe: killing an unborn child is a "choice", a euphemism to cover up what is truly being done.

Nevertheless, Tessa's "choice" to follow through with the pregnancy and place her baby for adoption has a positive ending, demonstrating that choosing life can result in many blessings: Tessa doesn't have to deal with the spiritual, emotional and physical effects of an abortion, she has brought a new life into the world, and a couple gets a baby they deeply want. Walker in her Nine Months Later chapter demonstrates the positives of choosing life: Tessa is able to attend prom, graduate and go to university. 

Walker's dialogue and the information she incorporates into her novel comes from an article she did for ElleGirl in 2006 on Hell Houses. For a different perspective on Hell Houses please read Rethinking Youth Ministry from the website Patheos: https://www.patheos.com/resources/additional-resources/2011/10/christian-haunted-houses-brian-kirk-10-20-2011.

There's no doubt this is a provocative look at the extreme religious right that in no way represents the majority of those Christians who hold that abortion and premarital sex are wrong.  The cover, showing an apple with a bite taken out is a reference to the fall of Adam and Eve, after Eve takes a bite out of the apple from the Tree of Life. However, the bite is in the shape of a heart, suggesting that people who sin should be treated with love and compassion.

Book Details:
Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker
New York: Bloomsbury     2011
273 pp.

This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

It all begins with an errant email sent one night by an unknown person,GDL824, to sixteen year old Ellie O'Neill. It turns out that person is a seventeen year old boy who lives in California with his pet pig, Wilbur. What follows are a series of emails that continue on through a period of three months in which EONeill and GDL824 establish an online friendship.

Unbeknownst to Ellie, her secret admirer is none other than teen hearthrob, actor Graham Larkin. And what's more, is that Graham has managed to convince his producer to move the location of his next movie to the small town of Henley, Maine where his unknown correspondent lives.

Graham and his costars are booked into the Henley Inn and with his arrival come the hordes of paparazzi. Meanwhile, Ellie and her best friend Quinn try to go about their jobs at Sprinkles, while Ellie also works at her mother's gift shop.

In a chance meeting, Graham enters Sprinkles after Ellie leaves and sees Quinn wearing Ellie's shirt with her name on it. He assumes Quinn is Ellie and asks her out to dinner. Graham quickly learns during his date with Quinn the truth about Ellie and sets off to meet her at her house. However, when Graham shows up at Ellie's house and identifies himself as the person she was corresponding, with Ellie is stunned and embarrassed. Ellie is reluctant at first to become involved with Graham because she is struggling to come to terms with the fact that she has been corresponding with such a famous person.

"Most girls, she knew, would be delighted to find out they'd been corresponding with a movie star. But to Ellie, it just seemed unfair. She wanted nothing more than to spend time with GDL824 this afternoon. It was Graham Larkin she wasn't so sure about."

Ellie is also reluctant to get involved with such a high profile person because of her past - or more specifically her mother's past. Ellie is the illegitimate daughter of a well known senator Paul Whitman, who is considering a run for the United States presidency. When her mother found herself pregnant and abandoned years ago, she fled to the small town of Henley, Maine to live a reclusive life. Ellie's potential involvement with Graham Larkin and being pursued by paparazzi is sure to uncover her family's secret.

Despite Ellie's fears, the following day Graham manages to convince her to meet him at a cove. Gradually Ellie's attraction to Graham returns and they begin to meet secretly, their attraction as real as it was online. But Ellie wonders how can two people with such different lives ever be together? And how can she still see Graham and protect her mother's privacy too?

This novel started out wonderfully with a prologue featuring the emails sent between Graham and Ellie. They are sweet and witty, drawing the reader quickly into the story. A young woman who is unknowingly corresponding with teen heartthrob and movie star makes for a great romantic beginning. However, the way Graham and Ellie actually meet is rather creepy when he simply shows up at her house. It also seemed somewhat unrealistic that a major movie star (as Graham Larkin is described in the novel) would spill all the details of his secret correspondence with an unknown girl he is trying to find (Ellie) to her friend (Quinn), a person he also doesn't really know. One would think that "discretion being the better part of valour", Graham would have kept his surprise to himself, having already discovered the identity of his online friend and then discreetly learned what he needed to know from Quinn.

From this point on, the novel seemed to drag. Quinn's behaviour towards Ellie was irritating and immature - amazingly she expected her friend to tell her everything about her life and when she didnt' she dumps her. Yet later on when more important information about Ellie is revealed, Quinn seems incredibly ambivalent. The lengthy episode involving Ellie and Graham stealing a boat used in the filming did little to further the storyline or the relationship between Graham and Ellie. While most readers will be happy with the ending of the novel, it was for the most part, predictable and somewhat flat - a sweet uncomplicated finale.

This Is What Happy Looks Like did have some interesting characters that readers will enjoy. Ellie is a good student who hopes to attend Harvard and who reads poetry. She wasn't star-struck by Graham because she was able to develop a friendship with him first and saw past his public persona. Though Ellie is a likable character, she wasn't a strong one. She wanted to date Graham but under certain conditions that weren't very realistic (no cameras, no publicity) although Graham tries his best. She had to know that her secret would be discovered eventually and in this regard she was naive. When her mother learns of her relationship with Graham she coerces Ellie into breaking off with him. This could have been a source of major conflict between Ellie and her mother, yet it wasn't developed as much as it could have been. Instead, Ellie seems to accept her mother's views of what will happen and her mother's cynicism towards famous men, in her decision to break up with Graham. There's no real struggle by Ellie to make a case for her own life and her own choices and that things might work out differently for her.

Graham is a sweet, charming guy who hasn't yet been corrupted by stardom. It's obvious his sudden rise to fame has been hard on him and his family but again that source of conflict was only briefly touched on. Graham's wit makes for interesting dialogue at times making him a quite genuine and romantic character. Smith does a good job of portraying what it must be like to be hounded by paparazzi on a daily basis with Graham's run-in with a photographer.

Ellie's mother Margaret seemed to have given up everything for a bit of privacy that in the end didn't last. As a person who wanted to change the world, she ends up running a dumpy gift shop in a small town. No wonder she is cynical and over-protective of Ellie. Ellie's mother shows us that sometimes life doesn't always work out the way we planned.

Overall, what could have been a very good novel became just a sweet story about two nice people who managed to spend some weeks in the summer together in a nice little town. This Is What Happy Looks Like was disappointing, overly long and without much substance. A promising novel that just quite never delivers.

Book Details:
This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
New York: Little, Brown & Company     2013
404 pp.

The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by Susin Nielson

This deeply moving novel deals with the hot topic of bullying through the fictional story of a young boy whose entire world has been undone by the ripple effects of violence triggered by bullying.  Written by Susin Nielson, author of Word Nerd and Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom, Nielson is also a script writer for the television series Heartland, Arctic Air and Robson Arms.

Thirteen year-old Henry Kaspar Larsen is trying to deal with the aftermath of his older brother Jesse's suicide - a tragedy which Henry refers to as "IT" . When Henry begins speaking "robot" after Jesse's death, his father takes him to psychologist, Dr. Cecil Levine.  Henry refuses to talk during his first sessions, so Cecil encourages him to keep a journal of his thoughts and experiences. Henry is at first dismissive of the idea, and tosses the journal Cecil gave him, but then retrieves it and begins writing. What follows are entries that are at times tragic but humorous, while revealing Henry's innermost feelings and his deep turmoil over what has happened.

Henry and his father have just recently moved from Port Salish on Vancouver Island to Vancouver where he attends Trafalgar Secondary School. His mother is not living with them because she has had a nervous breakdown and is in a mental health facility in Kingston, Ontario near her parents. Henry and his dad live in a run-down apartment complex eating take out most nights. Their obsession with wrestling and the Saturday Night Smash-Up is what keeps both of them going. Henry doesn't much like their neighbours, a widower, Mr. Atapattu who is from Sri Lanka and pushy Karen Vargas, a single woman who seems to be wheedling her way into his dad's life.

Coming into grade nine in January is a difficult for any student but especially so for Henry considering what he's just been through in the past eight months. Everyone has managed to find their group of friends and so does Henry when he meets Farley Wong, who is smart and friendly. Farley welcomes Henry but Henry is not sure he wants Farley as a friend. This is because Farley is bullied by Trafalgar's resident bully, Troy Vasic, due to his appearance; he wears thick glasses, dresses oddly and carries a briefcase. Farley invites Henry to join the school's Reach For The Top team which not surprisingly, includes a few other school misfits including a sassy girl named Alberta who is in Henry's Home Economics class. Alberta doesn't mince words, has spiky hair, several piercings, dresses eccentrically and wears purple Doc Martens.

Henry too becomes a target of Troy Vasic mainly because he is now overweight, has red hair and of course he hangs out with Farley. He wishes he could get an "upgrade" in the friend department. However, as time passes, Henry discovers that Farley is a true friend and when Farley experiences the same sort of bullying that his brother Jesse did, Henry finds his courage and acts.

Discussion

In Henry Larsen, Nielson has created a character that everyone can identify with because there's a bit of Henry in all of us. He's stubborn, loyal, witty, intelligent and a very typical thirteen-year-old boy. But he's also experiencing great pain over the suicide of his brother.

We see Henry grow throughout the story in many areas of his life. At first he doesn't like Farley, or Alberta or Mr. Atapattu. But as Henry comes to know them better, he realizes that Farley cares for him, that Alberta likes him for just how he is, and that Mr. Atapattu with his kindly understanding gives Henry what he needs most in the moment. Even Karen, whom Henry suspects is after his father's affections, becomes a good friend because she has suffered a similar loss. Karen, perhaps more than anyone else, helps Henry to understand his feelings by being honest with him. She helps him identify and acknowledge his grief over the loss of his brother, his pain at seeing his happy family unravel and his mother hospitalized, and his anger towards his brother for what he has done.

Through the use of the diary format, Henry is gradually able to write about the incident that led to his brother Jesse arriving at school one day with his father's gun, even though Henry can't bring himself to speak about "IT".  In his journal, Henry reminisces about his family's life before "IT" enabling the reader to see how his family has been affected.

To avoid overwhelming her readers with the tragedy of Henry's family, Nielson has created a narrator with a great sense of humour that is sometimes dark. These funny bits create laugh-out-loud moments and ease the tension. They make Henry, as well as many of the other characters in the novel, very realistic. For example, the battles between Karen and Mr. Atapattu over various apartment building rules are quite comical. But anyone who has lived in an apartment, including many inner-city children, will easily relate to them.

Nielson's novel highlights the wide-reaching effects that unresolved bullying can have on a individual's life. Initially, just Jesse was impacted but as the bullying intensified, it affected Henry and his view of his brother, and eventually Henry's family, the bully's family and the community at large.

The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen is a well written, thoughtful novel about bullying. Populated by wonderful, realistic characters, with a great storyline, and a satisfying ending, this novel is a great choice for readers over the age of nine.

Book Details:
The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by Susin Nielson
Tundra Books      2012
241 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 now, 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 out to them. Every year Kinney gives his students a journal after spring break and the task of writing in 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 novels overarching themes of choices made in life, of love and meaning.

Golden is by far the best young adult novel this year. Well written, well paced, with a great storyline, I especially recommend this novel for book clubs, book talks and just for a great read overall! The lovely book jacket has gold detailing which entices the reader to pick up this very good novel. Not to be missed!
Maybe we'll get to see what happens to Parker in ten years time??

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

The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston

This young adult novel has a very unique plot involving a family in the Witness Protection Program and a young girl trying to get her life back.

Seventeen year old senior "Sissy" and her eleven year old sister "Teeny" along with their parents have been in the Witness Protection Program for the past eight months. In that time they have had to move six times after their new identities were compromised.

This time her family is moved to Natchitoches, Louisiana where they are placed in a small cottage. They are now known as Megan (Meg) Rose Jones and Mary Jones. Meg's father is given a manufacturing job and her mother is made to stay at home as she is a completely non-functioning alcoholic at this point.

Meg is determined that this will be her last move. She's lost her identity, her home, her friends, and a boy she liked. Her parents marriage is failing, while her younger sister is becoming increasingly withdrawn and unresponsive.

Seeing her family in chaos and completely dysfunctional, Meg draws up a list of rules for disappearing:
1. I will not join any clubs.
2. I will not try out for cheerleading or any other sport/team.
3. I will not make any friends.
4. I will discover the truth no matter what.

For Meg, number 4 is the most important. She is determined to learn why her family was placed in the program and why they are being moved so much. She does not want to move again.

Meg attends Natchitoches High School where, almost immediately, she attracts the attention of handsome Ethan Landry who works on his family's farm. Meg manages to get a job working at a nearby pizza place owned by Ethan's Aunt Pearl. This job gives Meg an escape from the almost insurmountable problems at home and helps her cope with the stress. She is suffering from terrible nightmares as well as a loss of memory of the events leading up to their placement into the Witness Protection Program.

Although Meg tries her best to scare off Ethan, he continues to pursue her, convincing her to let him drive her to and from school. He frequents his Aunt's pizza place where he forms a rapport with Meg's younger sister Mary, teaching her how to make pizza. This gradually begins to heal Mary and brings her out of her shell.

Although Meg tries to suppress her feelings for Ethan and to push him away emotionally, she finds him irresistible and they soon become a couple. Ethan has suspected early on that Meg is not from Arkansas and he confronts her over her identity. But Meg refuses to answer Ethan's questions, even when he confronts her later on with evidence that she is someone else. Her motive is to try to protect Ethan.

Meg attempts to find out from both her parents about what caused their placement in protection, but she is refused at every attempt. Meanwhile one of the FBI agents or "suits" approaches Meg expressing concern for her family. When Meg asks Agent Thomas to tell her what happened he tells her that if she just thinks about it she will "figure it out". This leads Meg to try to focus on what she remembers from the night of the party, even though it's obvious what she experienced was very traumatic.

When Meg's mother inadvertently reveals a clue, this leads Meg to regain most of her memory over what happened that night. She confronts her father who fills in some of the details. Meg decides she needs to take action in an attempt to free her family from the witness protection program. With Ethan by her side and some help from a few friends, Meg travels across the country to retrieve something she hopes will free herself and her family.

The Rules for Disappearing is an interesting novel with a unique storyline. It is part mystery, part suspense and part romance. Elston immediately grabs her readers interest with Meg and her family being assigned new identities and shuttled into a new life in Louisiana. The mystery of what caused her family to be placed in protection is gradually revealed through several twists in the plot. Eventually readers learn about Meg's past and the events that led to her family's current predicament.  But Elston leaves a few loose ends that will lead to a second installment in this new series.

Meg is a strong heroine who fights for her freedom and to regain her life. This is in contrast to her parents who seem unable to cope with what has happened. Her boyfriend Ethan is probably the most attractive character in this novel as he's witty, understanding and courageous. His tenacity matches that of Meg, whom he finds himself very attracted to. Elston highlights the renowned southern hospitality as evidenced by the actions of Ethan Landry and his family.

Those readers looking for something a little different will enjoy this well paced novel.

Book Details:
The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston
New York: Hyperion    2013
312 pp.