One Year in Coal Harbor

One Year in Coal Harbor

I have no idea why I never before read anything by Polly
Horvath. It's a mistake I am profoundly grateful to have just
rectified. Her Year in Coal Harbor manages by chapter and even page
to swing between touching and very very funny. She is quite talented
at giving just the right details that make a story spring off the
pages and come to life.
In this sequel to Everything on a Waffle (which I will totally
have to read) Primrose is back home. Her formerly lost at sea parents
have safely returned. She finds everything about Coal Harbor to be
perfect...
...except the lack of peer companionship. The few other kids
her age have paired up, leaving her with Eleanor Milkmouse (Gotta love
that name) "...only a friend of convenience. And maybe even
desperation, because it was so embarassing to have no friend at all.
We really didn't understand each other..."
...and the adamant refusal of the other inhabitants to accept or
even acknowledge her superior wisdom. Her Uncle Jack, and restaurant
owner, Miss Bowzer, fight all the time instead of realizing that
romance wise they're made for each other. Some of her favorite old
growth forest is threatened by loggers with clear-cutting in mind.
And no one, even people who come to care about him, will fight to keep
Ked, a foster child who has been bounced around in the system, in a
potential forever family.
Needless to say, Primrose does not accept the status quo. She's
out full force to rectify injustices of all kinds. This makes for a
very lively tale.
This is a perfect intergenerational read aloud. Horvath has
accomplished a rare thing. Her scenarios have elements both children
and parents will find amusing. Take the scene where Primrose has
invited Uncle Jack and Miss Bowzer for supper. Kids will enjoy the
element of awkwardness in every aspect from clothes to conversation.
Adults will savor lines like "Uncle Jack alone retained his savoir
faire as if he were completely at home with people who would really be
better off highly sedated.". Both generations, having experienced
people who think this way, will be amused by Primrose's assessment of
the situation:
"Why couldn't everyone just be themselves? I really felt
frustrated by not being able to choreograph everyone's behavior. I
liked everyone at the table and I couldn't believe how wrong they were
all getting it. I felt I should hand out scripts."
Oh, yeah, there is also another really cool feature. At the end
of each chapter is a very interesting recipe spelled out in Primrose's
narrative voice. I've marked a few I plan to attempt.
On a personal note, I was really struck by a spot on observation
Primrose makes about friendship: "...And it didn't seem to matter how
many so-called friends she had, she never connected especially with
one person, and if you cannot connect especially with one person,
maybe you can't connect really with anyone. This is the kind of
lonliness that existed for her, different from the just-not-knowing-
anyone lonliness..." The observation has to do with face-to-face
interaction, but social media, anyone?
A great big shout out goes out to the teachers, staff, admin, and
students who are returning to school after a storm extended February
break and the college students in last week before spring break crunch
time.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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