Closer to Nowhere

Closer to Nowhere

Juvenile fiction
"I'm safe for now.
But I don't know
how long that will last.
I'm afraid
if I start to believe
I belong here,
everything
will change
again."
Cal lost his beloved mother when he was very young. He stayed
with his abusive father until the man went to prison. Now he's living
with the family of his mother's twin sister, Taryn. He'd like this to
work out. But PTSD stands in the way of his being able to feel
secure. He sees home as something that goes further away as he tries
to reach it. Plus his dad is getting out of prison and wants to
regain custody.
"My parents were my support
system. Totally solid.
We were a great team.
But, like, three years ago,
Just before I turned nine,
Mom's sister got leukemia
and died. And everything
started to fall apart."
Hannah is Taryn's daughter, Cal's cousin. She is dedicated to
her goal of making the US Olympics gymnastics team. She considers Cal
a "fake kid"--someone who hides himself behind a shell. She finds him
hard to understand. She misses the way her family used to be.
In Closer to Nowhere Ellen Hopkins tells the family's story
through their alternating perspectives. Hopkins has previously nailed
YA and adult literature. This first venture into juvenile fiction
turf is also masterful. She creates vivid, unique, easy to like, but
far from perfect characters and places them in relatable
circumstances. Kids in her target demographic and beyond will quickly
be pulled into this engaging coming of age narrative.
Hopkins' authenticity stems in large part from her using what
she knows in a very personal way. Her first YA novel, Crank, was
inspired by her daughter's addiction to crystal meth. At one point
this daughter left her three young children with her boyfriend's
brother. Hopkins was able to rescue them and gain custody. The
oldest, diagnosed with PTSD, faced multiple challenges. This child
inspired the character of Cal.
"...I hope this book will plant seeds of empathy for kids with
behavioral problems they can't always control. They don't want to be
classroom 'freaks'. They want friends. They want to fit in, even
when it's difficult to tamp down their emotions. They deserve a
deeper look and another chance. And another. And another."
Hopkins is an amazing writer, creating narratives that raise
important questions and nurture empathy as well as being spell binding
reads. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
On a purrrsonal note: weather is one of the major topics in Maine this
week. Last weekend we were hit with a blizzard. Eugene worked 20
hours between Saturday and Sunday plowing. The work was far from over
when parking lots and streets were cleared. With another storm
predicted for tomorrow, the blizzard battlers have been using
excavators to load snow mountains scoop by scoop onto dump trucks to
haul away so they'll have space to make more snow mountains with what
they clear from streets and parking lots. No business like snow
business. I plan to ask my manager about the feasibility of calling
in if the commute would be too dangerous. Route 2 with no sidewalks
can be dangerous when the morning commute is at its height, the snow
is making the streets slippery under tire, and visibility sucks. (Jules)
No snow, no snow, NO SNOW!!! It keeps the birdies away and keeps my
daddy hooman away at night. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to people who work patiently with kids
and adults with trauma based behavioral problems.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway




Sent from my iPod