Shards of Silence (YA fiction)

     I tend to get the books I review through Inter Library Loan. On line newsletters and other publications keep me supplied with more titles than I could ever read. But when I drop in on my home library, Orono Public, I find real gems. Brian Lee Young's Shards of Silence is one of them. 

     Derrick, Young's protagonist, is about to make an enormous life transition. He's starting his sophomore year far from home at an elite historically white (and wealthy) boarding school. It's quite a challenge. Between the intense academic workload, his sports commitments, and the rest of life he's struggling to do well enough to maintain his full ride scholarship. And a lot of his seriously privileged classmates ask him all these ignorant questions. Does he live in a teepee? Why doesn't he have long hair?

     Derrick's heart is torn between school and home. He's very worried about his beloved great grandmother's health. She's undergoing testing for quite alarming symptoms and forgetting to take her medicine. If he had stayed at the local high school, although he wouldn't have the many opportunities Sagefield Academy offers, he would be able to help and protect her. When he sees her he wonders if it's the last time. 

     His great grandmother fears for his safety when he's away at school. He understands that it's because of the terrible years she was forced to spend at a government boarding school with a kill the Indian to save the man (or woman) mandate. He knows she is still suffering from this experience. But whenever he tries to bring up the subject she tells him to drop it. 

     Perhaps if he writes his big history research paper on the experiences of Indigenous children in those schools he will find a way to help her bring her experiences into the light and break their hold on her.

     Young based Shards of Silence on his last three years of high school at an elite boarding school. Like Derrick, he experienced culture shock in his new environment and had a lot of stereotype breaking to do. 

     When his grandmother came from the reservation to see him she saw the bruises he acquired playing football she asked if the teachers were hitting him. She had suffered through the government boarding schools. As an adult he started the manuscript when her health was failing and he didn't know how long she had left. It became his "goodbye love letter to her. 

     Shards of Silence is such a good read for its target demographic and well beyond. It's highly engaging with a beautifully nuanced and complex plot and relatable protagonist. It covers one of those inconvenient chapters in America's history that the MAGA crowd would dearly love to erase. 

     But in my mind the best thing it does is it tackles something I don't think any of us have an easy time with no matter how old we are when it happens--the impending death of a loved one. Young perfectly captures the intensity and bittersweet nature of the knowing. Many teens who have not lost a friend or relative have experienced the death of a beloved animal companion.

On a purrrsonal note, mostly I learned about deaths after the fact. But in 2019 I walked that path with Joseph Jacob Hathaway, my beloved feline companion of 16 years. We were especially close because of a birth defect that required special care on my part and close partnership with his vet. But unless he was acutely sick no cat loved his family, his life, and his home as robustly as he did. And he was an affectionate and loving lap cat. I had almost finished my first year of grad school. I'd just returned from an international conference when I noticed troubling symptoms. It turned out to be lung cancer. With medicine to restore his appetite I could give him a last good summer. He left the world hearing my voice, feeling my touch. I was hesitant to adopt another cat because I was afraid I couldn't love him/her enough. But a little girl cat insisted on claiming me for her own and thawed my heart. Years later I was able to cope with my stroke by channeling the courage and determination I saw in precious Joey.

A great big shout out to Young for creating this beautiful literary labor of love and Joey and Tobago for being their catly selves.

Jules Hathaway 

     

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I Don't Wish You Well (YA chiller)

     Fans of true crime podcasts, fans of narratives in which the protagonist gets in a world of danger while unearthing and trying to expose the truth about a cold case for a podcast, and folks who like a dark, engaging, fast paced chiller with multiple twists and turns will really love Jumata Emil's I Don't Wish You Well. It's got everything: a gruesome crime, new evidence that the wrong person might have been convicted, a small town that strongly desires that the case that brought them lots of notoriety not be reopened, lots of dark and dangerous secrets, football stars who must be protected from consequences of their misdeeds, inept or worse police officers...truly something for everyone. 

     Five years ago four stars of the Moss Point (Louisiana) Football Team were killed one by one. The killer wore a Trojan mask. When the police were tipped off as to his identity they found him dead, supposedly by suicide. Evidence in his home seemed to confirm his guilt. That's it, folks. Case closed...

     ...or is it?...

     ...Pryce, a journalism major, is returning to Moss Pointe for summer vacation. When he sees evidence that the wrong person was convicted he senses opportunity. If he spends the summer investigating he could have the material for a fall semester podcast that would help his academic and professional career. His advisor lends him a professional camera and recording equipment. 

     Back home people aren't happy about his project. The police chief tries to talk him out of it. His father thinks he should instead do a podcast on the football team rebounding after the murders. Bryce's little brother is on the team and his dad is a hard core fan.

     But early on he uncovers incriminating evidence against Bertrand Gatson, president of the booster club, a man considered to be a pillar of the community. He sees Gatson burning a bunch of photos and is able to save some. 

     "The photos all featured little boys. The one with orange-red curls Pryce recognized first. As he shifted through the rest of the disturbing images, the other innocent faces became instantly familiar. Immortalized in acts no boys their age should be doing."

     He confronts Gaston with the Polaroids, thinking it will enable him to glean more information. Gaston agrees to meet him...

     ...but he and his wife are found dead in their home--an apparent murder/suicide. 

     But the boys aren't, it turns out, all that innocent. They learned from their molester the joys of nonconsensual sex. As football stars in a football obsessed town they got away with it. 

     It turns out there are plenty of people who had motive and opportunity to commit the murders. 

     I don't wish you dead is a beautifully scripted impossible to put down chiller and so much more. It covers topics too often swept under the rug in YA literature considered appropriate by the censors and banners but highly relevant. Homophobia, sexism, and the lengths schools and police will go to shield athletes from the consequences of their actions are some of them.

     In my opinion it is an important acquisition for high school and public libraries. In fact it could be a worthy replacement for the work of a long dead white guy in the curriculum. 

On a purrrsonal note, here in Maine we're most definitely having summer weather: hot and humid. Yesterday I volunteered in both gardens. I took pictures in the children's garden. There was a lot to do in the community garden because there were only two of us to do it. Today was the weekly vigil. There was a really good turnout and we got lots of honks. I got another windfall at Orono Thrift Shop: a really cute dress, two good sized Squishmallows, a pair of Barbie high top sneakers, and a pair of Vans decorated with flowers and leaves. And don't worry. I took a picture. 

A great big shout out goes out to the dedicated vigil crew and the all volunteer staff of Orono Thrift Shop who raise money for important causes by selling merch at rock bottom prices. 

Jules Hathaway 

      

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Reading challenge

And I've read 2 books. I'll have this part of the challenge completed by July. 

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Reading challenge

I've already completed two of the challenges. 

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Hattie Mae Begins Again (juvenile historical fiction in verse)

     Speaking of important writers I haven't seen anything by lately making a grand return, how about Sharon G. Flake? I cut my blogging teeth on her earlier books. Her Hattie Mae Begins Again combines a relatable character in an engaging plot with rich insights into life in Philadelphia in the 1930s, a time when the Great Migration and the worst depression in this country's history were going on.

"Miss Abigail's School 

     for Exceptional Young Ladies

is for well-to-do girls whose fathers are

lawyers, architects, 

     and engineers

politicians, surgeons, 

painters and doctors of note.

Ma is a plain old schoolteacher. 

Daddy works on a factory floor. 

     I do not belong here with these girls."

     Hattie Mae experiences quite a bit of culture shock when she leaves her rural home to attend a boarding school in Philadelphia. Everything is new and different down to clothing, daily routines and indoor plumbing. And as for her soon to be classmates--

"Everything about them was different. 

Their hair was curled in ringlets

Down to their shoulders. 

     They'd probably die before using rag ties

at night like me."

     The girls are the very privileged daughters of high society Black families, the "talented tenth". They have impeccable backgrounds, cultural experiences, beautifully styled clothes, and familiarity with the boarding school lifestyle. Unfortunately some of them look down their privileged noses at Hattie and delight in making life hard for her, hoping she will give up and drop out...

     ...and there are times she feels like doing just that...

     ...but they've badly underestimated her spunk and determination. Her family has gone all out to equip and prepare her for her new experience. She is desperate to not let them down. One way or another she is going to fit in and make their aspirations for her and her dreams for herself come true. 

     Flake is a proud Philadelphia native with long roots in the city and a lively interest in its rich history. The woman knows how to do research. She brings a quite turbulent time in her hometown's history vividly alive for young readers. I consider Hattie Mae Begins Again to be a most excellent acquisition for public and school libraries. 

On a purrrsonal note, I have some really exciting news. Orono Public Library has issued a summer reading challenge. Being a true book geek, I live for reading challenges. I got to choose a free book to keep from a really good selection. In it was an attractive bookmark. When filled out it will be my entry into a September grand prize drawing. All I have to do is read eight books and complete eight out of eleven challenges. I'll post pictures of the  bookmark tomorrow. This will be so much fun! I sure hope lots of people join me in taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity. 

A great big shout out goes out to the librarians who provide Orono Public Library patrons with a wealth of diverse and engaging programming. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Camp

Eugene does the cooking on this grill.  The solar panels provide electricity for lights and Eugene's TV which we sometimes watch a movie on. 

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Camp

Eugene and Adam built this camp. It's stood up to many years of Maine winters which is no small feat. Unlike many people who shut their camps after summer ends Eugene goes even during the winter. I stay home in the winter. I'm too much a fan of indoor plumbing when night temps are below 🥶 freezing. The porch is where I do a lot of reading. 

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