Sugaring Off

YA fiction 

     The two protagonists of Gillian French's Sugaring Off are teens a lot of people might write off.  Both have been deeply betrayed by people who were supposed to have their welfare in mind.  Both struggle with the consequences of these betrayals.

"Owl's first thought is of the foxes, getting to them before the man does, if it isn't already too late...There's no time to waste; when Owl saw the man out the window of the Suburban, he was almost halfway to the first curve of the access road to the Sugarbush.  Black ski cap, shoulders hunched against the cold, pack on his back."

     Owl lives with her aunt and uncle, maple syrup producers, in an isolated cabin in the forest.  Her father is in prison, convicted of the act of cruelty that left her partially deaf.  She loves to draw and is more comfortable in the woods than in the classroom where she has to work to get everything that is said and her best friendship is on again off again.

     "'Why's your uncle take that?"  When she lifts her incredulous gaze to him: 'Fuckin' old Wall.'  Cody jerks his head toward the road as he drags the hose out the door.  'That's all he does.  Goes around, stopping in and giving advice nobody wants, drinking up all their coffee.'"

     Seth, Owl's uncle, needs a joint replacement.  A war injury and a lifetime of hard work are catching up with him.  Walking with a cane and relying on Percocets for pain management, he hires Cody, an inexperienced teen living with the grandfather he despises to help with the labor intensive sugaring season.

     Abruptly thrown together, Owl and Cody initially rub each other the wrong way.  They're different in so many ways.  Then gradually they begin to achieve understanding and a tenuous friendship.  Owl even has first time feelings she never expected.

     But their time together may be limited.  Each is being tracked down by somebody from their past.

     Sugaring Off combines a suspenseful narrative with an insightful understanding of two badly hurt teens learning to find comfort one another.  It's a richly rewarding read 📚 for the older YA reader or the adult reader wanting fiction of substance.

On a purrrsonal note, I can empathize with Owl.  I've acquired what they call mild to moderate hearing impairment.  Too much loud music 🎶 in my younger years.  When I get my first professional job I am going to get myself hearing aids.  (Jules)

I hear just fine.  Shake a cat 🐈 😻 treat bag and I'll come running.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to others with hearing impairment.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

     

     

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