Touching on Family

Far from the Tree by Robin Benway

New York, NY : HarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2017]

374 p. ; 22 cm.

At first glance, it might seem surprising that Far From the Tree won the 2017 National Book Award.  In some ways it seems like a typical teen "problem novel" - one about three teens who share the same birth mother, but who have had very different lives since birth, and reconnect in various ways as they try to bond with each other and figure out what family really means.     

But the writing is strong in this novel and - in spite of myself - I found myself tearing up several times throughout the book. The emotional moves in the book are subtly developed and when they reach a climax they are quite convincing.

The novel also draws strength from having both a common thread - the three characters are all children of the same birth mother - and from having really complex dynamics: one of the sisters has just given up a baby of her own, one of the teens has an adoptive family that is experiencing a divorce, and one of the teens never got adopted at all.

Each character grows separately and in interactions with the others as the novel moves through several intense episodes and moves toward a final climax that is surprising and also satisfying.

If you have a student looking for a compelling read about family relationships, this novel is highly recommended.

Two Squared

Girls Like Us by Gail Giles
Somerville, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2015.
210 p. ; 20 cm.

This was a daring book for Gail Giles to write and a rewarding book to read.  In a helpful interview with School Library Journal, Giles says, "I was told by a publisher that I would be 'flayed' if I attempted this. I think trying to get into a mental impairment that you do not have is tricky."

When I first started reading the book, I wasn't sure she was going to pull it off successfully - one character, Quincy, is - as she puts it - "mixed race" and the other, Biddy, has an intellectual disability.  Each chapter is written in the voice of either Quincy or Biddy and features their particular slang and grammatical errors.  But as the novel goes on - and the smarts, courage and strengths of each of the girls is revealed - the dialect begins to feel both natural and respectful.

There is a lot that is touched on in this short, gritty and uplifting novel - prejudice, rape, friendship, race, bullying, sexual abuse, pregnancy, work, and becoming independent.  In spite of this there is a calm and lovely pace to the book and it doesn't usually feel forced.

I'm pleased to see that the book has been well reviewed, was long-listed for the National Book Award, and won the Schneider Family Book Award in 2015.  A teacher here at the UHS recommended the book to me and I'll definitely recommend it to students.