Bookshelf, Library Bag, or Donation Box

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Inspired by true events, A Swift Pure Cry, by Siobhan Dowd, takes place in Ireland in 1984 and is about a 15 year old girl named Michelle, aka Shell, who must take care of her two younger siblings after her mother dies. Their father’s downward spiral into alcoholism drives Shell to seek affection from others around her. Although she initially finds herself drawn to a new, young priest in town, she eventually ends up giving in to the consistent advances of a slightly older local boy named Declan, who is also the on-again off-again boyfriend of her best friend, Bridget. Shell uses her secret relationship with Declan for a physical and emotional connection that keeps her from dwelling on her mother’s death. When Shell ends up pregnant, and both Bridget and Declan disappear, Shell finds herself doing her best to hide her pregnancy from her father and the rest of the community, while also trying to prepare herself for the inevitable. As Shell’s pregnancy becomes apparent to the small town, suspicions grow as to who the father of the child may be, and the suspicions are just as surprising to Shell as they are to the reader. In addition, when a dead infant is found in a cave on the beach, the town turns to Shell as the possible offender. The twists and turns in the story are both surprising and tragic, which make this book difficult to put down.

In A Swift Pure Cry, I love how I truly feel like I’m in Shell’s head. I feel everything that Shell is feeling and struggle with her along the way. Siobhan Dowd, who, sadly, died in 2007 from breast cancer, used Irish dialects and colloquialisms to give an authentic feel to her writing. Not only that, but Dowd’s use of descriptive and poetic imagery makes for a beautiful setting, amazing character development, and a wonderful plot.

Like everything I’ve read by Siobhan Dowd, A Swift Pure Cry is beautifully written, heartbreaking, and filled with hope. This novel teaches us the importance of having positive parental figures in our lives and the adverse effects a mother’s absence can make on a young girl, especially when her father “checks out” emotionally from the family as well. A Swift Pure Cry also reminds us that, in real life, there aren’t always happy endings. Tragedy occurs, and we live through those moments, coming out different on the other side, but, hopefully, also stronger.

Verdict

Bookshelf: If you are someone who reads YA literature or have teens at home, I highly recommend keeping a copy of this book. It is well-written and although has many tragic moments, has a twinge of hope at the end, which is what I love most.

Wild @ Heart with YA Lit

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Screwed by Laurie Plissner, is a young adult novel about a 17 year old girl named Grace, who in a moment of weakness, gets pregnant at the same time she loses her virginity. The tragedy of the pregnancy comes from the fact that she is an honor student, a self-proclaimed geek, and daughter to uber Christian parents who lead the local abstinence only chapter at their church. Grace’s parents have high expectations of her, including Ivy League college and saving herself for marriage. Although she is aware that her parents will not be happy with her pregnancy, she is unprepared when her parents not only try to force her into getting an abortion, but kick her out of the house when she decides not to go through with it. Lucky for Grace, she has a mega-rich, 80 year old heiress named Helen for a neighbor who likes trying to help outcasts of society, so takes it upon herself to invite Grace to live in her mansion while she decides what to do with the baby. And, even more amazingly, Helen has a good looking grandson, Charlie, who lives with her and is only slightly taken aback by her situation. A perfect gentleman, raised by his parents as they traveled around Europe, he speaks like he’s British, and falls deeply in love with Grace even before she starts to show. Sounds like life got really difficult for her...

While this storyline initially sounded entertaining to me, it quickly, like in the first two chapters, became clear that I was not going to enjoy this novel. First of all, I could not stand the point of view. Plissner presents this novel in 3rd person omniscient, not limited omniscient. Therefore, at times there were up to three different character’s perspectives on the same event happening on the same page. It was too much, and therefore, tiring. I felt as though I was being forced to read a screenplay being presented as a novel. A limited omniscient POV would have been much easier to read.

In addition, every character, and I mean every, was a walking cliche, which led to a very predictable plot line. Let me give you an idea of what I mean:  

1. Absolutely perfect, but so smart she is unpopular, daughter of uber right wing Christians gets pregnant.
2. Said parents kick her out.
3. “Sperm donor” is mega hot and a complete jerkface who just wants to screw as many girls as he can before he graduates.
4. Ultra rich holocaust survivor heiress for a neighbor.
5. Grandson of said neighbor that is so freaking polite it is sickening.
6. Best friend, who is still proud to be a virgin and a geek, but is also very outspoken and supportive of her best friend.

You really don’t need more than that. Other than knowing her decision to give up her daughter for adoption, the story is all there.

Even more than the POV and the character cliches, there were a couple other bigger issues I had with this novel. I truly feel that this book is written with an agenda. The characters, on more than one occasion, make the claim that condoms are only 90% effective, which, first of all makes it sound like that is bad, but secondly, isn’t true. Condoms only have a 90% effective rate when they are used incorrectly. On the contrary, when used correctly condoms have a 98% effective rate (World Health Organization). Why would the author continuously press this statistic? Unless she is trying to scare teens from using condoms, thereby pressing abstinence. Not only that, but Grace, more than once, while perusing through books of couples wishing to adopt a baby, states that she will not give her child up to any dual working family - the mother must be a stay-at-home mom. Are you kidding me? So, now, Plissner is making a claim that working mothers are ineffective? Or aren’t worthy of adopting? Why wouldn’t a couple that is willing to work their butts off to take care of their new child be an acceptable family? I find this agenda ridiculous and offensive.

Verdict

Donation Box:  Rather than reading this poorly written, insulting novel, watch Juno. That movie has almost the same plot line but is hilarious, well-written, and heart wrenching. If you want to read an amazing book about a young girl that must deal with her unplanned pregnancy, read A Swift Pure Cry by Siobhan Dowd. That book is fantastic and tragic. There are so many more well-written novels out there dealing with teen pregnancy, I wouldn’t waste my time with this one.

**ARC provided by netgalley.com

Wild @ Heart with YA Lit

As a regular reader of Young Adult Literature, I often hear there is little value in it for adults. However, I strongly disagree. Although some of the popular motifs, like love triangles, can be tiresome, there is a great deal of YA literature with complicated story lines and themes that adults, as well as teens, can learn from. 

One reason I choose to read YA Literature is that they are often quick reads with modern plots. This category is great for staying up to date with modern references to music, television, and technology. Another reason I read novels directed at teens is there are many current novels about dystopian societies, which often draw my interest. Finally, I read YA Literature to remind myself of what it is like to be a teenager. Life is different for teens today than when I was younger. I think it is important to be able to remain sympathetic to the complicated nature of teen life, and not to become too distant from those years. For, when you forget what it is like to be young, you truly begin to be old. Reading YA Literature ensures that I remain wild at heart.

http://blogs.independent.co.uk

A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, was inspired by an original idea by Siobhan Dowd, author of award winning novels, A Swift Pure Cry, The London Eye Mystery, and Bog Child. Dowd died of breast cancer in 2007, before completing A Monster Calls, a novel about a young boy named Conor who is dealing with his mother's battle with terminal cancer. Patrick Ness was invited by Dowd and her editor to finish this short story posthumously. Since it's publication, A Monster Calls has won multiple awards, including the Carnegie Medal, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) prize, and the Galaxy National Award. 

A Monster Calls is part graphic novel, part children's book, and a complex story about death and loss. The artwork in the book, illustrated by Jim Kay, is amazing and adds a deep layer to the story. I was literally able to visualize the terrifying monster, a living yew tree that visits Conor and tells him he will have to listen to three stories and then tell his own, a story that Conor dreads speaking aloud. Due to Ness' excellent ability to paint emotions with words, I was able to feel everything that Conor feels: his sadness, fear, and anger.

As I have in other Ness novels, I closed this book with puffy, wet eyes, glad it was over, but wishing there was more. Ness has an amazing ability of building up hope for happy endings and then reminding you that life doesn't always have happy endings - which is one of the themes in this book.

I highly recommend this book, as well as anything else Ness and Dowd have written. However, read with caution. There is much to hope for, but, like in real life, we don't always get what we want, and the lessons we learn as we deal with loss are often hard to swallow.

The Verdicts

Bookshelf: I recommend this book on a weekly basis. It is amazing, and I keep it displayed on a shelf in my living room. Every time someone comes to my house, they see that book and question me about the artwork and the novel. My response is the same every time: Read it. It is amazing. But, fair warning, keep tissues nearby...

Adult Value: Although this book is written for youth, anyone can relate to the theme of death and loss. Each of us has lost someone or something valuable to us. A Monster Calls reminds us, even as adults, that we cannot control everything. Rather than feeling guilty about what we could have done, or should have done, we should focus on what we will do in order to move on, past our losses, and have a positive and successful future.