Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Whaley, J. C. (2011). Where things come back. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

The small town of Lily, Arkansas is situated halfway between Little Rock and Memphis and is the sort of place that people dream of leaving.  The summer before his senior year of high-school, Cullen Witter witnesses people coming to Lily instead of leaving.  An alleged sighting of the Lazarus woodpecker thought to be extinct for seventy years brings notoriety to Cullen’s hometown.  The woodpecker becomes a symbol for second chances to the people of Lily and the bird enthusiasts who flock there, but when Cullen’s younger brother Gabriel disappears without a trace one night, his family and friends are left hopeless, desperately in need of a second chance. 

Whaley’s novel is rooted in a real place and time.  The ivory-billed woodpecker, long thought to be extinct, was spotted in the Big Woods region of Arkansas in 2004, and its existence  has been the subject of debate among ornithologists for the past several years.  Teens in Arkansas, especially in the central and delta areas surrounding the Big Woods will be old enough to remember the extensive news coverage surrounding the bird as well as the locally-published children’s books such as Big Woods Bird (Luneau & Bennett, 2005) that were distributed in classrooms across the state.  While the story of Gabriel’s disappearance and the Witter family’s struggle to deal with the loss is the true focal point of the novel, the woodpecker subplot is woven throughout and comes to have great significance in Cullen’s recollections of that summer.  Readers familiar with Arkansas may also appreciate the many geographic names from around the state that are used as character names throughout the novel. 

Interspersed with the chapters narrated by Cullen, are sections told from a third-person point of view that introduce the character Benton Sage, a young missionary in Ethiopia and later a college student in Georgia.  His experiences and relationship with his roommate Cabot Searcy at first appear to be completely unrelated to the events unfolding in Lily, but the author eventually weaves these two story lines together through some surprising twists and turns.  Benton and Cabot both demonstrate the same single-minded passion and pursuit of goals that characterizes the zealous woodpecker-seekers in Arkansas, and their particular interest in biblical texts and apocrypha connects to the other storyline through the name of the woodpecker.  Of course, there is no Lazarus woodpecker, the name is an allusion to the biblical story of one who returns from the dead, underlining the hope and belief in second chances that the bird represents to the town. 

Although the novel is has a realistic setting and plot, Cullen’s narration often turns fanciful with extended descriptions of his zombie-filled daydreams and nightmares as well as his notations of amusing book title ideas he records in his journal.  Although these elements provide some humor, it can sometimes be a little tricky for the reader to determine where reality ends and fantasy begins.

Small town life is authentically portrayed as are the teen characters of Cullen, his best friend Lucas, and the various friends, enemies, and love interests Cullen describes.  The descriptions of how each family member and close friend deals with Gabriel’s disappearance as well as Cullen’s perception of how the town bears with them through the loss are vivid and realistic.  Readers who have experienced tragedy or loss will appreciate how the narrative demonstrates the duality of time marching onward and standing still.  Although the subject matter is serious and the emotional descriptions haunting, Whaley provides moments of humor and levity that seem to mimic the ups and downs of real life.

References

Luneau, T. R., & Bennett, T. (2005). Big Woods bird: An ivory-bill story. Little Rock, AR: Kury Lane Inc.

            

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Anderson, L. H. (1999). Speak. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.

Melinda Sordino enters the ninth grade “clanless,” without a group of friends to define her identity.  Her former friends shun her, and when she does draw the notice of teachers or other students, it’s the wrong kind of attention.  She withdraws into her own haunting thoughts, burying her pain in long silences and a year-long art assignment that will push her to deal with the tumultuous memories that plague her.

Despite the fact that it was written over a decade ago, the subject matter of Speak could have been inspired by much more recent headlines:  a teenage girl, drunk at a party, a victim of sexual assault at the hands of a popular athlete.  The only difference in Melinda’s story and the real-life tragedies that have made news in the past few years is that there’s no social media to testify to what happens to her.  Her rape is a closely guarded secret—one that she manages to compartmentalize and keep even from herself much of the time, yet she is still criminalized by peers who don’t know the whole story.  Melinda is left to deal with the emotional fallout of her ordeal on her own.          

Although Melinda stops communicating with her parents, teachers, and classmates, her first person narration of the story is highly descriptive, full of evocative imagery and perceptive observation of the people and events around her.  Her thoughts and judgments of others are sometimes biting in their sarcasm, but this trait lends an authentic teenage voice to the narration.  The realism, raw emotion, and feelings of powerlessness that Melinda expresses will likely find a ready audience with teenagers who can often feel marginalized and silenced due to parents, teachers, and peers who do not understand or provide support to their inner struggles.

Throughout the novel, Melinda must endure encounters with her attacker who goes to her school, and while he seems to taunt her through these interactions, it’s somewhat unclear whether this is Melinda’s perception or what’s actually happening between them.  A final confrontation near the end of the book brings them face to face once again and seems to reveal her adversary as a person who displays every confidence that he will continue to get away with his abusive treatment of girls.  While it is easy to sympathize and relate to Melinda, even for people who have not experienced a similar trauma, the antagonist and his actions seem almost too horrible to be believed.  Perhaps his character is just as realistic as the others in the story, but the way he maneuvers himself into his final scene with Melinda seems just a little far-fetched.

The difficult subject matter have made this novel the target of challenges and attempted censorship, but the realistic portrayal of the cruelties of high school and adolescence along with the ultimately hopeful message provide ample cause to keep this book on library shelves and easily accessible to teen readers.           

I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier

Cormier, R. (1977). I am the cheese. New York: Knopf.

The story of Adam Farmer begins when he sets out on a bicycle trip from Monument, Massachusetts, to Rutterburg, Vermont to see his father.  Along the way, he encounters dangers of the road, some of his worst fears, and a few helping hands.  Interspersed with Adam’s first person account of his journey and his recollections of happier times are transcripts of interviews between Adam and Brint, a doctor who is trying to help Adam regain his memories.  Through their conversations and Adam’s trip narrative, the clues about Adam’s family and past unravel. 

            The multiple points of view to which the reader has access through Adam’s travel narrative, the interview transcripts, and the third person descriptions of some of Adam’s memories that are recalled during the interview sessions highlight the unreliability of Adam as a narrator while leaving clues and foreshadowing for the reader to solve the mystery of the Farmer family.  Multiple viewpoints or shifts in narration from first to third person may be more common in contemporary young adult literature, but for its time, this was a likely an innovative literary device.  The  events of the story also cast doubts upon certain aspects of the government in a move that mimics the trends in adult literature of the same time and is a precursor to conspiracy theories and exposés that abound in popular fiction (and nonfiction) today.

            Like so many other young adult novels that have remained perennial favorites among both teens and the teachers and librarians who recommend and advocate for them, I Am the Cheese is a story of seeking out identity.  In Adam’s case, this may be a more literal quest than other works, but the story is told in such a way that even if teens cannot relate to the specific circumstances of Adam’s life, they will connect to his exploration of memories as he tries to piece together and explain his life.  The mystery and adventure of his bike trip will also likely resonate with readers who are eager to gain independence from home and family while the treatment of Adam’s many fears along the way can be viewed as reassuring or affirming to readers who may be dealing with their own fears and insecurities about growing up, changing relationships, and identity.  I believe that the accessibility of the teen characters of Adam and Amy in the book and these themes of identity, insecurity, and independence are the greatest strengths of the novel.  As someone who reads a great deal of young adult literature, I can see the influence of Cormier’s writing and characters in the writing of more contemporary realistic fiction.  As I read, I noticed several instances or descriptions that will make this novel seem dated to today’s young readers.  Adam has to use pay phones in his attempts to contact his friend Amy along his journey, and during one of the calls, the operator cuts in to speak to him.  Although I can recall a time before cell phones when pay phones were a necessary part of life, but today’s teens will have little or no reference for this plot point.  Some of the literary and musical references will be similarly outside the experience of current readers.  This could be perceived as a drawback to some teens who aren’t interested in outdated references in books or movies, but the overall strength of the characters, plot, and theme of the story ultimately outweigh this drawback.