leprosy

The Island at the End of Everything by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

| Tasha

The Island at the End of Everything by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

The Island at the End of Everything by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (9780553535327)

Ami has grown up on Culion, an island in the Philippines filled with people who have leprosy, like Ami’s mother. Ami loves her home, the others who live there with her, the kind nun who helps everyone out. But then things change and new government rules are implemented. Ami and her mother must be tested to see if Ami is also “Touched” with the infection. When Ami is declared to be free of leprosy, she is taken with the other children to a neighboring island and placed in an orphanage. Watched over by a cruel man who is terrified of disease and by extension hates the children from Culion, Ami slowly makes new friends, longing for news from home. After finding a letter withheld from her, Ami makes a desperate journey to see her mother once more.

Using butterflies as a beautiful metaphor throughout the book, one of strength and fragility, Hargrave has crafted a book that looks past the surface level of leprosy and deeply at the people who suffer from the infection and those who love them. Throughout the book, butterflies emerge from cocoons, appear suddenly and inspire those who see them, die at the hands of a collector, and eventually form a way of life. There is a resilience throughout this novel, a tale of overcoming not leprosy but expectations and limitations of all sorts.

The setting of Culion and the Philippines is brought lushly to life on the pages. From journeys through the jungle with its fruits, fish and streams to the coral reefs that tear at boats to the colony itself, each place is drawn with care. The setting is evoked through sounds, scents and sight.

A complex book that takes a deep look at grief, loss, courage and family. Appropriate for ages 9-12. (Reviewed from e-galley provided by Edelweiss and Alfred A. Knopf.)

Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk

| Tasha

Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk

Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk (9781101994856, Amazon)

The author of Wolf Hollow returns with her second novel for young people.  This is a novel of the Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts where Crow has lived all of her life. She lives on a solitary island with Osh, the man who found her afloat in a little boat when she was a newborn baby.  The others on the islands won’t associate with Crow, since they all assume that she came from a nearby island that was a leper hospital. Miss Maggie is the exception, she cares fiercely for Crow and makes sure that she learns what she needs to despite not being able to attend school. As Crow starts to piece together her own history, she exposes those she loves to new dangers that are far worse than the storms of nature they weather together.

Wolk once again has created a novel that brings a place to life. Here she has chosen the Elizabeth Islands and the islands themselves feature prominently in the story both in terms of their isolation but also in their beauty. The islands serve as shelter, home, a source of fuel and food, and a community as well. The island with the hospital for lepers insures that Crow is even more isolated than the rest of the community due to the questions of her past. It’s a brilliant setting, one of the best that I have ever read where each page is a reflection of the sea and the islands.

Crow is a dazzlingly great heroine. She is strong and independent, determined to figure things out even as those around her give up. She pieces together clues from the mystery of her past, a mystery that permeates the entire novel even after it is solved. Crow is anxious to learn of her history and throughout the novel explores questions of identity and family of love and betrayal. It’s a novel that swirls and eddies, displaying beauty and dangers in turn.

This is a beautifully written and deep novel for middle grade readers who will long to visit Crow’s island themselves. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Dutton Books for Young Readers.

 

Review: No Ordinary Day by Deborah Ellis

| Tasha

no ordinary day

No Ordinary Day by Deborah Ellis

Valli picks up coal every day at her home town of Jharia, India.  But when she discovers that the family she is staying with is not her real family, she is free to leave their abuse and fend for herself.  She hops aboard a coal truck and ends up in Kolkata on the streets.  There she “borrows” items that she needs, giving them to others who need them more when she is finished with them.  She eats by begging for food and money or doesn’t eat much at all.  Valli has one super power, she has feet that feel no pain.  So she can stand on hot coals, run across glass, and never feel the wounds.  But this is not a real super power, it is leprosy.  A kind doctor discovers Valli and offers treatment, though it is some time before Valli is able to trust her.  This powerful read speaks to the horrors of poverty, the brutality of life on the streets, and one remarkable young girl who survives it all.

Ellis is known for her powerful writing and this book definitely has that.  The book could have become dark and depressing in less skilled hands, but Ellis through the spunky Valli keeps the book moving forward and keeps the viewpoint optimistic.  Yet Ellis does not shy away from harsh realities of life on the streets and being an unwanted child in a family.  It is Valli who makes this book work so well, her vitality shines on every page.

Ellis handles the subject of leprosy with a delicacy and honesty that is heartwarming.  Valli responds to the lepers she meets as “monsters,” but she and the reader learn that there is nothing to fear.  Valli sees the people behind their deformities and the reader will too. 

A powerful and outstanding book, this tough subject is written at a level that will invite young readers into a world they had never realized existed.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

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