Palmers Gate

June 26, 2006
Newcomer Varela's strange and moving novella, set in the early 1970s, takes place in Palmers Gate, a run-down bayside town in New Jersey. In the spring of Robbie's fifth grade year, Colleen moves in next door, and the entire class immediately identifies her as an "outsider." Over the following months, the two form a tenuous, secret friendship. The author hints at Colleen's deeply troubled nature when she circulates a note to her fifth-grade male classmates saying she will "strip" near a wooded pond after school (which she does not end up doing). Robbie knows that Colleen is not the "Retardner" her classmates have nick-named her, but also believes that something is very wrong. The third-person narrative allows readers to observe Robbie's conflicting reactions to Colleen, wanting to avoid but also protect her. The tension builds to a climax one summer night when Robbie does something that changes the course of both of their lives. This is a gracefully written and powerful story, made all the more disturbing by Robbie's sense that something is wrong, and his inability to figure out the danger surrounding Colleen. That she is a victim of sexual abuse is far beyond his ken, yet readers may well understand what Robbie could not. There are no easy answers here, but Varela's quietly gripping tale unfolds with excellent pacing. Ages 12-up.

July 1, 2006
Gr 6 Up -It -s 1972, in the small town of Palmers Gate, NJ. Robbie, 10, is considered old enough to stay home after school without a babysitter, help out his single mom by making simple dinners, and hang out in the neighborhood with friends. Life is pretty straightforward, if limited, until a new family moves in next door. Robbie is never sure what -s going on, never asks an adult or talks about it with his friends, but he knows that there is something strange about Colleen, the frightened girl who plays with his G. I. Joes and then offers to strip in the woods for the boys in his class. One night Robbie finds Colleen -s ineffectual mother drunk in his yard and hears strange noises coming from her house. He doesn -t understand what he overhears, although most savvy kids will guess that the father is sexually abusing Colleen. Robbie longs to be a hero, but all he can think to do is grab a can of gasoline and set fire to the house. In the aftermath, he is sent to military school and never sees Colleen or Palmers Gate again. There is no insight here for young readers, no clues for understanding the girl -s predicament or Robbie -s misplaced effort to help -just a sense of dread and helplessness. Readers are better served by Chris Crutcher -s "Chinese Handcuffs" (HarperCollins, 1989) and Jacqueline Woodson -s "I Hadn -t Meant to Tell You This" (Putnam, 2006), both of which explore the challenges and risks that a young person faces in trying to understand and help a friend who is being abused." -Carolyn Lehman, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.