Baygirl

August 15, 2013
In the Newfoundland fishing village of Parsons Bay, Kitty has her refuges all staked out, for when she needs to hide from her father's nearly incessant drunken belligerence. Neighbor Ms. Bartlett and her Nan live nearby, and there is a cliff where she frequently meets her best friend, Anne-Marie, for solace. But it's 1992, and the cod fishery is subject to a moratorium, leaving her father suddenly without work. Hoping to find work, the family moves to live with Uncle Iggy in St. John's. The bigger city and foreign environment require that Kitty find new friends and new ways to cope. Her uncle, an elderly neighbor who favors forgiveness, and, above all, an attractive boy support Kitty and yet present her with challenges. Required to look past first glances and see the heart beneath in this new environment, Kitty in the process begins to look past her father's drunken exterior as well. Learning and accepting a bit of the why her father is incapable of facing life sober helps. Admitting that she knows that he loves her even if he can't seem to show it makes life endurable. Kitty's initial belligerence and anger, so predominant early on, modulates to a more nuanced point of view; given her growth, it's a shame the mother remains a nonentity. This first-person tale gently illustrates change, both good and bad. (Historical fiction. 12-16)

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February 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-Teen Kit Ryan learns about love and loss in this luminous young adult novel set in 1990s Newfoundland. The Canadian government has begun shutting down the cod fishing industry in order to decrease overfishing and save the country's natural resources. This decree throws a hurdle into Kit's world and her already strained relationship with her parents. The girl's alcoholic father is a cod fisherman newly out of work, and her mother struggles to make ends meet while enabling her husband's violent outbursts, leaving no room for mother-daughter bonding. The family uproots from Parsons Bay, a small fishing village, to St. John's, a city, leaving Kit's Nan and best friend behind. They move in with Uncle Iggy, a lonely, depressed, but recovering alcoholic who is still mourning the loss of his wife. Kit does not make friends easily at her new school, branded an outsider for her "baygirl" accent and unfashionable clothes. A friendship with an eccentric neighbor, Mr. Adams, and writing in her journal help her adjust to life in St. John's. When she finally begins to find her place in the new locale and even entrusts her heart to a popular boy, she is called back to her hometown to help her ailing Nan and forlorn father. Teens will connect with Smith's well-crafted characters, including the fully-formed protagonist. The tragic ending will resonate with readers, and they will root for Kit as she emerges from the other side.-Lisa Gieskes, Richland County Public Library, Columbia, SC

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