Safekeeping

August 6, 2012
Hesse (Brooklyn Bridge) beautifully captures the changing landscape of a journey, the wonder of discovery, and a fight to survive in a near-future novel set in the aftermath of a presidential assassination. A group of rebels called the American People’s Party has taken control, and prisons are overcrowded with those they’ve arrested. Radley, an American teenager returning home from doing volunteer work in Haiti, finds her parents gone and her Vermont home abandoned. Not knowing whom to trust or where she’ll be safe, she sets out on foot to Canada, befriending a reticent girl along the way. The two form a tentative friendship and manage to cross into Canada, where they begin a new, primitive life, relying on their wits and small acts of kindness from strangers. The first-person narrative (reflected a shade too obtrusively in Hesse’s 50 b&w photographs) intimately depicts Radley’s loneliness, her longing to regain what she’s taken for granted, and her delight in rediscovering simple pleasures, like eating a hot meal. Hesse’s story is a reminder of how compassion emerges during even the worst of times. Ages 14–up.

December 1, 2012

Gr 6-9-When Radley Parker-Hughes, 17, learns of the recent upheaval in the United States, she leaves the Haitian orphanage where she's been volunteering and rushes home to a country she barely recognizes. The American People's Party has taken over: the president has been assassinated and vigilante violence has caused strict enforcement of curfews and restrictions on travel across state lines. Without money or a cell phone and completely unprepared to handle this new world, Radley feels her only hope of finding her parents-and safety-is to make the dangerous and forbidden journey to Canada. She forms a tentative alliance with Celia, a pregnant teen runaway, and Celia's dog, Jerry Lee. The girls take refuge in an abandoned schoolhouse across the border and construct a new life there. Although each has her reasons for discretion, Radley and Celia gradually learn to trust and depend on each other. Karen Hesse's novel (Feiwel & Friends, 2012) is a beautifully written tale of survival and friendship with impeccable character development. Jenna Lamia provides expert narration. Although this title is marketed as dystopian fiction, the defining characteristics typical to the genre never fully materialize. Radley and Celia escape threats far too easily, the turmoil described in the beginning only vaguely carries over throughout the remainder of the story, and the ending wraps up too neatly. Those expecting a lot of action will be bored. Still, this story will be enjoyed by younger audiences not quite ready for the genre's darker tales. Be sure to check out the PDF of Hesse's haunting photos. Purchase to supplement the print version.-Alissa Bach, Oxford Public Library, MI

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.