Snow Apples

July 1, 2006
Gr 8 Up -In isolated, rural British Columbia, as World War II is ending, Sheila Brary turns 16 and yearns for a life different from the sad existence of her mother. Struggling to raise four sons and a daughter mostly on her own, the woman has turned hard and cold, always angry at her bright and emotional daughter who reminds her too much of her unfaithful, undependable husband. Sheila finds connection with other adults and develops a bond with Helga, who long ago lost her husband and sons to the ocean. The teen wins one struggle with her mother and manages to finish high school, while she loses another with her own awakening sexuality and finds herself desperate and pregnant. When she runs off to Vancouver, her distant father helps her to abort the pregnancy and then abandons her one last time. Sheila survives a terrifying miscarriage on her own, returns to her family long enough to see what her mother has sacrificed, and starts a new life with promise and support. This is a quiet, introspective novel that takes a while to build its power, and it has some stunningly dramatic scenes. Somewhat autobiographical, "Snow Apples" is imbued with difficult themes, from poverty and ambition to sexuality and abuse to emotional abandonment and growth. For mature, thoughtful readers, it will inspire discussions of the struggles of women in recent history." -Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 15, 2006
Gr. 9-12. First published in Canada in 1984, this gripping first novel tells of a teen's coming-of-age with a complexity rare in YA fiction. Sheila Brary, 16, growing up in a small coastal town near Vancouver in the mid-1940s, is smart and sexy, and she wants to stay in school. But her jealous mom, disappointed and frustrated by her cheating, irresponsible husband, tries to prevent Sheila from getting anywhere: "You're just like him. Selfish." When Sheila goes all the way with the boy she loves, her mother breaks it up, and Sheila gets helps from unexpected sources for the painful abortion that leaves her sad and guilty. Time and place are an integral part of the story, and Sheila's struggle with work and love, even while it dramatizes the oppression of women, is never preachy. Rivalry, anger, affection, and friendship drive the plot, and rooted in character, the action springs from family secrets that continually surprise the reader. As in the best stories, however, the revelations turn out to be not surprising at all.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)