Fire Is Your Water

Starred review from March 15, 2017

Twenty-year-old Ada Franklin, who works at a truck plaza Howard Johnson's while helping on the family farm in 1950s Pennsylvania, is well known for her faith healing, a gift encouraged by her Uncle Mark. However, after a devastating fire in the Franklins' barn, Ada cannot cure the burns on her mother's hands. Her powers came from her strong belief in God, which the fire has challenged. Young Will Burk, an admitted agnostic who mans the plaza Esso gas station shows up to help rebuild the barn. He doubts Ada's abilities but has had his eye on her as she goes to and from work at the restaurant. Will's constant companion is Cicero, an injured raven he rescued after a fierce rainstorm. Cicero, who inserts pithy observations over the course of the novel, becomes jealous of Ada when Will's Aunt Amanda succeeds as matchmaker. Will and Ada's future falters until another tragic blaze revives Ada's powers and transforms their friendship into a deeper love despite their differences in faith. VERDICT Pulling his title from a Rumi poem, the award-winning essayist/memoirist Minick (Blueberry Years) has crafted an outstanding first novel full of appealing characters and an inventive plot based on true events. This belongs at the top of every spring reading list.--Donna Bettencourt, Mesa Cty. P.L., Grand Junction, CO

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2017

When a fire consumes the Franklin barn, it appears to take more than lumber with it. Twenty-year-old Ada Franklin, accustomed to healing with her hands, is robbed of her curative powers. As she struggles with her loss of faith and abilities, she meets Will Burk, a young man who, though mostly on his own, is at peace with his place in the world. The shifting perspectives of this novel set in 1953 rural Pennsylvania provide great insight into not only the two main characters but also Will's talking raven, Cicero, whose astute perceptions of humans in love add to a sense of magical realism. Ada's ability to "pow wow," or heal, is treated as a fact of life, much like Will's happily agnostic sensibilities. Teens reconsidering their beliefs and identity will relate to these well-crafted characters. This engrossing, original love story is an immersive glimpse at life in mid-century Appalachia. VERDICT A richly characterized work about faith and human connection, perfect for most high school collections.-Erinn Black Salge, Morristown-Beard School, Morristown, NJ

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2017
A young faith healer and a nonbeliever embark on an unlikely romance.Twenty-year-old Ada Franklin has long been known in her rural Pennsylvania community for using sacred chants and Bible verses to heal the sick. But after a fire destroys her family's barn, Ada loses her ability to "powwow" and begins to question her faith. She works at a Howard Johnson's in the Blue Mountain Service Plaza, and it's there that she meets Will Burk, a recent high school grad and committed nonbeliever who pumps gas at the neighboring Esso. Will spends much of his free time rehabilitating an injured raven, Cicero, a preternaturally gifted bird who learns tricks and sometimes even manages to say a few words. Set in 1953, Minick's (The Blueberry Years, 2010, etc.) coming-of-age novel is poignant throughout. The supporting players are as caringly drawn as the protagonists, including an endearing troupe of gas station attendants and HoJo's servers and the pleasantly sane adults in Ada's and Will's lives. The bond between Will and Cicero is also lovingly rendered, though Minick's decision to allow Cicero to interrupt the third-person narration every few chapters with commentary of his own is something of a misfire given the bird's propensity for cutesiness. ("Mmm-mm," Cicero says on the topic of burger meat. "Makes my beak click just talking about it.") The final third of the book, in which a shocking accident befalls an important character, occasionally veers toward the treacly, but readers may not mind much given the fully realized relationship at the novel's core. A compassionate exploration of faith and doubt and a tender (if slightly sentimental) portrait of young love.

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