Delicate

by C. K. Kelly Martin
Dancing Cat Books
978-1-77086-452-8
230 pp.
Ages 14+
November 2015


Who wants to be called “delicate”? Porcelain dolls, maybe.  But the teens in C. K. Kelly Martin’s Delicate would be loathe to be called delicate, regardless of the challenges, physical and emotional, they have to endure.

Delicate is told in the alternate voices of second cousins, Ivy and Lucan, who haven’t seen each other in seven years since Lucan’s mother Sheri told her cousin Lisette, Ivy’s mom, about seeing Ivy’s dad with another woman at a hotel.  The two teens will become reacquainted at a 75th brithday party for a relative, but first they are involved in their own dramas.  Life is drama after all, isn't it?  Ivy is devastated by her boyfriend Jeremy’s break-up with her after 18 months together and learning that he’s hooked up with her best friend Betina.  And Lucan is dealing with his divorced mother’s embarrassingly physical relationship with Julian, a man much younger than her, as well as trying to negotiate his best friend Des’s volatile relationship with girlfriend McKenna.  After the family get-together, Sheri helps Ivy get a summer job at her merchandising firm which is just around the corner from the Mill Street Café where Lucan gets a job,  and soon the two teens are comparing and sharing their lives with each other and declaring themselves absurdly delicate, though they both have tremendous strengths that they still have not recognized.

Fortunately, they enjoy each other’s company (how much is surprising) and the fresh perspectives on their respective issues.  Ivy vacillates between longing, anger and vengeance with regards to Betina and Jeremy, by whom she has been infected with an STI, even getting Lucan involved in a dog-napping scheme, while Lucan begins to see the abusive nature of Des and McKenna’s relationship, enlisting Ivy’s help to defuse its volatility.

The tenuous nature of relationships is made very clear from the plethora within Delicate: Des and McKenna, Ivy and Jeremy, Ivy and Betina, cousins Sheri and Lisette, Lucan and Des, and so many others.  The relationships between boyfriend and girlfriend, friends, husband and wife, parents and children and other relatives are all so delicate in that any incident or series of circumstances could destroy or alter them, shattering them to shards that may or may not be reconfigured.  I spent most of the book worried that Lucan’s peanut allergy–which I incorrectly assessed as his delicacy–would be his downfall but I was mistaken.  That would’ve been too obvious and C. K. Kelly Martin is never obvious.  Her other books (My Beating Teenage Heart, 2011; Yesterday, 2012; Tomorrow, 2013; The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing, 2014) have always fascinated me by her analysis of the complexity of the human condition and Delicate takes that one step further by examining both the obvious and the unseen and showing the immensity of both in affecting our lives and the way we see ourselves.  More importantly, C. K. Kelly Martin exposes the ways we hurt each other, sometimes deliberately, some accidentally, and some through negligence, and provides an upfront perspective on dealing.  Maybe that's all you can hope for.  Thankfully C. K. Kelly Martin does reassure the readers that being Delicate is not an indictment, just human.

The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing

by C. K. Kelly Martin

Dancing Cat Books

978-1-770864115

256 pp.

Ages 13+

September, 2014

The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing, as a title, suggests the lightness of song and joy. But those moments are few and far between in the actual story. That's because The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing is a story of secrets, confusion, anger, and grief, with only a few bars of a sweet song that may be heard in the background, leaving you hoping the song will make its way to the forefront and be sung loud and clear and passionately.

When Serena LeBlanc's older brother, Devin, trades a life of Mensa brilliance at university for drugs and life on the street, she could never have foreseen the impact it would have on her and her family.  Having endured Devin's plunge into drugs, theft and erratic behaviour, culminating with his disappearance, Serena's parents seem to have disassociated themselves from any life without Devin.  Mom is constantly on eBay purchasing new Swarovski figurines and Dad just seems to go through the motions of life. Her eldest brother Morgan, a celebrity VJ at MuchMusic, lives with his partner Jimmy in Toronto, but still tries to offer the support they all need to remain an intact family.  Serena, not yet sixteen, loses almost thirty pounds and begins dating Jacob Westermark, leaving behind her old friendships, and enjoying a new popularity.

But recognizing an incident at a party as an attempt at sexual exploitation, Serena swears off Jacob and guys in general, finding new friends in girls Nicole and Genevieve who have been humiliated by their boyfriends too.  Bonding with the girls over their disappointment in boys provides Serena some refuge from her parents' detachment, as does a part-time job as a cashier at Total Drug Mart.  But two events change everything for Serena.

A young man who regularly drops into Total Drug Mart begins to show an interest in Serena.  But Serena is torn between being loyal to her friends and their boyfriend-less status and becoming involved with a really nice guy, Gage Cochrane.  Worse still, Serena doesn't know how to be herself around Gage.  She still sees herself as the chubby girl who would need to throw herself at a guy to keep him interested.  Gage, on the other hand, seems fairly well-adjusted and is not impressed with Serena's sexual antics.

Then, while attending one of Jimmy's art shows in Toronto, Serena spots Devin on the street.  But when he flees from her, catching a streetcar, Serena is left with more questions about who her brother has become and whether he wants to come home ever.

It's painful to read Serena's attempts to understand and find her brother, especially as she examines her relationship with him and how she sees herself.

...I can see with absolute clarity how the tangled mess of my former blubber, personal insecurities, and stupid need for some kind of male appraisal have shaped me into a person I don't want to be. (pg. 114) 

As she did in My Beating Teenage Heart, Yesterday and Tomorrow, C. K. Kelly Martin expertly weaves a story based on the typical confusion of the teen years but with an atypical, devastating situation that impacts that confusion all the more.  In The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing, she imbues the story with a grittiness and harshness about young relationships, especially in the shadow of social media exploitation, and a young man's severance from his family, and creates a series of scenarios you hope you'll never have to experience.  You won't necessarily like Serena (or at least I didn't, at the beginning) but you'll understand how she has become the person she has.  Her life is messy but it's not until she takes some responsibility for that mess and faces that she can't force things to turn out the way she wants that life begins to feel better.  She can't make Devin come home.  She can't make her parents change.  She can't make Gage act like she thinks he should.  Serena cannot make her life all sweet and lovely but she can control herself and her choices and that makes things all the sweeter.  C. K. Kelly Martin gets that very right and, without making Serena's life a Broadway musical, she allows her to find a song that is sure to become sweeter. 

Beyond Vampire Boyfriends: a YA literary salon (Toronto)

Here's a great event for fans of young adult novels!

A trio of young adult authors 

Deborah Kerbel

C. K. Kelly Martin

Helaine Becker

will discuss 

their newest books, 

writing challenges 

and 

writing for young adults

as well as 

answer questions and sign books

on

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

6:30 p.m.

at

Toronto Public Library - Northern Branch

40 Orchard View Boulevard

Toronto, ON

All courtesy of sponsors

Mabel's Fables, Dancing Cat Books and Toronto Public Library

Tomorrow

by C. K. Kelly Martin

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

978-1492250876

248 pp.

Ages 13+
2013

Reviewed from Smashwords Edition

It seems like only yesterday that I reviewed Yesterday, the prequel to Tomorrow, but it has been just over a year (November 26, 2012 review).  Luckily, C. K. Kelly Martin's writing does not exclude readers who missed Yesterday if they choose to go directly into Tomorrow. Without just presenting a dystopian world of our future, C. K. Kelly Martin has created a cautionary tale of the course by which our disastrous tomorrow will arise, and how by looking back at yesterday, we may be able to prevent tomorrow from being ultimately fatalistic.

In Yesterday, teens Freya and Garren discovered that they had been sent, as were many others, from 2063 United North America (UNA) to save them, in the hopes of finding a way out of the impending environmental, political and health disasters of the future.  In order to keep their knowledge of the future from being shared, or destabilizing 1980s society with knowledge of a time chute, these time refugees have had their memories wiped and covered with new ones. But Freya's memory wipe was not "successful" and she was able to recognize Garren when she sees him in 1985 Toronto.  Now they're on the run from the UNA who consider them a threat.

Tomorrow begins just over a year after Yesterday ends. Currently living together in 1986 Vancouver as Holly and Robbie, seventeen-year-old Freya waits tables at a restaurant and nineteen-year-old Garren tends bar but they live with the anxiety that they could be discovered and lose everything, most especially each other.  And when they notice that key events in 1986 don't fit with the known history, Freya and Garren recognize that the UNA is at work.  After Garren finds Freya missing from their now-ransacked apartment, he is convinced that they may do more than just wipe your memory.

Garren's reminiscences from 2063 when he found himself seeking out the hard-core fringe faction of the grounded movement (contrary to the ideas of the UNA) are key as he throws himself into finding Freya. While Garren recognizes that Freya has always been the force behind their survival and the one who could tell when someone was lying or when something was going to happen, he is the one now who must take up the gauntlet and do what he can do to make things right.  Garren doubts his capabilities and constantly worries about who to trust, but he manages.  With his singular motivation of saving Freya, Garren's determination is boundless.

Freya's ultimate fate is wrapped up tight in the disaster that is 2063 UNA and the efforts of the radical faction of the grounded movement.  Without naming names and sharing secret alliances and conflicts, I can tell the reader that Garren's journey to Freya is not a direct one, and that conspiracy plays a significant role. Sadly, it's hard to tell the conspirators from the allies.  But that's what makes Tomorrow a true thriller.

Never does C. K. Kelly Martin convince the reader that the outcome is predictable.  Never.  I could never tell the bad guys from the good guys and Garren feels the same way.  And that's what keeps the story moving forward, albeit leaving you on the edge of your seat.  Be prepared.  You may know what you want in a happy ending, but C. K. Kelly Martin makes sure that you never see how she's going to get there, or even if.  Every book of hers that I have read (My Beating Teenage Heart, Random House, 2011; Yesterday, Random House, 2012) has kept me engrossed in her unique and passionate characters and their struggles whose outcomes are never obvious.  Tomorrow is a worthy and complementary addition to C. K. Kelly Martin's literary collection, and I look forward to future volumes.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Months ago, I added the book trailer for Tomorrow to CanLitforLittleCanadians Book Trailers' site.  But it's never too late to enjoy it, especially before you purchase your own copy of the book. http://canlitforlittlecanadianstrailers.blogspot.ca/2013/07/tomorrow-yesterday-book-2.html

Yesterday

by C. K. Kelly Martin
Doubleday Canada
978-0-385-66845-3
355 pp.
Ages 13+
2012


Sixteen-year-old Freya just wants "living to feel the way it should." (pg. 78) Not like her sister Olivia (10) isn't really her sister. Not like Freya has all the details about her life but can't recall what she likes or feels or can do well. Not like she can only remember the facts of the memories but not the memories themselves. What she does know is that it is 1985 and that she, her mom and Olivia have recently come to Canada after the death of Freya's father, a diplomat, in an explosion in New Zealand.  And she gets lots of headaches and can almost tell what's going to happen before it does.

While at the museum with her class, Freya sees a handsome, green-eyed boy on the street and she is convinced that she knows him.  Following the young man, she learns where he lives, and returns another day to confront him.  Through questioning the boy, Freya learns that Garren's dad was also a diplomat who was killed in an accident in Switzerland but Garren does not recognize Freya at all.  In fact, he is infuriated with her insistence that he should know her.  It isn't until Freya returns with family photos and newspaper clippings that the two realize they share the same grandfather, Henry Newland, and both were seen by Dr. Byrne when they were stricken with the flu when they arrived in Canada.  But confronting their grandfather just sets them on the run when Freya "sees" him contacting men in dark suits with guns to come after her and Garren.

To avoid putting their families at risk, Freya and Garren hide out while they try to find some answers.  In fact, Freya convinces Garren to let her visit a hypnotherapist to help clarify her memories.  What Freya learns is that her memories are actually 78 years into the future, in the year 2063, and that Garren was a part of her life then.  Unfortunately, Garren's trust in Freya's memories is waning, realizing that he is giving up everything to follow her and help her while he himself has no memories of a life in the future.

So Freya's Yesterday is actually taking place in the future, or has taken place in the future, or will take place in the future.  I'm not really sure what verb tense is appropriate here.  But, while I may be confused with the timeline of Freya's life, those shortcomings are my own; C. K. Kelly Martin has no difficulty conveying those details to the reader.  Freya's anxiety about feeling out of place, actually out of time, is expertly handled by C.K. Kelly Martin whose book My Beating Teenage Heart (Random House, 2011), reviewed here, similarly takes the reader back and forth between times and experiences.  As a teacher-librarian, I know that this play between the past (future?) and the present can be a difficult concept for younger readers to follow and appreciate for its complexity and the richness it lends to storytelling; young adult readers of Yesterday should have no difficulties grasping and relishing this approach. 


I've just learned that C.K. Kelly Martin has her own YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/ckwriter where you can see a book trailer and teaser for Yesterday, as well as trailers for several of her other books.  For those readers who enjoy video overtures for books, I'd recommend checking the author's channel out. I will include her book trailer for Yesterday here, though.

Yesterday Book Trailer

Published on June 24, 2012 by ckwriter to YouTube.

My Beating Teenage Heart

by C. K. Kelly Martin

Random House

978-0-385-67042-5
288 pp.

Young Adult

2011

From an unknown perspective, Ashlyn Baptiste discovers herself watching 16-year-old Breckon Cody; it's either that or escape to a darkness where her senses don't perceive anything.  In fact, it is only through Breckon that Ashlyn pieces together her own name and memories, though what has brought her to this body-less status she has no comprehension, just as she has none regarding her role in Breckon's sphere.

Between alternating chapters of Ashlyn's and Breckon's voices, the death of Breckon's eight-year-old sister, Skylar, is revealed.  As his parents, girl friend, Jules, and friends, Ty and Big Red, wander into his consciousness, Breckon struggles to sleep, to feel, to play his appropriate roles.  Meanwhile Ashlyn is discovering her memories, some recent others deep-rooted, perceiving them in terms of Breckon and his experiences.  Without realizing it, he provides her with the basis for her memories and ultimately an appreciation of her obligation to him.

C. K. Kelly Martin's easily finds the voices of our teen protagonists, never too heavy handed.  Their responses to their circumstances are authentic, at times clear but sometimes confusing.  What teen doesn't know those personal conflicts?  Although almost 16 herself, Ashlyn plays the more naive teen to Breckon's more "experienced" persona (being sexually-active), a necessary juxtaposition to reveal how they need each other.