Unsinkable Cayenne

Written by Jessica Vitalis

Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins)

978-0-06-331445-0

304 pp.

Ages 8-12

October 2024

 

 

But in middle school

there are two choices:

fit in

or

stand out. (p. 69) 

 

It's 1985 and Cayenne has always lived a nomadic life with her Mom and Dad and now six-month-old sibs Sossity and Bear. They've travelled throughout the U.S. in their van, living off Dad's small disability check from the VA, with Mom homeschooling Cayenne. Cayenne knows that some people may look down on them for being poor and living a hippie lifestyle, but she feels a closeness with her family, especially when she plays her harmonica and Dad plays his guitar and Mom dances, even though Mom has been distracted with the babies. Still Dad decides to settle them down in a Montana town where he's gotten a job at the sawmill, and Cayenne feels like it's where they finally belong and maybe she can feel normal, even if Mom isn't necessarily happy. 

I agreed to this move.

I did not agree 

to sell my soul. (p. 31) 

Still Cayenne is all in. At Sandstone Middle School, Cayenne is determined to make friends. She's keen on the popular girls who play flute in band but she's not quite up to their skills and she is separated from them while she learns the instrument. And though she isn't eager to attach herself to a "loser," she is befriended by Dawn, an awkward girl who is always reading, wearing outfits that reflect her reading, and who plays drums. She also meets Tiff, a popular chatterbox of a girl from art class, who lives on the wealthy side of town. And then there's Beau, a new boy whom Cayenne met while walking their dog, George. Cayenne is smitten and when others suggest that Beau likes her, Cayenne is sent into a tizzy of how to act and what to say. So, as Cayenne desperately tries to fit in, choosing with whom to associate and hide the reality of her family's circumstances, things become even more tenuous. Fitting in becomes even harder when you don't feel like you have the means to belong, whether the money, the family, the clothes, the opportunities, anything. 

Jessica Vitalis, whose earlier middle-grade books The Rabbit's Gift, The Wolf's Curse, and Coyote Queen made quite a splash, doesn't just give us a novel about pre-teen angst. She gives us a story enfolded in many layers of storytelling which add context and insight into Cayenne's own life. From their Titanic-themed social studies unit in which they learn of the disparities between first- and third-class passengers, particularly with respect to their survival, and Cayenne's love of birds and her knowledge of their behaviours, Unsinkable Cayenne goes beyond a kid trying to fit in with her new classmates. She's trying to fit in to her life, her new one and the one she has always had with her family, and she sees it through multiple lenses. She is the new kid but also a poor kid and a kid whose family is atypical in their circumstances. They might not have money to replace her holey shoes and the electricity might have to be turned off to save for rent money, but they also don't have a phone or a TV. Cayenne doesn't complain or see it as a problem; it's just different. Her perspective is both insightful and revealing, and Jessica Vitalis does not sugar-coat their poverty with a happy ending or lottery winning or change in financial circumstances. She makes and keeps it real.

 

The writing is exceptional. Unsinkable Cayenne, told in free verse, flows through Cayenne's days at school and her thinking about her life with vigour and subtlety.

I don't understand why the amount of money

someone has determines how much they are worth. (p. 182)

Jessica Vitalis tells a story for middle-grade readers but with sophistication and lyricism. She's given us a real kid who not only exemplifies the famous Unsinkable Molly Brown of Titanic fame in her tenacity and humble beginnings but also in seeing others beyond class and wealth.

Gnome is Where Your Heart Is

Written by Casey Lyall

Greenwillow Books (Imprint of HarperCollins)

978-0-06-323982-1

304 pp.

Ages 8-12

May 2023

You believe in aliens, right? Lemon Peabody certainly does, and she's determined to prove that her Grandpa Walt was telling the truth when he claimed he'd met one named Gnemo over thirty years ago. In fact, she's so sure that she's making Project Validation her summer project, even if she must hide it from her father Patrick, a true non-believer, who was humiliated by his father's claims, especially when everyone in the town started putting out green-faced, red-capped garden gnomes. Now, Lemon's parents are insisting that she partake in a normal activity for the summer. So, she and her best friend Marlo join the Junior Forest Rangers because it offers her the opportunity to investigate the very woods where Grandpa famously met Gnemo and chatted with her.

Unbeknownst to Lemon, the Gnar Five, a ship of the Interplanetary Natural Archives Alliance is out on a mission when forced to land on the Isolated Community of IC 525-1 a.k.a. Earth, a planet with restricted access. As Chief Gneelix tries to repair their ship, Captain Gnemo, Commander Gnilsson, Doc Gnog, and Ensign Gnedley attempt to stay under cover of their shields and follow protocols. But the Captain can't inform HQ of their situation because their external comms are down. And though Ensign Gnedley knows he's supposed to follow the emergency measures handbook, he'd joined the Alliance to see the universe. After all, Commander Gnilsson was able to go out and investigate, even returning with a miniature gnome statue that he is convinced speaks to an encounter with the locals, strictly against protocols.  

As Lemon and Marlo and their new friend Rachel, a science fan, pursue the clues to find evidence of the aliens and maybe even meet one, thus vindicating Walt, Lemon knows time is running out. Her grandfather's Alzheimer's is slowing making him more forgetful and agitated, and Lemon would do anything to help him. But Gnedley has his own problems, knowing that he's been seen by the Humans and worried that Captain Gnemo may be hiding a secret. Can both alien and human help each other?

 

Casey Lyall has always given us a good mystery in her Howard Wallace P. I. middle-grade novels and humour in her picture books Inky's Great Escape and A Spoonful of Frogs but in Gnome is Where Your Heart Is she blends that humour with some sci-fi and a solid intergenerational relationship that warms the heart. Gnome is Where Your Heart Is feels like E.T. meets Cocoon meets Star Trek. There's a crew of interplanetary travellers, with a clever captain, a right-hand commander, an acerbic engineer, and an inexperienced ensign. There's a child trying to help their grandparent against their parents' wishes. And there's a trio of friends investigating alien activity. There's fun and wit and angst and resolution. Best of all, there's humour. From the cheeky Gneelix–who, when asked for more power, suggests "Should I get out and push?"–or the irritated Marlo–"Tell me why you broke into my room at rude o'clock in the morning"–there is honest but saucy humour. But could we expect anything less in a story with gnome-looking aliens, magic mushrooms, and scrummy marshmallows? I think not.

For middle-graders who enjoy speculative fiction firmly based in the reality of family and friends, albeit with a cloud of Alzheimer's, and told with humour, distinct characters–both human and not–and the buzz that comes with the unknown, Gnome is Where Your Heart Is checks all the boxes for a lively summer read.