From Lands of the Night

by Tololwa M. Mollel

Illustrated by Darrell McCalla

Red Deer Press

978-0-88995-498-4

32 pp.

Ages 7+

January 2014

An ill child is great cause for concern and worthy of a heroic pursuit for a remedy. But, after fruitless hospital visits, futile treatments and prayer, the only potential help may come From Lands of the Night where the ancestors reside.  In fact, a joyful celebration of family, friends and neighbours with music, food and drink is deemed necessary to save the life of the young narrator's baby brother, Samson.

An angel, sent by God–Mola–to request they turn down the music, actually heralds the arrival of more angels, moved to dance to the rhythmic sounds.  That is, until the brilliant light of Mola draws the celebration to a stunning silence.  But the young girl invites Mola to be their guest, and soon the ancestors resplendant in colourful and unique regalia appear.  Samson's parents and other relatives greet their ancestors with respect and gifts, hopeful that they may help.

A new picture book from Tololwa M. Mollel is always cause for celebration.  Though illustrators may change, the text will always be powerful and inspired and immersed in his African heritage.  From Lands of the Night is no different, depicting the joy of community and tradition, culture and history.  Though the story may reflect Tololwa M. Mollel's African (Tanzanian) heritage, the colours and vibrancy of Darrell McCalla's illustrations definitely have a warm Caribbean flavour.  As such, From Lands of the Night may be more universal than initially thought, reflecting the similarity of stories told across regions.

There will be some (there always are) who will question the inclusion and appropriateness of angels and spirits and even a God in a children's book.  Tololwa M. Mollel, ever the sensitive statesman, addresses this potential concern in his poignant author notes, which should be read by all for greater understanding.  But I see the global nature of From Lands of the Night by including common elements of faith and belief systems to which so many turn when crises of body or spirit arise.  The reassurance that our world extends beyond the here-and-now and includes a rich support system of ethereal entities is both reassuring and hopeful.

My Book of Life by Angel

by Martine Leavitt
Groundwood Books
978-1-55498-117-5
246 pp.
Ages 14+
2012

A great fan of novels in verse  (see my post on Exceptional Novels in Verse for Young Readers), I was astounded to realize that Martine Leavitt's newest book, My Book of Life by Angel, could be added to this book list.  And while the protagonist is a sixteen-year-old girl and the context is definitely young adult, I would recommend this book to adult readers as well.  The context of the missing women of Vancouver's downtown eastside and the plight of sex trade workers trapped in unspeakable circumstances brings My Book of Life by Angel from YA fiction to social commentary, all in flowing, powerful, Milton-esque verse.

Angel knows how she got on the streets of Vancouver: her mother's death and Angel's predilection for shoplifting shoes (sadly, only one of a pair).  She thinks about her dad and little brother Jeremy, even sending a letter home, hoping for a response.  But as long as her pimp, Call, threatens to hurt Jeremy if she ever leaves, Angel just keeps her head off what she's doing and does it.  Almost like an automaton, she lists her johns:  little old Fred who can't really afford her, John the university professor who talks of Milton, the Preacher, and an endless track of pathetic, nasty, oblivious, arrogant men. And now everyone is wondering if there is a Mr. P who is taking the missing girls.

Her friend Serena had always told Angel about angels being around and, after Serena goes missing, Angel begins to wonder about the possibility of angels watching over them. Angel vows to clean up her act, starting a new story for herself in her journal My Book of Life by Angel, ever hopeful that there really is an angel to help her.

My angel would be a fresh-dead one,
still longing for chocolate cake, 
still wishing she could come back
and find out who won American Idol.

That's the one I want--
just a junior one
who might not mind saving
a girl like me.
(pg.13)

But when Call brings home an eleven-year-old girl, Melli, Angel is determined to work double just to keep Melli from the life of a sex trade worker.  It's her devotion to Melli and Angel's repulsion of the manner in which another sex worker's assault is handled that ultimately mobilize Angel to make things right, at least as right as she can.

Martine Leavitt's My Book of Life by Angel is a hard story.  It has coarse edges that scrape at your heart and at your sense of decency.  But Martine Leavitt never allows the reader to judge Angel or the other sex trade workers, only those who deem to manipulate their victims.  Sadly, there are always those that seek to force their will on others, through power, abuse, drugs and fear, even through academic knowledge. The fact that Call and his cohorts are attempting to legalize the trade, perceiving themselves to be entrepreneurs rather than abusers, speaks to their arrogance.

Regardless of the hard edges of her story, Angel is an ethereal creature whose fluidity of thought and feeling and grace, courtesy of Martine Leavitt's lyrical and just as ethereal verse, transports the reader from the gritty sex trade of Vancouver's downtown eastside and into the hopeful realm where there is mercy, and goodness prevails over evil.

Virginia

Written by Susan Hughes
Kids Can Press
978-1-55453-306-0
287 pp.
Ages 14+
2010

Having just reviewed Susan Hughes' most recent book, Off to Class: Incredible and Unusual Schools Around the World (Owlkids, 2012), one of the few non-fiction books I've reviewed, I thought I'd include a review of a young adult novel by this same author from a few years back. If you think Susan Hughes is limited to only non-fiction, you'll have to read her novel, Virginia (Kids Can Press, 2010) which I feel is an overlooked gem.

While Ivy deals with her alcoholic mother and ineffective father, the fourteen-year-old girl tries to help her childhood friend Virginia who is convinced she has been visited by an angel and that she has been selected to carry God's child. Though Ivy and Virginia have not been close for awhile, Ivy feels she must help Virginia, especially as she seems to be kept secluded by her sisters and charismatic brother, Paul. After their father's death, Paul has started his own church, one that emphasizes the inevitable end of the world. When Ivy overhears Paul suggesting the need to hasten that end with violence, Ivy gets help from another brother of Virginia's, Joe, to keep the innocent safe.

Once Susan Hughes takes the time to introduce Ivy and Virginia and their former relationship, Virginia becomes a highly suspenseful, plot-driven story that kept me engrossed until the end. Paul's zealous sect, Virginia's angel visit and Ivy's detective work, within the context of family interrelationships, were uniquely juxtaposed against each other. Reality and fantasy seemed to meander into the other's realm. With Ivy 's attraction to Joe and her worries about Virginia getting pregnant, as well as Paul's violent agenda, this novel is more appropriate for an older audience than for the recently reviewed Off to Class but it is equally effective in telling its story. Susan Hughes' writing handles both, the fiction and the non-fiction, beautifully and appropriately, putting her in the company of the few authors who can do this well.