The Life and Deaths of Frankie D.

Written by Colleen Nelson

Dundurn Press

978-1-459747586

256 pp.

Ages 12+

April 2021

 

Who is Frankie D.? Before the girl with the skin that resembles scales had been found, at 10 years of age, dirty and dehydrated in an alley, who was she? Is she the Goth she has transformed into, embracing the darkness and hiding her lamellar ichthyosis under thick makeup? Or is she just an abandoned child, considered too hideous to love by a family? Perhaps she's related to the girl in the old-fashioned dress that keeps appearing in her dreams alongside a circus ringmaster? Whatever her story, it's both one she wants to know and not know. 

 

In the seven years since she was discovered, Frankie has endured fresh traumas, including at the hands of Foster Mom #2's Boyfriend #3. Still, the last two years with Kris Steffanson, the social worker who'd first drawn her out of that alley, have been as close to normal as she can remember. At home anyway. At school, where she is bullied by the Aprils–her name for the beautiful, normal, mean girls–Frankie takes very few classes but her art class with Mr. Kurtis offers her sanctuary before school and confidence for her drawing skills. So it's not surprising that Frankie begins to draw the characters that continue to appear in her dreams. 

When Kris gifts her with tickets to ComiCon, Frankie is thrilled. There she bumps into the new kid at school, Max, whom Frankie suspects is a foster kid too but she is most surprised by his recognition of the man in her ringmaster drawing as Monsieur Duval. At ComiCon, they spot a man who looks like Monsieur Duval and follow him to a booth called the Circus of Marvels and Wonders. There the man, Monsieur Philippe Duval, presents performers that include Concetta, the limbless woman; the contortionist Ahmed; conjoined twins Ella and Elvira; the hirsute Daniel; and Yuri, a magician with Albinism. They are also invited to another performance at a warehouse which Frankie learns is near the alley where she was found at age 10. 

At this event, Monsieur Duval reveals a sepia photo of the girl in Frankie's dream, a girl with ringlets, petticoats and skin like Frankie's, a girl named Frances, the only name Frankie knew when she'd been found in the alley. Then, Frankie is asked if she'd like to join them.

Frankie, with Kris and Max's help, tries to piece together what is happening but, with few people in her life who can give her answers or whom she can trust, it's a struggle for Frankie. Coupled with her dreams which are getting more and more elaborate, and include many of the performers at Monsieur Duval's side show, Frankie learns her place, and that of the others, in Frances's story. But shocking of all is what they want of her.

It's clear from the onset of The Life and Deaths of Frankie D. that there are many layers to Frankie's story and it's this deep mystery of who Frankie D. (D. for Doe) is that grips the reader. Colleen Nelson draws us in and it's impossible to step back from the question of Frankie's story, whether it's before she appears at age 10 or how she is connected to Frances, Monsieur Duval and the others. Her story is layered with the past and the present, and even the future, and then infused with other layers of trust and abuse and bullying and friendship. Fortunately, Colleen Nelson, who is a master in getting into the heads of young people dealing with trauma (check out Blood Brothers (2017), Finding Hope (2016) and The Fall (2013) as three superb examples of this), keeps Frankie's voice authentic, strong when needed, confused when vulnerable, and always real. Colleen Nelson doesn't do platitudes about being resilient ("Being resilient doesn't mean you're going to be okay. It just means you don't give up." pg. 134) or winning over the bullies (there are always bullies) or offer healing of Frankie's skin disorder. What she does so effectively is take the reader along with Frankie, as she dreams, finds her strengths, remembers and evaluates what is and what was, so that she might be able to have a what-will-be. Colleen Nelson makes us care, and shows us that we can be hopeful that Frankie will get the life she deserves, unencumbered by those who deem to use her to get the lives they desire.

☥🎪☥🎪☥🎪☥

An online book launch for The Life and Deaths of Frankie D., along with that for Deborah Kerbel's new middle-grade novel Like A Duck, takes place this Thursday, April 15, 2021. See details here.

The Boundless

by Kenneth Oppel

HarperCollins Canada

978-1-443410328 

336 pp.

Ages 10-16

April, 2014

"ALL ABOARD... The Boundless for a mesmerizing adventure of historical proportions, with death-defying leaps of faith, Sasquatch encounters, illusions of the fourth dimension and murderous employees looking for the gold after death.  Leaving now for its first journey. Get on board now to be one of the first to enjoy this newest series by award-winning author Kenneth Oppel."

Life changes for Will Everett and his family after Will helps in the hammering of the last spike of the CPR railway in British Columbia and his father saves the life of Cornelius Van Horne, president of the CPR, in an avalanche.  Three years later James Everett is in charge of the Boundless, the seven-mile long train of spectacular design created by Van Horne, who is now ensconced in a secured and guarded funeral car near the front of the train.  And, on its maiden voyage, Will is enjoying the amenities of first class and looking to reacquaint himself with a young wirewalker/escape artist, Maren, travelling with Zirkus Dante, the circus of Mr. Dorian, the man who'd captured a young sasquatch after that avalanche years earlier.

Beyond the incredible opportunity of travelling on the longest and most powerful train in the world, essentially pulling a city of nine hundred and eighty-seven cars, Will enjoys the opportunity to experience the towns of vendors that arise to service the train's passengers, the wilds of the Canadian landscape with its supernatural creatures including the muskeg hag, the Wendigo and the sasquatch, and convince his father that he should be allowed to attend art school in San Francisco.  But Will places himself in a dangerous position when, at a stop, he recovers a key dropped by the funeral car's guard moments before the man is stabbed by a man Will recognizes.  Barely catching the caboose at the end of the train, Will must use all his skills and wits and trust a few new friends if he is to stay alive and find his way back to his father in the locomotive.

The Boundless is an endless adventure of hopping train cars, outsmarting murderous fiends, marvelling at unforeseen inventions, surviving encounters with mythical creatures and trusting some and not others, including a first love.  Never does Kenneth Oppel make you believe that Will can easily survive this drama.  Readers will be holding their breaths wondering which fall will kill Will or leave him in the Boundless' wake. Or whether Mr. Dorian's plan will save him or put others in jeopardy.  Or whether every brakeman on the Boundless is a threat.  Or whether Will's father, miles away at the front of the train, knows anything of the goings-on in the funeral car and beyond.  And I'll be surprised if you don't start wondering which pieces of Canadian history are valid and accurate. Cornelius Van Horne, Sam Steele, Simon Fraser and Donald Smith and others make appearances in The Boundless, though they are legitimate characters who helped in the making of our nation.  But what of the golden spike?

Yep.  The Boundless has all that and more. And only reading Kenneth Oppel's newest steampunk will allow you some opportunity to answer those questions or at least make an attempt at it. So get on board with reading The Boundless, a phenomenon of engineering and text, courtesy of the imagination and pen of one of Canada's finest writers for young people. 

The Circus Dogs of Prague: Guest Post Review

by Rachelle Delaney

Puffin Canada

978-0-14-318416-4

192 pp.

Ages 8+

April 2014

The following review has been submitted by Claire, a Grade 5 student, who read the advance reading copy of The Circus Dogs of Prague, just after reading the first book in this series, The Metro Dogs of Moscow as part of the Silver Birch Fiction reading program of the Ontario Library Association.

The Circus Dogs of Prague starts out with JR, the Jack Russell from The Metro Dogs of Moscow, going with his human, George, and George's girlfriend, Nadya, on a plane to Prague to see Nadya's family and the Circus Sergei.  Also travelling with them are JR's dog friends Beatrix, Robert and Pie and George's human friend, John.  When they arrive, they go to the apartment Nadya's brother Niko found for them.  When JR, Pie, Robert and Beatrix see some cats, and chase them next door, Nadya and George get mad.  Nadya wants to adopt one of the cats, naming it Kisa, although all the dogs except for Pie don't like it one bit.  Kisa is a stray and they have lots of them in Prague.

One night, Pie goes missing and JR wakes everyone up to search for him, but there isn't a clue.  They do find a note that says something about going to the circus so JR, Beatrix and Robert go there and have to bust down a locked door to find Pie with the other circus animals.  Pie wants to read a poem in the circus.  Robert convinces Pie to come home but JR senses something wrong with the animals.  He learns that none of the circus animals want to do what they are doing so JR knows that he must do something to help with all the help from the stray dogs of Moscow.   JR also learns that another circus called Circus Magnificus is stealing performers from Circus Sergei.  JR knows that Kisa is their only hope.

I really loved the new book The Circus Dogs of Prague.  The first book The Metro Dogs of Moscow was really enjoyable too.  My favourite part of The Circus Dogs of Prague was when JR and Kisa made up to each other and promised to work together to save the circus.  Everyone thinks that dogs and cats are not supposed to have anything to do with each other, like JR's embassy friends who wanted to bite Nadya for adopting Kisa.

Enjoy the book!

by Claire
Grade 5