Tag Archives: orphans

This Tender Land

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William Kent Krueger’s This Tender Land channels The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Odyssey in an endearing coming of age saga with Dickensian characters who are just as memorable as the heroes from David Copperfield or Oliver Twist.  Although the author adds an epilogue explaining how the four main characters finished their lives in old age, I was sorry to see them grow up, and will probably always remember them as the four young “Vagabonds” who escaped the clutches of evil and followed the river on a life-changing adventure during the Depression.

Ten year old Odie, short for Odysseus, a natural storyteller who also plays the harmonica, is the narrator.  He bands together with three other orphaned escapees from the Lincoln Indian Training School: Albert, his older brother; Mose, a mute Indian boy who had his tongue cut out; and Emmy, the beautiful curly headed six year old with a talent for changing the future, as they paddle in a canoe from Minnesota’s Gilead River to St. Louis on the Mississippi in search of a home.  They meet an array of well meaning characters, including a band of traveling faith healers, a few ornery swindlers and displaced families,  but the villain they are  constantly trying to escape is the headmistress of the school, a cruel and abusive personification of her nickname, the Black Witch.

Krueger follows these heroic children as they travel through Hoovervilles and shantytowns, farmlands and flooded river flats.They meet hobos and scammers, are imprisoned by a farmer, and befriended by Sister Eve of the Sword of Gideon Healing Crusade and Mother Beal, who shares what little food she has.

Like Odysseus, Odie finally makes it to Ithaca, but Kreuger offers a few surprises and a better ending than Homer’s tale.  Our hero finds hope and renewed faith in a compelling story of family and friendship.   I was sorry to come to the end of the book, and the characters, especially Odie, will stay with me for a while.

If you are looking for a book to discuss in a book club, William Kent Kruger’s This Tender Land offers a wealth of characters and plot lines in an easy to follow narrative.

Rooftoppers

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Do you play the cards you’re dealt or reshuffle the deck, hoping for a better deal? 9781442490581_p0_v3_s260x420In Katherine Rundell’s Rooftoppers a little girl refuses to believe her mother has drowned; her faith, courage, and determination are rewarded as she searches for her mother along the rooftops of Paris.

When a cruise ship sinks in the middle of the English Channel, Charles Maxim, passenger and scholar, rescues a red-haired baby afloat in a cello case. He names her Sophie and fights off the London social workers who would send her to an orphanage. On her twelfth birthday, after Charles is threatened with jail if he does not give Sophie to the authorities, Sophie discovers a plaque with a Parisian address inside the cello case. Convinced her mother is still alive, Sophie and Charles flee to Paris and the adventure begins.

With the help of Matteo and a small band of clever homeless children with street smarts, Sophie roams the rooftops of Paris, listening for the sounds of her mother’s cello and challenging authority . The adventure and the ending are improbable, impractical and wonderful.

Although targeted to middle schoolers, Rundell’s tale has those intelligent asides that adult readers will appreciate. As I read, I noted some of her astute phrases that I hope to use at an appropriate moment:

“I’m afraid, I understand books far more readily than I understand people. Books are so easy to get along with.”

“Money can make people inhuman. It is best to stay away from people who care too much about money, my darling. They are people with shoddy, flimsy brains.”

And, my favorite new word:

“A murmuration. When the sea and wind murmur in time with one other; like people laughing in private…”

Entertaining and clever – Rooftoppers can be enjoyed at any age.