I am not fond
of contemporary realistic fiction.
I sit here
and stare at that sentence. It is the absolute truth. Contemporary realistic
fiction bores me. Oh, there are a few that stand out – distinguish themselves
from the pack. They usually end up on the Caudill list. It might be humor that
makes the ordinary enjoyable. Or it might be an unusual situation that holds
the reader’s attention. With the most recent list of nominees, it was the point
of view, the unique narrator’s voice that added the twist.
This title
comes from the Bluestem Award list which in and of itself bores me. I find it
redundant. It covers a group of children that are already covered via the
Caudills and the Monarchs. However, the Caudills seem to be maturing right
along with the children who are reading them. The Monarchs are mostly picture
books which might seem babyish. And so we have a list that is “younger” than
the Caudills and “older” than the Monarchs, but draws further into past books and
also revisits old Caudills. Is it just that we have too many books being
published?
So, the
ordinary… Here we have another book about displaced children. Main character
Miguel and younger sister Juanita have moved from New York City to a small town
in Vermont following the divorce of their parents. What is nice… we are never
told why the parents divorced. This is not a subject that is ever broached. This
feels realistic for me. I never understood why my parents separated. I was too
young for such an adult subject. And any arguments never played out in front of
me. I don’t know how true this is for other children affected by divorce.
What I
identified with… a very colorful “aunt” who brightens up any room, any day and
can make any hurt feel better. Yes, I have my very own Tía Lola. I call her
Auntie Phyllis and she is not my aunt. She is my mom’s best friend from her
younger days – her first roommate after leaving home and heading for the big
city of Decatur. Auntie Phyllis has always been in my life and she has always
been a special treat to look forward to. She is unique and unusual. My best
description for her would be from the plaque hanging above her kitchen sink. “Only
dull people have immaculate houses.” You could get lost in her home from the
piles. So what I didn’t understand… Miguel is embarrassed by his bigger than
life aunt. He wants to pretend that she doesn’t exist. He hides her from his
potential friends.
Miguel is a
child trapped between two cultures. He is an American born of Dominican
immigrants. While his family lived in New York, he fit in. There was a substantial
Dominican presence. But he stands out in Vermont and his aunt makes their
family unforgettable. Tía Lola is the best thing Miguel has going for his
family and he cannot recognize it. He spends most of the book counting the
minutes until she leaves only to discover he is the one who asks her to stay.
If there is one
thing that I appreciated about the book, it was Tía Lola’s ability to
communicate easily and effectively with everyone, (save Miguel,) without having
even a basic knowledge of the English language. It shows that the spoken word
is only a fraction of language.
The Bluestem
Award is recommended for 3-5 graders. I’m just not enthralled by it.
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