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family dynamics
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From: Jonathan Hunt <jhunt24>
Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2002 00:53:50 +0000
I like how Steven Engelfried prefaced his remarks on Hilary McKay: that families are diverse not merely in terms of their structure, but also (and perhaps even more importantly) in terms of their dynamics. With that said, here are some thoughts on recent books . . .
GINGERBREAD by Rachel Cohn and POSTCARDS FROM NO MAN'S LAND by Aidan Chambers make an unlikely pair, but both feature protagonists who meet the other side of the family they never knew they had: Cyd meeting her biological father and half-siblings in NYC and Jacob meeting his grandfather's wartime mistress and family in the Netherlands. Even though both meetings take place well into adolescence there seems to be genuine bonds here and that's very heartening.
The dysfunctional family in THE ART OF KEEPING COOL was fascinating and Janet Taylor Lisle has presented another one in HOW I BECAME A WRITER AND OGGIE LEARNED TO DRIVE. Someone mentioned Katherine Paterson's wonderful SAME STUFF AS STARS earlier, and I think there is a little bit of Angel Morgan in Archie Jones, as both seem to assume too much of the responsibility for raising their younger sibling. Archie's parents are getting a divorce and to complicate matters his father's new girlfriend is now pregnant (although the domestic situation is just one of three different plot strands).
Would it be fair to say we're in a post-divorce era as far as images of family are concerned? Where stories now feature not just divorce, but moving beyond that, blended families created through remarriage. Where adults are presented as flawed people and their sexual misconduct is dealt with frankly. I won't even begin to discuss other books I can name off the top of my head (SILENT TO THE BONE, WHEN DAD KILLED MOM . . .), but it really is amazing how resilient children are and how powerful the need for family is that they can adapt to any family structure, alternative or traditional, extended or nuclear, or how they can create their own family if need be.
THE LIGHTKEEPER'S DAUGHTER by Iain Lawrence and THURSDAY'S CHILD by Sonya Hartnett both feature extremely complex family dynamics, too complex to even begin to dissect here . . .
WHAT WOULD JOEY DO? DILLON DILLON. A CORNER OF THE UNIVERSE. THE HOUSE OF THE SCORPION. CORALINE. It's just impossible not to read books and not think about this theme . . .
Jonathan
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Received on Thu 14 Nov 2002 06:53:50 PM CST
Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2002 00:53:50 +0000
I like how Steven Engelfried prefaced his remarks on Hilary McKay: that families are diverse not merely in terms of their structure, but also (and perhaps even more importantly) in terms of their dynamics. With that said, here are some thoughts on recent books . . .
GINGERBREAD by Rachel Cohn and POSTCARDS FROM NO MAN'S LAND by Aidan Chambers make an unlikely pair, but both feature protagonists who meet the other side of the family they never knew they had: Cyd meeting her biological father and half-siblings in NYC and Jacob meeting his grandfather's wartime mistress and family in the Netherlands. Even though both meetings take place well into adolescence there seems to be genuine bonds here and that's very heartening.
The dysfunctional family in THE ART OF KEEPING COOL was fascinating and Janet Taylor Lisle has presented another one in HOW I BECAME A WRITER AND OGGIE LEARNED TO DRIVE. Someone mentioned Katherine Paterson's wonderful SAME STUFF AS STARS earlier, and I think there is a little bit of Angel Morgan in Archie Jones, as both seem to assume too much of the responsibility for raising their younger sibling. Archie's parents are getting a divorce and to complicate matters his father's new girlfriend is now pregnant (although the domestic situation is just one of three different plot strands).
Would it be fair to say we're in a post-divorce era as far as images of family are concerned? Where stories now feature not just divorce, but moving beyond that, blended families created through remarriage. Where adults are presented as flawed people and their sexual misconduct is dealt with frankly. I won't even begin to discuss other books I can name off the top of my head (SILENT TO THE BONE, WHEN DAD KILLED MOM . . .), but it really is amazing how resilient children are and how powerful the need for family is that they can adapt to any family structure, alternative or traditional, extended or nuclear, or how they can create their own family if need be.
THE LIGHTKEEPER'S DAUGHTER by Iain Lawrence and THURSDAY'S CHILD by Sonya Hartnett both feature extremely complex family dynamics, too complex to even begin to dissect here . . .
WHAT WOULD JOEY DO? DILLON DILLON. A CORNER OF THE UNIVERSE. THE HOUSE OF THE SCORPION. CORALINE. It's just impossible not to read books and not think about this theme . . .
Jonathan
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Received on Thu 14 Nov 2002 06:53:50 PM CST
