A moving portrait of loss and the restorative power of art from Lauren Wolk, the Newbery Honor-winning author of Beyond the Bright Sea.
Lucretia Sanderson has a secret.
Lucretia and her mother have come to tiny Candle Island, Maine (Population: Summer, 986; Winter, 315) to escape—escape memories of the car accident that killed her father and escape the journalists that hound her mother, a famous and reclusive artist. The rocky coast and ocean breeze are a welcome respite for Lucretia, who dedicates her summer days to painting, exploring the island, and caring for an orphaned osprey chick.
But Candle Island has secrets of its own—a hidden room in her new house, a mysterious boy with a beautiful voice—and just like the strong tides that surround the shores, they will catch Lucretia in their wake.
With an unforgettable New England setting and a complex web of relationships old and new, Candle Island is a powerful story about art, loss, and the power of being true to your own voice.---from the publisher
352 pages 978-0593698549 Ages 10 and up
Keywords: grief, loss, island, art, believing in yourself, trusting yourself, friendship, first person voice, trauma, healing, main character female, mother/daughter, 10 year old, 11 year old, 12 year old, 13 year old, 14 year old
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Yes, this is a book about a girl named Lucretia Sanderson and her mother Eliza Sanderson. They have come to an island off the coast of Maine to begin again after Lucretia's father was killed in a car accident on black ice and also, after the Sandersons sold a painting to the First Lady which made them a hot item. They fled to find privacy and space to heal from their loss. That's the set up.
When they get to Candle Island and are getting off the ferry, they encounter some of the island kids who live there year round and who aren't very keen on the off-islanders who come for the summer. The rift is made even worse for Lucretia and her mom because they have bought a house that once was the home of a family with a lot of relatives nearby. In fact, the girl who used to live there is still on the island and goes by the name of Murdock.
You know, I worry that our kids are not willing to give a book like this a chance anymore. There are no superheroes in capes and it's not a graphic novel and there is no middle school kid who is trying to figure out how to come of age. Nope, but this one, that builds slowly and takes us one step at a time toward understanding the three main characters, this one will end up having a more powerful journey than any of those others.
As Lucretia and her mom settle in, Lucretia begins to explore the forest and beach near their house. That's where she hears the sound of someone singing - singing like she has never heard before. It's also where Lucretia will discover a small bird covered in ants and she will take him home to the barn where her horse, Hog, lives, and she will make him a sling and she will feed him haddock and tuna to bring him back to life.
You waiting for the big moment when the enemy attacks? Oh, it's gonna come. You know, there are always those people who live in darkness and they can't stand the people who hold onto the light.
The boy who sings is Bastian. The girl who used to live in the Sanderson's new home is Murdock. The girl who paints in the barn is Lucretia. Lucretia who is finding out she can become someone new with every new experience and every new person she meets. Lucretia who wakes at night in the middle of a dream of fire. Lucretia who has a secret.
Lucretia is healing. Lucretia is also getting comfortable with changing. The Sanderson family believes you get to be you and it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. Pretty good in this day of "likes" and "reels."
Lucretia's secret is going to come out amidst the gentle relationship mother and daughter have forged and amidst the conflicts between wounded people who don't trust others yet.
But, man oh man, when you get to the end of this book that has stealthily captured the child inside you, get the tissue box. it's one of the most powerful stories I've read in a long, long time. This one has that "arrow to the heart" quality that will open up your own identity, that you that you don't want others to see yet, and find those young, worried places that wish they could be more and having done that, it will give you a gift you never, ever expected.
It's a quiet, step by step journey. It's going to build slowly through an appreciation of the magic and wonder of being alive; the magic and wonder of being a human being; and best of all the magic and wonder of being a precious child.
The truth is children are wonderful. The truth is they deserve a childhood. The truth is they get to be themselves and "get" that they are amazing as they are.
They live in a world of baby birds who grow up to love and horses who trust and other people who hurt and laugh. Strawberry pie and grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon and grapes can belong to anybody.
How do you let go of someone or something that means everything to you? How do you accept the mistakes parents make that can change your world for ever? How do you learn to build your life out of the love you have and the power you have to help a small bird or a hurt friend?
Life hands the kids in this book some real gut punches. That happens to the kids who read this book too. It's a powerful thing to read the voice of someone else who is feeling that deep pain, that unacceptable betrayal, that slam into injustice. But, you know, when you discover there is someone out there - an author- who really gets how you feel, well, that is a healing moment. It's so good not to be so alone. It's so good to know you have the same hope as Lucretia, Murdock and Bastian.
I am hoping, hoping so much, that teachers will choose this book to read aloud to their class. Each chapter will open up some questions that need to be answered. Each chapter will give the young listeners a mirror for themselves.
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
