This book took me by surprise. At first the chopped sentences, 1-3 sentence chapters, and the not knowing who the main character was directing her story to, all had me really questioning if I could even finish the book. But by the time I got to chapter 8, I couldn't put it down because I had to know what happened to Lizzie and Matias and Uncle Davy!

This is not a traditional narrative. It's presented as the protagonist relaying a tale to some, initially unidentified, listener. Thus, she of ten speaks to the listener directly, telling the facts of events rather than putting the reader in the moment. The story unravels slowly, through somewhat dispassionately, and not in chronological order. We have escaped convicts and a child lost in the woods. It could be pulse pounding but instead its sort of quiet and contemplative.

So...it kind of leaves you at that.
Lizzie is spending the summer with her uncle at his renovated schoolhouse in the woods while her mother takes radiation pills for her cancer. She is excited to hang out with her uncle and her summer best friend Matias. Story alternates in time periods from the previous summer, to the current summer, to where Lizzie is now...which you figure out as the story goes along. The ending leaves you...wondering, hanging, dissatisfied? Something, like you still are trying to put together what happened I guess.

WILD BLUES by Beth Kephart is a middle grade novel filled with action and adventure in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. I like National Book Award finalist Kephart's writing (Undercover) and found myself anxious to return to this suspenseful book. I wanted to know what happened to thirteen year-old Lizzie and her friend Matias from El Salvador. The ending, though, felt abrupt and I needed more resolution.

In WILD BLUES Kephart has cleverly combined disparate elements including a prison break, a parent with cancer, art and painting, dwarfism, immigration, kidnapping, and an abundance of nature. However, the construction of the novel – Lizzie was reading an impact statement after the events – was a bit confusing and law enforcement, albeit portrayed through her eyes, were not shown as very competent. I did like the digressions about antiques which her Uncle Davy collected and the real-life excerpts from an actual wilderness survival guide: The Book of Camping and Woodcraft by Horace Kephart, the author’s great-grandfather. It seems that Lizzie and Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce would be great friends; both are well-intentioned and intrigued by science, but not always making the best choices. WILD BLUES received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly.

Link in live post: http://beth-kephart.blogspot.com/2011/04/kephart-abilia-horace-kephart-days.html

The Adirondack Park, a protected park in the U.S. state of New York, is absolutely gorgeous. A great area to view the fall colors, go hiking, explore caves, enjoy rivers and streams as well as the abundance of wildlife. It is also a place you don’t want to get lost!

Lizzie favorite place to be is at her Uncle Davy’s cabin on the outskirts of the Adirondack Mountains. Nestled in and secluded, this is where she will spend her summer. Away from home, away from her mother who has cancer, away from her father who left them. Only her uncle, her best friend Matias, her writing and reading. Nothing stands in the way of a great summer to forget her troubles.

Every day Lizzie and Matias head out to their favorite spot in the woods to paint and pass the time. Matias has proportionate dwarfism and is from San Salvador. Despite his crutches, he gets along well and lets nothing stand in his way. He spends lots of times talking to Lizzie about his country and brings pupusas to share. A traditional Salvadoran dish of a thick corn tortilla stuffed with a savory filling.

One morning, Matias does not show. Confused she searches for him without any luck. As she tries to get back to her uncle, she notices that he is missing as well. There is but one thing she must do now…be brave and find her friend who won’t be able to get around well in the woods in his condition.



***



This is a lovely read. Very lyrical and poetic in structure and style. Lizzie’s thoughts, fears and wonders of the world are expressed amazingly deep. She has so much to process and understand about her parents and the different world her friend comes from. The reader is taken on her journey of growth and understanding, a way of a coming of age.



I did like the description of the beautiful surroundings that this takes place in. I am not sure if a middle grader can perhaps appreciate or enjoy the prose and depth of Lizzie's thought process this well yet. For that, I think, it would definitely make a great literary read as a class project to learn of San Salvador, the Adirondacks Mountains and explore about dwarfism and difficult family dynamics.