Thornhill

Smy, Pam. Thornhill. 2017. 533p. ISBN 978-1-62672-654-3. Available at FIC SMY on the library shelves.

It is 2016, and Ella and her father just moved to Midchester, in a house abutting the extensive grounds of an abandoned orphanage named Thornhill. Her father works a lot, and Ella often finds herself at home alone. She doesn’t know anyone in town, so she spends a lot of time looking out her window at the ruins that is Thornhill. When she spots a light in the top floor, Ella is curious. Who lives there?

In 1982, Mary is an orphan who lives in Thornhill. Suffering from selective mutism, Mary has no friends and spends most of her time in her top floor bedroom, creating masterful puppets out of fabric and clay. These are her true friends. Unfortunately for Mary, a bully she thought had been adopted for good has been returned to the orphanage for poor behavior. This unnamed bully has been harassing Mary and turning all of the other girls against her. When she was here Mary could not sleep at night and had to watch her every step. Now that she’s returning, Mary confides in her diary that she will never have a moment’s peace.

As Ella investigate the property next door, she finds old broken dolls. She begins fixing them, and eventually she meets Mary. Then Ella discovers that Mary died at Thornhill back in 1982. Mary, meanwhile, tries to deal with her bully but the conditions at the orphanage grow worse as kids are adopted out and the facility readies for closing. When Mary discovers that she and her bully will become roommates in a new institution, it is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. She needs to take matters into her own hands. Will present-day Ella assuages past Mary’s ghost and become her friend?

Mary’s perspective is told through a diary, while Ella’s view is presented through images only. The two stories combine in a beautifully written sad tale of bullying and its consequences.

Felix Yz

Bunker, Lisa. Felix Yz. 2017. 282p. ISBN 978-0-425-28850-4. Available at FIC BUN on the library shelves.

Felix Yz (pronounced Is) was spending quality time with his father in his cutting edge laboratory when something went horribly wrong. During an experiment, a rift to the fourth dimension was opened, and an entity fused itself with Felix, provoking intense physical pain and modifying his genetic make up. His father was killed, and Felix was never the same again.

Now thirteen-year-old, Felix does not remember a time before the presence of Zyx, as the family has called the creature. Extremely intelligent and friendly, Zyx can easily communicate with Felix in his mind, but he can only express himself to the outside world through seizures or by using a keyboard to type messages. Zyx’s existence is known to only a few people, and must remain a secret to prevent government agencies from hearing about this new being.

The laboratory where the experiment took place has been rebuilt, and scientists have been working hard on finding a way to separate both entities. Knowing full well that there is a risk he could die during the separation, Felix is nevertheless willing to go through it. He will miss Zyx, but he’s ready to live the rest of his life without another presence in his mind.

So the countdown begins to the Procedure. With only thirty days left, Felix has to prepare for the worst as he hopes for the best. Family truths will be revealed, his interest in another boy explored, he will play chess against a Grandmaster, and he will experience a hint of the fourth dimension where Zyx lives. When it comes right down to it, what are the most important things in Felix’s life?

Written as a blog where Felix document the last thirty days of his life before the Procedure, his feelings and emotions are raw and uncensored. Fans of introspection will appreciate Felix’ outlook on life and his desire to live to the fullest despite his accident.

Nathan

Ouriou, Susan. Nathan. 2017. 151p. ISBN 978-0-88995-547-9. Available at FIC OUR on the library shelves.

Nathan’s life is changing. Grampa lost his wife last year to a heart attack, and his Alzheimer’s has progressed enough that he can’t live on his own anymore. Adam, the local bully, keeps on trying to hurt Nathan, and even steals his basketball. And, at ten, Nathan is once again heading back to school in the fall without a friend.

Despite his Alzheimer’s, Grampa brings to Nathan a connection to a heritage he didn’t know he had: Grampa’s mother was a member of the First Nations, but as an orphan she was placed in the Canadian residential school system where her culture and language were systematically eliminated. Kids’ heads were shaved, they couldn’t speak their language, and they were transported hundreds of miles away from home so they could never see their families. Nathan didn’t know any of this, and is happy to begin discovering where he came from.

Nathan also makes a new friend, who has just moved in the neighborhood. Max and Nathan have many things in common, one of which is being bullied by Adam who immediately begins chasing Max the first time he sees him. Max is also Jewish, and his people experienced the Holocaust. In a sense, both Nathan and Max’s ancestors suffered at the hands of people bent on exterminating them.

With Adam lurking and with Grampa getting worse, can Nathan learn enough about himself to develop the courage to stand up and be his own person?