Missing May by Cynthia Rylant

What a sad story! As I read this book about a girl, who's suffered so much loss in her life already, who's beloved aunt and guardian dies, I was struck over and over with the injustice of life. How is it that a child could face loss after loss and still keep going? Having read Rylant's memoir, But I'll Be Back Again, I was not surprised to see the parallels to Rylant's own life. While her story was very different, her experience of loss and her expectations of life after that loss were very similar. I wonder how universal the belief that the "happily ever after" is not for you is among those who suffer trajic losses in childhood. Summer refers again and again to her inability to believe everything will be ok just as Rylant says she would never learn that "it would be all right for me to have a house that smelled like chocolate-covered marshmallow cookies." (p. 32) Rylant suggests that "Children who suffer great loss often grow up believing deep inside that life is suppoed to be hard for them." (p. 54) I felt like this was a theme in Missing May. Summer marvels at Cletus's lack of concern about his parent's age and ailments, as she fights her doubts and fears about Ob's health. She just can't believe that it will all be ok. The innocence of childhood is so fragile. Once a child has seen the truth of loss and injustice, there is no going back. You can't recreate that innocence. But there is always hope - as Cinderella reminds us: it's never too late for happily ever after.

Messenger by Lois Lowery

After finishing The Giver, I had to read this book. Once again, Lowery's ability to pull the reader into the story and not let go kept me up late and gave me too much to think about. The story is of a boy who lives in Village with an old man who is blind named Seer. The name a person has reflects his position in the community and young Matty is very anxious to recieve the name Messesnger soon. But something is happening in Village. Something bad. People are changing and so is Forest - the woods around Village through which all who come must travel. Matty must get through Forest one more time to spread important news and bring back Seer's daughter.
As I read this book, so many thoughts were swimming through my head - things on the periphery of my consciousness. I knew that Forest symbolized something, as did Village. I was just too caught up in the story to figure out what they all meant. Today I am trying to work through my thoughts.
Village had always been a welcoming safehaven for those coming from other places where they had suffered. Everyone was committed to guiding newcomers through their past experiences and fears and helping them find an honorable place in Village. I hope everyone has a place or memory of a place like Village. Where you are safe and welcome and wanted. Where your success is celebrated and respected. That is what Village was. Forest was the buffer between Village and all of the other places people came from. Forest offered paths to and from Village, but it did not let everyone through at all times. Some were "chewed up and spit out" by her. In Forest, those like Matty were comfortable and confident while others were overtaken by fear and doubt. Once doubt crept into the mind, everything in the woods appeared to be reaching for you. Fear changed the gentle woods into a dark, frightening place. This is so true in life. We go into a situation we are unsure of and our approach makes it what it will be. If we chose to go in confident, there is nothing we can't do. But if even a hint of doubt is present, the whole expectation is changed. In Forest, as in life, one small doubt is a breeding ground for dozens more. It doesn't take long for us to feel "chewed up and spit out".
There is so much more to this story, but for now, my musings must end here. I highly recommend this story to anyone else who liked The Giver. I am off to get the last in the trilogy!

The Giver by Lois Lowery

I started reading this book, thinking I had lots of time to finish it and I could work my way through it throughout the week. But I couldn’t put it down. I had so many thoughts about it, I don’t even know what to focus on!
Imagine a life with no real meaning, no purpose except to do your job for the common good. Every year of your childhood planned out, protections in place so you cannot experience anything different than anyone else, and absolutely no emotion. What the heck is the point?
As I read, I thought about how this relates to life in the here and now. While our lives are still very emotional, there is a movement to make sure no child feels different – no one is excluded, regardless of ability or even interest. The tests given to our students do not honor their individuality, only some all-powerful set of standards. We try desperately to avoid pain and sorrow, wishing them away, wondering how we can overcome their presence in our lives – when, really, without them, there is no joy either.
My thoughts about The Giver were similar to my thoughts about the book Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (admittedly not a children’s book). In that book, the idea of everyone having the same resources and no one being better than anyone else is taken to its extreme. The result is terrifying. I felt the same with this book. While I’d like to say the idea of Sameness is “way out there”, I can’t. Isn’t that what we are striving toward? Be sure every child has the same academic experience (let’s face it, that’s a lot of years of standards!) and no one is ever left out, even if they want to be.
I think the reason I don’t like science fiction very much is that it is never quite far enough from the realm of possibility. It scares me to death!