|
Review by
Louella Moreland
Looking for a book that is a tad unusual? Do you like fairy tales with
witches, resourceful children, forests and cottages? Have you ever believed,
perhaps, that you don't really belong to this world or to the parents
raising you? Frances O'Roark Dowell's novel "Falling In" may be just the
right choice for your next read.
Isabelle Bean has never been like other children. She has never "fit."
Perhaps it is because her mother grew up in an orphanage. Perhaps it is
because her mother, who is raising her, has had no experience with children,
and her father left them when she was 3. Whatever the reason, Isabelle is
different. She has had rather bad luck with making friends and has decided
that being friendly doesn't work for her. The teachers at school roll their
eyes and often send her to the principal when they don't seem to know what
to do with her.
In fact, that is what happened the day Isabelle was hearing the buzzing
coming up from below her. On her way to the principal, though, she came
across an injured Charley Bender, who was on her the way to the nurse's
office. Since Charley had never really been mean to her, Isabelle offered to
help her there.
But while waiting for the nurse, Charley screams that she saw a mouse run
into the janitor's closet. As Isabelle enters the closet to investigate, the
door closes behind her. And she falls in. That's right. She falls into
another world. She doesn't feel scared. In fact, Isabelle becomes rather
excited to have an adventure. The buzzing was obviously coming from this
world, guiding her to it.
Isabelle finds herself in an old-fashioned village school where the
students believe she must be a witch. As she tries to convince them she is
not, she learns from the children that a witch comes every season to one of
the five villages to hunt down all children. This time it is Corrin's
season, and all the children from that village have left to hide out in the
camp or other towns.
[to top of second column] |
In Isabelle fashion, instead of heading toward the safety of the
camp, she heads straight toward the witch. After all, she has always
believed she was a changeling.
Isabelle not only finds the witch, Grete, but meets a girl, Hen,
on the way. The girls learn that Grete is not a witch, but a healer,
who does not eat children at all. As Isabelle begins to think of Hen
as a friend, Grete reveals a startling truth.
Dowell has woven both of Isabelle's worlds with details that
bring the reader into the thick of the story. We see the drabness of
the world above and the beauty of the world below. We understand
Isabelle's loneliness and desperation in wanting to be a part of a
society that has shunned her. But most of all, we reach into our own
hearts and minds and remember the desperate wishes that our
imaginations could almost make us believe were truths.
"Falling In" will not be a novel for all readers, just the ones
who wish for a journey that takes them on an adventure outside the
world in which they live until they are ready, as Isabelle was, to
fall out again.
To read this and other books in this genre, visit the Lincoln
Public Library at 725 Pekin St.
[Text copied from file received from
Louella Moreland,
Lincoln Public Library District]
(Ms. Lou's blog:
lincolnpubliclibraryupdates.blogspot.com) |
