The Keening
-
- $10.99
-
- $10.99
Publisher Description
“In my fourteenth year the influenza infected my whole world. . . . Seems as though just as the Great War came to a close, the folks of Downeast Maine set to fighting a war of their own.”
Born into an artistic and eccentric family, Lyza laments that her only talent is carving letters into wood. At least, that is, until the devastating loss of her mother to influenza during the pandemic of 1918. The illness has settled on their small coastal town in Maine, and the funeral marches pass Lyza’s house almost daily. When her unconventional father begins to prepare for the return of his dead wife, Lyza is the only one to protect him from being committed to a nearby work farm. Awash with grief and longing for her mother, Lyza journeys into the thin territory that divides the living from the dead.
Relying on her courage and an undiscovered talent, Lyza must save her father and find her own path. From the celebrated author of Worth, this is a powerful story of love that persists beyond the grave.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in northern Maine in 1918, the year of the influenza pandemic, LaFaye's (Water Steps) compact novel is infused with the spirit of death. Fourteen-year-old Lyza's parents have raised her in an unconventional manner; the family sleeps and eats to its own rhythms. Pater, while mentally unbalanced, is a gifted sculptor, and Mater plays the cello, bakes, and sews beautifully. Lyza deeply loves her family and home in their small coastal town The comforts of it had soaked in soul deep.... sights like our house standing on the high grass plain between the glen of sugar maples and the forest made me feel safe but yearns for a talent of her own. Early on, Mater succumbs to influenza, and Lyza must confront her fear of travel to fight relatives who want to have Pater committed. During her journey to get help, she discovers her singular gift. LaFaye explores the thin line between artistry and mental illness and offers visions of dead spirits in darkly lyrical language that makes for a powerful and unsettling book, best appreciated by older preteens and teens. Ages 8 13.
