Mother Tongue
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Based on the shocking Beslan school siege in 2004, this is a brave and necessary story about grief, resilience, and finding your voice in the aftermath of tragedy. On the day she brings her sweet little sister, Nika, to school for the first time, eighteen-year-old Darya has already been taking care of her family for years. But a joyous September morning shifts in an instant when Darya’s rural Russian town is attacked by terrorists. While Darya manages to escape, Nika is one of hundreds of children taken hostage in the school in what stretches to a three-day siege and ends in violence. In the confusion and horror that follow, Darya and her family frantically scour hospitals and survivor lists in hopes that Nika has somehow survived. And as journalists and foreign aid workers descend on her small town, Darya is caught in the grip of grief and trauma, trying to recover her life and wondering if there is any hope for her future. From acclaimed author Julie Mayhew comes a difficult but powerful narrative about pain, purpose, and healing in the wake of senseless terror.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Based on the 2004 terrorist act that killed scores of schoolchildren in the town of Beslan, Russia, Mayhew's novel details the trauma that overwhelms the community. Darya, 18, has served as mother to her beloved seven-year-old sister, Nika, ever since their own mother took to her bed following Nika's birth. Nika's first day of school is interrupted by shootings and the students being taken hostage as Darya and other family members regard the violence with disbelieving fright. The tragedy rouses Darya's mother, adding to Darya's shock as she's supplanted in her role as grieving caregiver. By the time Nika's body is found, media and charities have descended on the devastated town, bringing a glimpse of the outside world to Darya and instilling a dream of escaping her sorrow. In exchange for her story, an American journalist teaches her English and facilitates her journey to Moscow, and Darya falls in love with him. Mayhew (The Big Lie) constructs a vividly detailed Russian world in Darya's stifling countryside town and in her experience of cosmopolitan confusion and solitude in Moscow. Darya's self-honesty and resilience as she learns to survive the unbearable creates a raw, compelling read. Ages 14 up.
