Journal Entry 1 by MissQ from Fredericton, New Brunswick Canada on Tuesday, December 07, 2004

This is my January Book Club pick! I've heard good things.

About the story:

A 16-year-old rebels against the conventions of her strict Mennonite community and tries to come to terms with the collapse of her family in this insightful, irreverent coming-of-age novel. In bleak rural Manitoba, Nomi longs for her older sister, Tash ("she was so earmarked for damnation it wasn't even funny"), and mother, Trudie, each of whom has recently fled fundamentalist Christianity and their town. Her gentle, uncommunicative father, Ray, isn't much of a sounding board as Nomi plunges into bittersweet memory and grapples with teenage life in a "kind of a cult with pretend connections to some normal earthly conventions." Once a "curious, hopeful child" Nomi now relies on biting humor as her life spins out of control—she stops attending school, shaves her head and wanders around in a marijuana-induced haze—while Ray sells off most of their furniture, escapes on all-night drives and increasingly withdraws into himself. Still, she and Ray are linked in a tender, if fragile, partnership as each slips into despair. Though the narration occasionally unravels into distracting stream of consciousness, the unsentimental prose and the poignant character interactions sustain reader interest. Bold, tender and intelligent, this is a clear-eyed exploration of belief and belonging, and the irresistible urge to escape both. 

Journal Entry 2 by MissQ from Fredericton, New Brunswick Canada on Sunday, January 16, 2005

Finished this off a couple of days ago. It was an interesting, quick read. To be honest, I don't quite see what all the fuss is about though (again!). This is becoming a trend with me...maybe I should stop reading books that are really hyped or try to ignore the hype :-)

I did enjoy the story of Nomi and her struggles growing up in a Mennonite community in Manitoba. It was interesting to learn more about the Mennonites (I had always assumed they were more similar to the Amish but it turns out their rules are a little less strict when it comes to "modern" things). The depiction of the Mennonites was largely negative as Nomi finds herself going against much of what they believe in. It was kind of sad to see her so torn between rebelling and faithfulness to her father.

The book was told as story that I believe is Nomi's 12th grade project. I didn't really like this style as it was bits and pieces of her life with no quotation marks for speech or anything. It could be a little confusing at times. I guess this would be somewhat of a stream-of-consciousness novel? Not exactly but that's what it reminded me of.

All in all, it had its good points and its bad points. Should make for an interesting Book Club discussion.