Quaking

June 4, 2007
Erskine's debut juggles a number of hefty subjects and themes (religious faith, American patriotism, anti- and pro-war attitudes, bad parenting), but with mixed results. Fourteen-year-old Matilda (“Matt”) believes that “life is safer alone.” She has been unwillingly shuffled around distant family members' homes after being taken away from her abusive father, and is eventually sent to live with a Quaker couple, Jessica and Sam, and their disabled adopted son, Rory. Adjusting to her new life is tough, and sarcastic Matt doesn't make it any easier for her new, overprotective guardians. She's generally belligerent, dismissive of Rory and frequently antagonizes her pro-war World Civics teacher, whom she dubs Mr. Warhead (who “is so patriotic he is practically drooling red, white, and blue”). Amidst this “disaffected youth attempting to adjust to her new school and family” plotline, Erskine adds scenes involving Matt's introduction to Quakerism, a vicious school bully and the town's division over the war in the Middle East, but she doesn't always dig deep enough to flush out the questions that are raised. What happened to Matt's birth parents? Would a blatantly prowar teacher realistically be allowed to proselytize to his students in a public school setting? What does Matt really think about Quaker values? While thought-provoking at times, this story tries to cover a great deal of ground and might have fared better if the author focused on one or two main issues in greater depth. Ages 11-up.

July 1, 2007
Gr 8-10-Fourteen-year-old Matt, a survivor of family violence, has learned to withdraw, to make herself invisible to the Beasts of the world, and to run away from things she can't cope with. This notion is entirely counter to the philosophy of Sam and Jessica Fox, her latest foster parents, whose Quaker belief is to face the fire. Their caring and concern, both for Matt and for Rory, their other foster child, a severely disabled seven-year-old boy, begin to break down her resistance. As Matt is increasingly drawn into the family's life, she worries that Sam's peace activism puts him squarely in the path of a wave of violent vandalism in their community. Her own antiwar opinions about the Iraq conflict have led to trouble with a teacher, and she has drawn the attention of a school bully. The effect of this moving first-person story of a foster child slowly opening herself to family love is lessened by its heavy political message. The issues are interesting, the present-day Pennsylvania setting realistic, and the high school believable, but readers may find the picture of anti-pacifist violence (including a death at a demonstration in Washington) exaggerated."Kathleen Isaacs, Towson University, MD"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2007
"Families come in all varieties but with no warranties." Passed from one relative to another for years, Matt suppresses her feelings to avoid getting hurt. When she meets her latest caretakers, a Quaker couple with a severely disabled foster son, she barely speaks except for an occasional unpleasant utterance. Sam and Jessica, however, are kind and funny, patient with the aftereffects of her traumatic past (when Matt was six, her abusive father killed her mother). Gradually, Matt responds in small ways to their overtures, though at school she faces some frightening opponents. A bully targets her, even as she tries to remain invisible, and her war-mongering civics teacher is failing her for her "unpatriotic" views. Though hardly subtle, the ideas expressed on peace and violence are believable aspects of the characters. Jessica and Sam are active peace workers, and their Meeting House and other churches are attacked by a pro-war group. Aside from the one-dimensional teacher, most characters have fully fleshed-out personalities, and Matt's new family members are particularly affecting. With similarities to Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak -- Matt's sardonic commentary on high school, her wry wordplay ("I am not a Quaker...I am only quaking"), and parallels in storyline -- the novel will appeal to the same audience. When bighearted Sam is in danger, Matt completes her transformation from silent victim to empowered hero in a moving and satisfying ending.

(Copyright 2007 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)