Reviews for Seeking Shelter

The average rating for Seeking Shelter based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-07-11 00:00:00 Dennis Bell Dark Times is an intriguing anthology: there are 13 short stories in here that are targeted at the Young Adult audience and this anthology deals specifically with loss. Unlike The Worst Years of Your Life, this is an anthology that can be in any classroom grades 7 or up because there is no gratuitous sex, drug use, violence or content. These are stories about youth dealing with devastation and I have to applaud Ronsdale Press for taking a chance on an anthology that isn’t up and happy. The stories in here are timeless and important and great vehicles in any classroom to promote discussion about “Where do youth today put their grief?” “Snow Angel” by Carolyn Pogue is important because it deals with a family who adopts a girl, Elizabeth Ann, who has FAS and commits suicide in Yellowknife. Sad, yes, but it’s how the family copes together that gets a huge thumbs up from me. This story is gorgeous! In Lee Maracle’s “The Canoe” (and can I just say that this is my all time favourite short story of Lee’s?) a young narrator has to learn how to be his father’s son and his father has to learn to be a dad after they both lose the matriarch and lighthouse for their family. Ann Walsh does a great job of illuminating what it’s like to lose a grandmother to Alzheimer’s Disease from a granddaughter’s perspective in “All is Calm.” “Kick” by Betty Jane Hegerat is probably one of my favourite in the collection because the story is about how a victim of bullying copes with the confusion after the school bully, Will, dies suddenly in a vehicle accident with his family. I like this story becaue the author nails the confusion that comes with grief and mourning so perfectly at the end. “Sisters” by Sarah Ellis is about the magic of adopting elders in your life but it’s also about learning about death for the very first time. What a joy to read! “Explaining Andrew” by Gina Rozon is terrifying. The narrator has a brother with schizophrenia and it’s keeping her family hostage. There are no easy answers in this entire collection and this story nails how unfair life can be when a family member is lost to mental illness and the devastation it can bring—on all fronts. “Cold Snap” by Diana Aspin is told from Cassie’s point of view. She discovers, to her horror, that her father is having an affair with a girl who could very well be her age. Ugh! “the sign for heaven” by Carrie Mac is just so brutally sad it shaved five years off of my life. The story is about how our narrator, Della, questions the existence of God after she loses her deaf sister to pnemonia. Double ugh! “A Few Words for My Brother” by Alison Lohans is a testament to the confusion of having an adopted family member, Devon, with FAS who critically injures a friend and eternally wounds a sister after stealing a vehicle. The narrator, Hailey, tries to find peace with anything through the grief of it all and it’s just so sad!! “Dear Family--” by Donna Gamache is about the grief that comes after a mother abandons her family. Melinda, our narrator, travels to Vancouver to find out why her mother left so she can move on in her life as an emerging woman. “Dreams in a Pizza Box” by Libby Kennedy is a family’s story of two sisters and a mother who live in their car after getting evicted from their home and the terror of not having a home. “Hang On” by by Patricia McCowan is about Kevin and how he tries to find his way through the grief of Randy, his best friend, getting struck by a train right in front of him. “Balance Restored” by Jessie May Keller is about Alexandra coming to terms with the grief of losing Jake, her boyfriend, to a vehicle accident and the guilt that comes with trying to move on. I like what Ann Walsh says about the wish for all readers for this very important collection: “Perhaps this book will help others find their way out of the dark times and into the sunlight.” This anthology is a 5 out of 5 because it deals with the real stuff facing youth today. These stories are tough to read but elegantly told. Very powerful stuff!

Review # 2 was written on 2012-09-14 00:00:00 NATHAN BAGLE *Spoilers* I found this book while exploring our new library and I liked that it took place in a local area. There were a few unresolved aspects of the story such as what happened to the aunt and what the local guide's connection was to the time travelling. However, that might come up in subsequent books and I enjoyed reading it.