MARVELOUS MIDDLE GRADE MONDAY
Jacob Have I Loved
by Katherine Paterson
Somewhere at a book sale I got Jacob Have I Loved and it waited on my bookshelf until I ran out of
reading material. When I picked it up to read, I saw it was a Newbery Medal
winner by Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge
to Terabithia. I wondered about the title, but it is explained further on
in the book. This is a poignant and painful reminiscence by Sara Louise about
her childhood on Rass island in the Chesapeake Bay,
and her relationship with her twin, Caroline. The story is set during and after
the second World War.
Louise seems to always play second fiddle to her twin, the
beautiful, delicate, and talented Caroline. Louise would rather have been born
a boy so she could do a man’s job on the crab and oyster boat with her dad. She
has a friend, Call, and together they have the Captain, an older man recently
returned. Call and Louise catch crabs in her little skiff, help the Captain fix
up his old house, while Caroline gets music lessons. Caroline butts into Louise and
Call’s relationship with the Captain and it changes things. Later Caroline receives
a legacy from the Captain to continue her music lessons on the mainland.
Nothing seems to come easily to Louise. Even her grandmother
is a source of pain to her—taunting and spewing angry Bible verses at her. This book has one of the best descriptions of adolescent desire and it's pain and agony.
After
Caroline leaves to pursue music, Louise comes to realize that she can choose
her own life. She is also able to leave Rass Island, complete her education, and
find her own place in the world, separate from her sister. The ending is a poignant
coming full circle.
There’s so much in this story of pain, of wrongs that need
to be righted. It’s about coming of age and learning about desire and passion;
working hard, hoping and dreaming of a better life. It’s about how life treats
you harshly and yet you have to continue in spite of getting smacked down many
times. There’s so much of love and life in this story. It speaks to all of us
who have been the younger child, the forgotten child, the overlooked child, or the
child that never caused her parents a moment’s worry. It’s about coming into
your own. It’s truly a beautiful book, perhaps more for the older middle grade
readers.
More about Katherine Paterson at
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Tags:
Katherine Paterson, Jacob Have I Loved, Sara Louise, Caroline, Call, Captain, Rass Island, siblings, twins, family, dad, mom, grandmother, crabbing, oystering, boats, the Chesapeake, pain, love, change, growth
Penny, this book has long been one of my favorites. I'm glad you "happened upon it." There is no doubt about Katherine Patterson's talent, skill, and understanding of the human heart. I hope your review will draw in more people who have not yet read it. I've read it more than once.
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara, thanks for commenting. I was surprised I hadn't heard of it. I read some other reviews and one woman said she has to read it annually! I don't know if I could because of the pain there. Her description of awakening of adolescent feelings of desire and passion was the best I've ever read. I was a little troubled by the span of the book--nowadays I don't know if agents/editors would let a book with this kind of span be a middle grade book. But then I recalled the Epilogue in Harry Potter, so I guess you can. Thanks again, Penny
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