Saldin,
Erin The Girls of No Return Arthur Levine Bks see Scholastic Books 2012 345p $17.99 978-0-545-31026-0 hs VG Realistic
Fiction
Lida’s father and stepmother hope their
daughter will find a path to emotional health and acceptance of her biological
mother’s abandonment at a wilderness camp in the mountains of Idaho.
Although the title of this book leads the
reader to think that something quite dramatic will happen by the climax, what
actually transpires is more realistic. The story concerns
relationships between girls who have been hurt, girls who have not grown up on
a lily pad, protected from life’s trauma by parents or friends.
By the time Lida arrives at the Alice
Marshall School for Girls, she knows that she can no longer function at home with her
dad and stepmother and that this is her last recourse. Other girls attend the school for various reasons, called their "Thing": drugs,
alcohol, minor offenses against society, or major offenses such as those
that have been perpetrated by Boone, one of Lida’s
bunkmates. As the author develops Lida's relationships with
Boone, the lovely Gia, and her camp counselors, Saldin demonstrates that Lida
is saddled with incredible feelings of inadequacy. Boone
offers her real friendship; instead, even though Lida senses that Boone is the
real deal, Lida seeks out Gia with whom she has developed an infatuation. The irony is that Lida is anything but
inadequate. She possesses an innate
ability to navigate the woods and mountains of the Wilderness Area, she is
sought out by her bunkmates as a confidante, and she is the "chosen one" for Gia, whose reasons for attendance at Alice
Marshall remain a secret.
The climax, which involves an
inevitable struggle among the three girls, is bold and believable. Saldin ably leads the reader through the story with a narrative
style that is interesting and characters that are unique. However, there are questions that will plague
the reader who is looking for a seamless plot.
For example, why would parents send their daughters to a camp/school where
there is the potential for violence? How
is Boone able to escape for periods of time into the mountains with no
accountability? What did Gia do that
made her a candidate for the school? Who
would send girls with significant emotional problems out into the wilderness
for a night alone? How can a girl be an
accessory to a crime and not experience serious consequences through the criminal
justice system? If the reader can get past these
questions, she will find a book about troubled girls that feels authentic.
Martha Squaresky Friendship, School
Stories
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