For some reason, while books set in the lushly
warm California or the historical East Coast are fairly plentiful, stories
located in Minnesota – the Land of 10,000 Mosquitos and 10,000 Different Kinds
of Frostbite – are less common. This blog writer consequently gets very excited
to find resident authors who take great pains to work their home state into
their fiction. In his young adult novel Jemmy,
John Hassler uses his knowledge of Minnesota to tell the fascinating story of a
member of a rarely-mentioned minority group.
The
daughter of a Chippewa woman and an Irish house painter, Jemmy (short for
Gemstone) is a stoic and practical teenager used to being treated with
indifference or mockery due to her dual lineage. Her mother has been dead for a few
years and her alcoholic father now demands that she quit high school to take
care of her younger siblings. Jemmy resigns herself to her loss
of education, but her future takes an unexpected turn when sheltering from a
blizzard introduces her to Otis Chapman, an artist commissioned to paint a
mural of the legendary Maiden of Eagle Rock. Otis sees Jemmy as both a kindred
spirit and exactly the inspiration he needs for his work. Posing as his model
opens Jemmy’s eyes to the world of art and to possibilities for herself and her
relationships that she had never before considered.
One
of the most enjoyable aspects to this novel is Jemmy’s rich character. Neither
a histrionic heroine nor a surly, disaffected delinquent, she faces her
considerable difficulties with what can best be termed grace. The ultimate
message this story offers is also valuable: while learning to appreciate the
lives of her father, Otis Chapman, and the Maiden of Eagle Rock, she recognizes
the need to make her own choices that will lead her to her own unique future. This
is a wonderful story to read if facing personal difficulties or if seeking to
be inspired by an engaging story of hard-won strength.
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