 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||||
Satin Shoes
by Loreena M. Lee
Surrey, BC, Libros
Libertad Publishing Ltd., 2009, ISBN 978-0-9810735-4-5, 100 pp., $14.95,
softcover (Young Adult).
Satin Shoes, by Loreena Lee of Surrey, BC, is a combination historical/ghost story set in 1952 in a small logging town in the northern interior of British Columbia. The book opens with twelve-year-old Leanne and her family arriving at their new home. Her father has obtained a job at the mill and, after years of moving from job to job and town to town, has plans to settle here and build a new house. While the house is being built, the family will stay in "the old Johnson house" where, almost at once, Leanne begins to catch brief glimpses of what she realizes must be a ghost. An older neighbourhood woman, Dixie, with whom Leanne becomes friendly, tells her of the previous occupants, Eliza Johnson and her husband. Leanne comes to believe that the ghost is Eliza, still searching for something in the house, and unable to "pass on" until she finds whatever she seeks.Besides dealing with a ghost, Leanne has the usual problems of a girl her age--meeting new friends, adapting to a new school, helping care for her little sister, and arguing with her mother. The book's title comes from a pair of satin shoes that had been left in a box in the attic, and which Leanne presumes belonged to Eliza. Leanne wonders if that is what the ghost is searching for.
Scattered throughout the book are small, detailed drawings by the author. She also has some good descriptions, though perhaps they are aimed more at adult readers than children. For example: "The newly risen moon turned the dried grass of the meadow to silver and dimmed the diamond glitter of the stars." (66)
Although the story plot is a good one, and will probably interest readers aged 10-12, I felt that parts of the book, especially the first half, are written too much in the "tell me" rather than the "show me" format. More dialogue in the first half would have helped. There is also one jarring section where the viewpoint suddenly switches to that of Dixie. She is recalling the San Francisco earthquake, an event that could have been built up and made more exciting if presented in conversation with Leanne, and the viewpoint switch would thus have been avoided.
The book also needed more detailed proofreading. There are run-on sentences, and punctuation and capitalization errors. Again, it's the first half of the novel where this is most frequent. Children may not notice, but it detracts from the overall quality.
Satin Shoes is Loreena Lee's first novel, but she has previous literary publications. An accomplished artist, she has published books and videos on drawing and watercolour techniques, essays, a family biography and several short stories. She has taught art classes for 35 years, and had yearly exhibitions during that time. Now retired from teaching, she has decided to paint pictures with words. Her second novel, an adult story set in the 1920s, is already at the editing stage.
Donna Gamache is the author of Spruce Woods Adventure (Compascore Manitoba) as well as many short stories for both children and adults.