Reading Raves - PEARL by Jo Knowles
I've known Jo since the first March Novel Writing Retreat seven years ago, and I loved Jumping Off Swings, so I was eager to read Pearl when it came out last month.
I had an unusual experience when I first opened the book. The first page seemed so familiar, so did the second. Only when I finished the first chapter and moved on to the second did I find myself in unknown territory. I asked Jo if she had brought this manuscript to that Novel Writing Retreat and she said that it had been part of a First Page at the New England SCBWI conference years ago, but she didn't remember about the retreat. However, I can't think of any other place I would have remembered it from. That's how good Jo's writing is--it creates a lasting impression.
The same can be said for Pearl. I've thought about it often in the week since I read it.
For Readers:
Bean, whose birth name is Pearl, has had one true friend for the past eight years: Henry. They have a lot in common. Neither fits in with the other kids at school. Each is the child of a single mother. But while Henry lives alone with reclusive, soap-opera-fan mother, Bean lives with her mother and beloved grandfather, Gus. The only problem is, as much as Bean loves Gus and thinks Gus loves her, Gus and Bean's mom, Lexie, do not love each other. And then Gus dies, and things start to change, beginning with Lexie's friend, Claire, moving in.
Pearl is also set in a place we don't read about much, a back residential street in a former mill town. This is the sort of book that my daughter would have welcomed in her teens, because it's a place she's more familiar with than a suburb or a large city.
Filled with food and family, secrets and discoveries, Pearl lives up to its title. It's a great story, one that makes you want to hug the characters. It also feels so real that at the end, I was suprised to walk out my door and not be on Pearl's street.
For Writers:
For all this is a deeply felt, emotionally complex story, it is also incredibly tight.
The cast is small:
Pearl
Henry
Sally (Henry's mom)
Gus
Lexie
Claire
a neighor-acquaintance of Gus's
a convenience store clerk
The setting is equally restricted: Pearl's house, Henry's house, the street between, the river, the convenience store. This is small-town New England, with a polluted river and houses that have seen better days. It's not beautiful, but it is real.
The combination of small cast and restricted setting means that details carry carry extra significance. Like this: "Inside, I smell tomato sauce cooking. This is not a good sign. Whenever my mom is nervous or upset, she cooks." Let's just say, there's a fair amount of cooking in this story.
If you're looking for books that make a little do a lot, this is one for you.
It should also be added to your LGBTQ reading list.