These Gentle Wounds

April 1, 2014
The sole survivor of an incident in which his mother drove herself and four children into a river, high school sophomore Gordie copes with the aftereffects of trauma. It's been five years since That Day. Gordie is a successful hockey goalie but still has nightmares, hand spasms and self-soothing rituals he calls "spins." He is certain that everyone at school knows what happened to his family and believes Gordie is a damaged freak. When Gordie's violent father, who left after the incident, reaches out to Gordie through Child and Family Services, Gordie is sent reeling. The portrayals of Gordie's fears and coping strategies are adequate, but every element of the story echoes the legions of teen novels about young people dealing with similar tragedies. A tear falls wetly onto a hand. A traumatic event is referred to with Ominous Capitals. A cute, compassionate girl with a quirky hobby takes an interest. The protagonist blames himself for what happened only to discover later that no one else believes he is at fault. Although the relationship between Gordie and his protective older brother, Kevin, is compellingly multilayered, Sarah, Gordie's love interest, feels more like a plot device than a person. Though competently enough written, it fails to distinguish itself. (Fiction. 12-16)

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May 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-Gordie has spent his formative years in an abusive home. One morning while his half-brother, Kevin, is away visiting his own father, Gordie's mother drugs him and his other two siblings and drives into a river. He is the only one who escapes. The story begins five years after the incident, and the protagonist now lives with Kevin and Kevin's father. Gordie suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and struggles to live one day at a time. With the loving support of Kevin, he manages to keep his grades up, play on the school's hockey team, and meet a girl. While Gordie is trying to determine what "normal" is, his biological father comes back into his life-this time toting a younger son who shows all the signs of being abused. This rocks Gordie's world and brings him to the edge of reality where he has to decide to fight or flee. Dunbar's debut novel is a contemporary piece of fiction that realistically depicts PTSD from the perspective of a teenage boy. The young man's emotional episodes are seamlessly woven into the narrative, and the language is appropriate for the story's overall heft and emulates the vocabulary of typical young adults. The dark tone reflects the past that Gordie is struggling to overcome.-Jeni Tahaney, Duncanville High School Library, TX

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