BOOKS

Dayton resident Roslyn Edwards is well known in the Touchet Valley as a terrific actress and great supporter of local live theater.

Roslyn doesn't know a stranger and is one of my favorite book friends. It doesn't matter where we meet or how long we have to chat, the topic of books - what we're reading or have recently read - always comes up. She usually has two or three books going at one time and isn't afraid to try different genres.

As librarian at Dayton Elementary School for the past 15 years, Roslyn gets to share her love of reading with young people every day. Roslyn agreed to recom- mend a couple of her current favorites to readers of The Times.

- Tanya Patton, book re- view editor.

Two Young Adult Favorites

By Roslyn Edwards

I am part of a small under- ground group of adults who love children's fic- tion. We find each other through coded conversation, whispering to each other about our latest book trea- sure. I am not embarrassed about this, but the new ones seem to be.

My childhood librarian was always trying to move me "up" to the more adult reading. I was 13 years old and quite content to stay where I was. I am 63 now, and still very hap- py here. Even though I do read adult fiction, my favorite genre is young adult historical fic- tion, especially World War II and pioneer settings. I am also drawn to good stories of brave young women, told in first person.

"So B. It", by Sarah Weeks was recommended to me by one of our clandestine club members. I stayed up half the night last Saturday finishing it, and find my mind drifting to Heidi, the main character, every day since. "So B. It" is told in first person through the voice of Heidi, a 12 year old who is being raised by a brain-damaged mother and a neighbor woman, Berna- dette.

Twelve years earlier, the mother and newborn myste- riously land at Bernadette's apartment, and she takes them in. Through the years, she is the one who raises them both, as the mother has a vocabulary of about only 20 words. Bernadette, however, suffers from ago- raphobia and as Heidi matures, it is she who runs the errands and finds that there is an outside world. Soon she questions who her mother is, how they got there, and what "soof" means.

Her courage, luck and humor, as she travels back east on a bus to find her roots, is astounding. I laughed when she laughed, and cried when she cried. And in the end I, like Heidi, wondered if finding your past is really worth it.

Ms. Weeks is an amazing writer. I love her style and the intimacy she quickly cre- ates. And I felt a bond with the characters almost immediately. She is not afraid to deal with the seasons of the heart. I am frustrated that this book did not receive any literary awards. It is truly worthy. I give it one.

"The Evolution of Cal- purnia Tate", by Jacqueline Kelly (Newbery Honor 2010) takes place in Texas in 1899. Calpurnia is a spirited young woman of 11 who chafes at the constraints placed upon girls of that time period. Looming in her near future are corsets, cooking and sew- ing, the latter two of which she is absolutely terrible at.

With six brothers, Calpur- nia loves to play as they play. And she wants to work as they work. The adults in her life soon stifle those dreams, all except for her grandfa- ther. Grandpa lives with the Tates, and is the retired patri- arch of the farm. He spends his days in his library, or puttering in his shed.

Calpurnia's curiosity gets the best of her, and she starts following him around. Soon they are joined at the hip, studying nature, questioning science, and looking for that new species of flower. With Grandpa, she is validated and encouraged to be herself. I felt for Calpurnia throughout the book, knowing she represented thousands of young women who strug- gled under the harness of a narrow definition of what it is to be a woman. And I fell in love with her and her grandfather, as they dared to defy the conventions of the time in quiet ways. Thank you, Calpurnia!