Book Review of Nory Ryan's Song

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Giff, Patricia Reilly. 2000. Nory Ryan’s Song. New York: Yearling, Random House Children’s Books. ISBN 978-0-440-41829-0

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Patricia Reilly Giff’s novel Nory Ryan’s Song takes place in Ireland in 1845 at the beginning of the Great Hunger, An Gorta Mór.  Narrated by twelve-year-old Nory, the meticulously researched narrative  describes the terror and desperation of the families that were oppressed and starved by the cruel English rulers who shipped their food to England while they were left to starve.  Nory resolutely carries a song of hope in her heart, which serves her well as she learns to be resilient after the death of her mother in childbirth three years ago and her father being long absent as he works on the ships to try to earn the rent that the Ryan’s had to pay to the English rulers for their very own land.  Further, her eldest sister Maggie marries and leaves the western coast of Ireland that is home to set sail for Brooklyn, New York, America.  Nory holds onto hope that she, her sister Celia, her brother Patrick (Patch, Patcheen), and her Granda will also join Maggie and her new husband so they will all live together in America and no longer be hungry.  Nory’s story is closely connected with her best friend Sean Mallon and Anna Donnelly, who is a great healer and imparts all of her knowledge to Nory.  The story takes the reader down rich valleys of discovery as Nory finds her full strength and endures through this tragedy, preparing to traverse to more hopeful times.

Grade 4 and up

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Both in Patricia Reilly Giff’s dedication and in her letter to readers at the end of Nory Ryan’s Song, the reader witnesses the immense amount of personal investment the author has in her attempt to authentically tell this story.  These are her people.  This is part of her story.  She has told it strongly and beautifully, with heartbreaking accuracy won through tremendous researching efforts—travels, interviews, investigations.  The setting of the story, on the western coast of Ireland, is vividly depicted, and one feels as though the curtain of time is being lifted to allow glimpses into the intimate homes and lives and connections shared among the characters.  Giff’s use of olfactory imagery abounds and pulls the reader into the experiences of the characters’ lives:  initially the fresh, expansive scents of the sea and “the smell of spring, or fuchsia growing along the walls in August,” to the shock and horror of the scent of rot that swept over the fields--An Gorta Mór.  Giff’s steady, stylistic use of Irish dialect anchors the story, making each dialogic interchange believable and fascinating.  The reader learns of the sidhe (shee), which are “creatures from another world who supposedly cause trouble.”  The very young Irish boy children, such as Nory’s loving brother Patch, are dressed in long dresses to hide them from the sidhe by making them appear to be girls because they steal little boys.  [The authenticity of this element is concurred by photographs the reviewer has seen of her Irish grandfather, born in America in 1917, in these very dresses!]

Although the history is told in an accurate manner, appropriate for young readers, this is a story not easy to write nor to read.   Giff  does not hide the reality of what happened; yet, she weaves the strength, resilience, resourcefulness, and hope of the Irish people onto every page.  Enduring familial love, strong community ties, caring for one another, and always keeping hope in our hearts are themes Giff expertly communicates through her work in this story.  Fact and fiction are held in a truly balanced blend to ensure that readers understand the realities of the Irish people during this dark time in their history.  Just as Anna Donnelly’s wisdom of cures continues on in Nory’s spirited life, also the light within the Irish spirit forever continues to endure.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Golden Kite Award, 2001, Honor Book, Fiction

Parents’ Choice Award, 2000, Gold, Fiction

From Kirkus Reviews:  “…Nory’s patient, stubborn endurance lights up this tale, and the promise of better times to come is well deserved.”

From Children’s Literature:  “Based on her own family’s history and extensive research of the Great Hunger, Patricia Reilly Giff has written a tender and uplifting story of a remarkable girl who saw hope in spite of tragedy.  The writing is as proud, strong, and dignified as the people who suffered through this difficult time.  It is the author’s gift and tribute to the courageous spirit of the Irish.  Nory Ryan is an unforgettable heroine and her story is one to treasure.”

5. CONNECTIONS

A connection for English classes could be the reading of Giff’s additional titles featuring Nory Ryan:  Maggie’s Door and Water Street for fascinating character studies of Nory and of her daughter Bird (in Water Street).

A history class connection could be to research, study, discuss, and write reflections upon the realities that precipitated and solidified the Great Hunger to lead students to a thorough understanding of the causes and ramifications of this terribly tragic time period in history.

Book Review of One Crazy Summer

1.       BIBLIOGRAPHY

Williams-Garcia, Rita. 2010. One Crazy Summer. New York: Amistad, HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0060760907

2.       PLOT SUMMARY

Set in the late 1960s, One Crazy Summer is a story of three sisters--eleven year old Delphine, nine year old Vonetta, and seven year old Fern--who bravely leave their father and grandmother in Brooklyn to fly to Oakland to seek the mystery that is their absent mother, Cecile.  Cecile, who is a talented poet and involved in the Black Panther movement, left the girls seven years ago and has not been a mother to them since.  The three girls long to know and be known and, of course, to love and be loved by the woman who birthed them.  Yet, Cecile is distant and unloving, sending the girls to a Black Panther summer camp during their month-long visit.  As their grandmother Big Ma had said at their departure to fly to Cecile, “’Better come on and get some loving now…’” and Delphine determined, “She hadn’t had to finish the rest about how this might be the last time in a long while for kissing and hugging.  A flash of memory told me Cecile wasn’t one for kissing and hugging.”  The story is poignantly narrated by Delphine, who is responsible and measured well beyond her eleven years.  She skillfully cares for her animated sisters, and the three girls learn an astounding amount through their adventures about holding their heads high, owning their power, and standing up for themselves, no matter what.   

3.       CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Authentically placed in dynamic 1960s America, Williams-Garcia’s One Crazy Summer will etch its strongly spoken truths onto the spirits of its readers.  Each character is fully believable, and the dialogue and narration are consistently graced with brilliant timing and content.  The plot and the subplots are realistic to the time period of the late 1960s and are written beautifully in a style that is understandable to young readers even though the concepts are profound.  The three main characters live and breathe the essence of their setting, yet they are always connected to the deeper, timeless truths and realities of being young girls with a mother who is choosing not to love them.

  “It was the pure excitement of seeing the world,” Delphine internally muses as she takes a moment to enjoy the sighting of the Golden Gate Bridge on the day trip to San Francisco.  She is never a victim and never internalizes her mother’s inability to love, modeling for her sisters to follow suit—power that lines up with the power of the Black Panther movement.  Delphine keeps her perspective and somehow shields herself and her younger sisters from her mother’s narcissistic brokenness.  Upon learning Cecile’s story, Delphine concludes, “She told me everything I wanted to know and too much.  It was too much.  I’d have to take it out one piece at a time to look at it.”

When the girls recite Cecile’s (Nzila’s, as she named herself) poem, “I Birthed a Black Nation” at the Black Panther rally, they seem to be affirming that they accept who their mother is and they will love her, even if they are never loved back.  What is true power if not this?  At the close of the novel, Cecile looks at Delphine, and we see her heart turn slightly toward her daughter.  We know that she hugs back when all three daughters run to hug her goodbye.  Williams-Garcia’s voice is a gift to readers as she captures this revolutionary time period in America and creates a humorous, unforgettable tale that truly succeeds in connecting and teaching all those lucky enough to read it.

“Extras and Activities” included at the end of the book give readers numerous excellent ideas for further study of the Black Panther movement and women poets who wrote at the time period during which this book is set.

Grades 3 and up

4.       REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

From Booklist:  “Strong-willed, responsible Delphine stirringly narrates this vibrant novel about the subtle ways political movements affect personal lives as well as the universal story of children discovering a reluctant parent’s love.”

From The Horn Book Magazine:  “The setting and time period are as vividly realized as the characters, and readers will want to know more about Delphine and her sisters after they return to Brooklyn with their radical new ideas about the world.”

5.       CONNECTIONS

Coretta Scott King Book Award, 2011, Winner, Author

John Newbery Medal, 2011, Honor Book

National Book Award, 2010, Finalist, Young People’s Literature

Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, 2011, Winner

An English class connection lesson could be to also read Williams-Garcia’s books Be Eleven and Gone Crazy in Alabama, focusing particularly on character studies as the story of Delphine and her sisters continues.

A history class connection could be to research and study the Black Panther movement using accurate, authentic resources and documents, ensuring thorough coverage of Huey Newton, Bobby Hutton (Lil’ Bobby), Bobby Seale, Kathleen Cleaver, Eldridge Cleaver, and other prominent political activists of this movement.

An English, specifically poetry, connection could be to discuss and analyze the poem “I Birthed a Black Nation,” and have students write an in-depth essay about what the poem means to them and how they can be a force of positive change in the world that celebrates and honors diversity.