Skip to main content

"Small as an Elephant," by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

A few months ago I commented that Small as an Elephant by Jennifer Richard Jacobson might be another quest novel. Boy, is it. I’m still fascinated by how some stories follow every step on that hero’s quest list. It’s especially interesting—and satisfying--when the novels are not fantasy, but rather realistic fiction.

In Small as an Elephant, our hero is Jack Martel. His mom, who is suffering from a bi-polar personality disorder, has abandoned him while they are vacationing in Acadia National Park. Here’s Jack’s call to adventure: He must find his way home (Boston), but doesn’t want to alert any authorities for fear that they will separate him from his mom permanently. At first Jack doesn’t want to go anywhere (he refuses the call), hoping his mom will come back. But other campers start to notice his being alone and he knows he must leave. He discovers the free bus system that transports people around Mt. Dessert Island and eats at a restaurant where someone tells him where his mom might have gone (supernatural aid). Jack has now ventured into town and is learning to survive on the streets (crossing that first threshold and finding himself in the belly of the whale).

(An aside here, my boys and I love Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, and Mt. Dessert Island. I wish we could vacation there every year. We’ve been to many of the places Jack mentions, and we took a great whale watching tour from there.)

Jack travels a road of trials as he attempts to find his way home and receives help from a young girl (the goddess). There is no calling of the flesh in a sexual way, but he does learn to steal food. Jack gains greater understanding of his mom’s problems and finds something to keep him going: Somewhere in Maine is Lydia the Elephant and Jack loves all things involving elephants. The boons he receives are rides from kind strangers and special help from a man named Big Jack.

Jack does find Lydia and also finds that he is angry at his mom (refusal of return). He has to come to grips with these feelings for his mom and his feelings for his grandmother, who has been searching for him and who he thinks is evil because of things his mother has said. But his grandmother knew how to find him. She, along with Big Jack, provide his rescue from without and help him to cross back into the real world. Now Jack knows that he can trust her, and maybe even live with her depending on his mom’s condition. He’s has the freedom to live his life.

I worry that I may have taken all the joy out of reading this book by dissecting it this way. I hope not. It’s a very good book and Jack is a well-thought-out hero. His trials are believable and the ending isn’t sappily perfect, but rather just right.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Harry vs. Septimus

Sometimes, I like the Septimus Heap series more than the Harry Potter series. There I said it. It’s a secret I’ve kept from all but my kids for a long time. Don’t get me wrong: I’m wild about Harry. I’ve knitted Harry Potter bookmarks (in Gryffindor colors, naturally). I’ve thrown at least two Harry Potter-themed birthday parties, complete with a sorting hat I made. I’ve stood at line overnight at Barnes and Noble waiting for the next book to come out three times. I read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire  in one day. But, often, I like Angie Sage’s Septimus Heap books ( Magyk , Flyte , Physik , Queste , Syren , and the just published Darke ) more. And I’m not entirely sure why. My current theory is that the Septimus Heap books are better written and, while also highly derivative, much more charming. The characters are human (muggles, even) and fraught with faults. Also, the Harry Potter books are, rightly so, about Harry. Everything is from Harry’s perspective. Sadly, we don...
1 comment
Read more

"The Fifth Season" by N.K. Jemisin

I’m a horrible blogger. Several times this past year, I thought I should just quit this. But I keep being drawn back. So, I’m going to do a little catching up and see how well I remember some of the books I read much earlier this year. Stay tuned. Today, however, I’m just going to write about one. I’ve been singing the praises of The Fifth Season all year even though I’m late to the party: It was published in 2015, and Jemisin is well-known as a gifted writer in the sci-fi and fantasy world. Since then, she has come out with the next two books in The Broken Earth trilogy and has won the Hugo Award three years running. No author has ever done that, let alone a black, female author. Back in 2015 she was the first African-American to win the Hugo for Best Novel. Actually, this year’s Hugos were dominated by women as female authors won in all the major categories. This is important. I’ve been noticing odd twitter posts lately about how women really don’t play video games or ar...
Post a Comment
Read more

"Eighth Grade Is Killing Me," by Jennifer Holm and

Remember the old J.K. Rowling web site? The one me and hundreds (thousands?) of teens and kids (other adults?) used to pore over as we waited for the next book to come out? It opened with a picture of her desktop, and you could click on gum wrappers, paperclips, her date book and then cool things would happen. It was neat. Eighth Grade Is Making Me Sick , a new book by Jennifer Holm and illustrated by Elicia Castaldi, reminds me a lot of that site (which no longer exists, by the way). Each two-page spread is a snapshot of what’s going on in Ginny Davis’s life. The story is told entirely through photos, notes, Ginny’s poetry assignments, comic strips, and other odds and ends. It’s an interesting format and a very quick read. At first I had wished there was more to Ginny’s story--she’s a likable character—but then I realized that the form fit the function. Tweens will appreciate every last detail of Ginny’s life as they pore over each page. The story has a good arc, there's ...
Post a Comment
Read more