I am once again blown away by Selznick whose latest novel is The Marvels. I loved both Wonderstruck and of course Hugo, so eagerly looked forward to reading this one as well. The artwork is spot on again; riveting, beautiful and tells an engaging story. The narrative adds to it nicely, and while many write that it was chunky or not as well written as the previous two, I was still drawn in. I thought the mystery was handled well, and I loved the ending.
Some are stipulating that the "theme" of the book is homosexuality, and that makes me laugh out loud. That isn't the theme at all. The theme in this excellent novel, is imagination. How imagination, story telling, and fantasy can assist us all in troubling times. How imagination can bond people together, whether in a romantic love, or a familial one, or when alone and troubled.
Even the scenes of Frankie chasing the dog, and trying to come up with the perfect name, adds to that theme, the theme of imagination.
While some teachers are expressing the view that they can't have this on their classroom shelves, I fully disagree. Much of the supposed troubling aspects are subtle, and there is so much more in the novel that the children will hone in on. The teacher can guide the student in how the novel is structured, point out that the theme is imagination (if they don't pick up on that), or not. In addition books on classroom library shelves aren't similar to books being read as class novels, so the fear that parents will be upset is pretty much a moot point. Yes, HIV is mentioned, yes romance and love between men is subtly addressed but gosh, if you can't realize that the points being made deal with imagination, accepting and helping others (as Albert does with the young man who was destined for possible prison, until he saw Marcus' strengths), and discovering yourself as an individual within and separate from your family, then I just don't know what to say.
Further, kids are certainly hearing about homosexuality since many states have finally made the decision to allow marriages to take place; I am simply blown away by folks who are "shocked" that love is part of a children's book.
In addition, I am betting there is at least one child in those classrooms with similar family structures, that would really enjoy this book. This book is wonderful, and I highly recommend it. I too am a teacher and will include it in my classroom library.
