by John Corey Whaley
Atheneum: New York, 2011
ISBN 978-1-4424-133-7
In Lily,
Arkansas, population 3,947, nothing much ever happens on a regular basis;
people never seem to leave town permanently. That is, until the population drops to 3946 when 17-year-old
Cullen Witter’s 15-year-old brother Gabriel disappears, without a trace,
leaving Cullen, his family, his best friend Lucas, and the town reeling. The news of Gabriel’s disappearance,
however, is soon overshadowed by the rumor that the Lazarus mockingbird woodpecker,
believed extinct, has been spotted.
But Cullen, his family, and friends haven’t forgotten Gabriel; they are
left with more questions than answers, and each struggling to cope in their own
way. For Cullen, this means
girls, including his long-time crush, and a recently divorced young woman who
has returned to town, and actively hating the Lazarus. Two stories are seamlessly and satisfyingly woven
together in this short, yet rich debut novel, filled with Biblical references,
the frustration of growing up in a small town, and the well-crafted, realistic,
anguish of inexplicable loss. This
multiple award-winning book is recommended for older teens, grades 10 and
up.
(Biblical confusion after the jump)
 |
| John Corey Whaley, according to his website, is both an author AND a friend, you guys. |
This book has
been enjoying a lot of buzz and big-time snaps, what with racking up both the
Morris and the Printz for first-time author, the kind of certifiably adorable
John Corey Whaley. I heard about
it in the fall, and finally got around to getting a copy purchased in January
when it won the Printz, but hadn’t had the chance to crack into it myself until
now. I can’t say that it blew me
away in the way some other things I’ve read this year have, but I will say that
I do agree; Where Things Come Back is
a really strong, and incredibly impressive, first effort. And I really like the cover. Like, really like it – well played,
cover designer Gracy Grady McFerrin. And
honestly, since I’m being honest, I’m fairly certain I’m missing big pieces of
it – like alllllll of the Biblical references.
Por ejemplo, and
this has SPOILER potential here, let’s look at Lazarus. According to both the totally
Truthy-with-a-capitol-T Wikipedia, and my totally unreliable memories from my
comprehensive Sunday school education of things Catholic, Lazarus was the man
raised from the dead by Hay-zeus himself.
Is Gabriel (the) Lazarus?
Did the Lazarus get named before it went extinct or did I do a really
poor job of close reading? And if
Gabriel is not Gabriel, but Lazarus instead, is Ada Taylor Mary Magdalene? AND, former Art History major here, is the
name of the town, Lily, meant to be a religious symbol? According to a deeply scholarly
analysis of my fading memories of
specific religious symbols in art, and what a Google search of “religious
symbolism of lily,” tells me (I am such an embarrassment to my field, I KNOW),
the lily, in addition to symbolizing purity, coming from Hay-zeus sweat, and
all that jazz, is emblematic of the Archangel Gabriel. HMM. HMM. Am I reading into this way too
much? I still don’t know what it
all means though! What else am I
missing out on that I could have learned if I hadn’t become a Sunday school
dropout?!?!? I need to find an
English teacher, or maybe a priest/minister/preacher, or maybe even John Corey
Whaley, to tell me what to think STAT.
Seriously, Mr. Whaley, author and friend: Get.
at. me. I have no idea what is
going on the more I think about this.
SPOILER MOMENT OVER.
In other fun
fact news, I read in (I think, it was a while ago) SLJ that Whaley named his
characters after towns in Arkansas.
I kind of dig it; the names all feel very authentically Southern. As does the Lazarus/No. 3 burger –
which made me even more excited about my upcoming trip back down south to North
Carolina. I’m coming for you, grits,
biscuits, pimento cheese sandwiches, iced tea, bbq, country roads, Early Girl
Eatery! Anyways, this book is
quick, is smart (evidently too supah smaht for moi), and I’d love to hear what other people thought.
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