The Land of Forgotten Girls

Reviewed by: Sheila Dube - Springvale Public Library, Springvale, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: June 26, 2016

Review

Recommend for Cream Consideration for grades 5-8. Twelve-year-old Soledad (Sol) and her younger sister Ming live with their mentally abusive step-mother Vea in Louisiana after immigrating from the Philippines. Sol's strong voice reveals her struggles to make a safe space between the harshness of their real life existence and the in-between for Ming and herself. The in-between is that place where the strength of fairy tales allows them to exist and grow stronger to deal with the next steps of grieving over the death of their sister and mother, abandonment by their father who has fled back to the Philippines and slight glimpses of hope along the way from unexpected friendships. Kelly masterfully intertwines various folktales and stories with the blossoming of Sol's understanding of her inner self as Sol, Ming and friends explore the neighborhood junkyard, corner store and interact with a diverse cast of neighbors. Racial issues are touched upon through Sol's thoughts on skin color, friends reactions to various students and Sol's matter of fact descriptions of her neighbors, but are not the focal point of the story. Kelly provides some magical moments where communication of the heart transcends language.

Overall Book Score: excellent