Book Review Sixteen: Far From You

Far From You by Lisa Schroeder, published by Simon Pulse.

The main character of this novel is Alice, named after Alice in Wonderland which was her mother's favorite book. Her mother died of cancer, her father remarried, her stepmother is pregnant with a baby girl... Alice's life seems to be falling apart. When the baby is born Alice feels replaced in her own family and home. The first part of the story follows Alice's life as she struggles with the feeling of abandonment by her mother, betrayal by her father, hurt from her best friend, and love for her boyfriend. It sounds like a typical teenage girl's life. The only thing that upset me was how unkind she was being to her stepmother, Victoria.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: verse form is not a good form for a novel. There isn't nearly enough idiosyncratic detail used to be appreciated as a poem and there isn't enough regular detail to allow the reader to escape into Alice's world. However, Schroeder utilized a lot of metaphors and similes to get her point across:

"The snowflakes

toss and tumble,

each different,

and yet

the same.

The snowflakes

of my life." (pg 5).

Part One shows Alice getting very possessive of objects as if they are her mother and not just memories. Items such as the sketches, the guitar, and the painting become symbols for the past and her inability to move on. It also shows Ivy, her new stepsister, as a symbol for her future without her mother. Alice is torn between a past that brought her happiness and a future that scares her. Alice is tested by this decision between her two lives at the end of Part One. She finds herself lost with Victoria and Ivy in the snow-covered woods stuck inside their car. They're fighting to stay alive when Victoria leaves Alice and Ivy to get help.

Part Two shows Alice's struggle in keeping herself and Ivy alive. You'll have to read it to find out what happens to them, but I can tell you there is a real epiphany when Alice realizes that life is bigger than just her. She also starts to equate Victoria with motherhood and associated herself with Ivy. I think that's a real progression from her previous state of only caring about her own mother.

Interestingly enough, Schroeder was at the Teen Book Festival, as was Ellen Hopkins. It's interesting because their books are very comparable. They both write in verse form, they both tell meaningful yet depressing stories, and they both refer to an overwhelming power as a monster. Hopkins called crystal meth a monster that consumed Kristina and Schroeder later refers to the snow as a monster that hides the world from Alice.

Favorite Quote: "Maybe it's not about

determination

or love

or how hard

you can fight.

Maybe it's just about

fate

and what is meant

to be." (pg 250).