Shelter
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A spellbinding and wise coming-of-age story, Shelter draws readers into the precarious world of two young sisters in search of their mother, and brings to life the breathtaking B.C. landscape through which they travel. Maggie Dillon lives with her family in a small, roughly furnished cabin in B.C.'s
… More »A spellbinding and wise coming-of-age story, Shelter draws readers into the precarious world of two young sisters in search of their mother, and brings to life the breathtaking B.C. landscape through which they travel. Maggie Dillon lives with her family in a small, roughly furnished cabin in B.C.'s Chilcotin region, where the land and the native peoples who've always called it home have taken in both pioneer settlers and latecomers like the Dillons. Her sister, Jenny, is the elder of the two, but Maggie seems beyond her years with how much she worries about what might happen to her family, so certain she is that threats to her family's cozy but fragile life in Duchess Creek are never far away. Her beautiful mother, Irene, takes the girls on magical camping adventures and has a carefree love of life. Maggie's careful father, on the other hand, takes her on outings to the bush where he shows her how to build lean-tos using leaves, sticks and fir boughs. Just in case. You never know when you might need to find some shelter for the night. When her father is killed in a logging accident, Maggie thinks her worst fear has come true, but his death is only the first blow in the destruction of her family. Soon her mother, the one person Maggie has never worried about, abruptly drops off her girls in Williams Lake to billet with the gloomy Bea Edwards and her wheelchair-bound husband, Ted. Irene promises she'll be back for them, but weeks turn to months and then to years. When trouble finds the girls for the third time, it comes for Jenny, and fourteen-year-old Maggie decides that the time has come to search out their mother and repair their fractured family. Her quest not only to find but to understand her mother brings the novel to a powerful, wrenching conclusion. Shelter 's emotional richness, and Maggie's distinctive voice, evoke the bestselling novels of Miriam Toews and Mary Lawson. Greenslade's prose captures the exquisite beauty of the Chilcotin, the precious comfort of family and the poignant realization that we may never fully understand the people we love. Shelter was first published as part of Knopf and Random House Canada's renowned New Face of Fiction program, which each year brings the cream of the crop of Canada's first-time novelists to readers, and has launched the careers of numerous authors who have taken their place amongst Canada's best. From the start, Shelter received outstanding reviews, and the book has since been named as a finalist for the B.C. Book Prizes' Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and for the Evergreen Awards in Ontario. Shelter has also been published in the United States and in Britain -- where the country's largest book chain, Waterstones, named it one of the eleven best debut novels of the year -- and rights have been sold to publishers in Germany and the Netherlands.
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Add a CommentRecomended & enjoyed. Story of mothers, daughters & sisters in the peaceful Interior BC- wonderful storytelling.
Jenny and Maggie don't have much, but they've got the love and attention of their doting parents ... until their father is killed in a logging accident and their mother leaves them with neighbours to search for work. Her letters, once frequent, eventually dwindle and then stop entirely as Jenny and Maggie grow older. Though they grow apart in the ensuing years, a crisis compels the resourceful, relatable Maggie to search for their mother and heal their fractured family. Set in the rugged Chilcotin region of British Columbia, this debut novel, which is really about survival, depicts both the wilderness of the area and the girls' heartbreaking situation with equal eloquence. Fiction A to Z newsletter January 2013.
SLEEPER! Selected by Waterstones UK as one of the year's most worthy titles by new authors.
I read this book in one sitting as it just captured me. The speaker here is Maggie. She is looking back and telling the story of her childhood. Despite being the youngest daughter, Maggie was also a born worrier and her parents often reassure her. She spends time with her father in the woods where he teaches her to be self-sufficient and a resourceful camper. When her father is killed in a logging accident, Maggie's world is turned upside down. At first things her family seems to be adjusting well, but when her mom temporarily leaves her and her older sister Jenny with a couple in Williams Lake while she finds work, Maggie gets worried again. The stretch at the billet grows for the two young girls from months to years, and while they try to rely on each other and their own ingenuity, they long for their mother, Irene. When Jenny finds herself in trouble beyond what she can cope with, Maggie decides it is finally time to go looking for their mother, a search that leads her in a new direction and forces her to look at her mother in a new way. Maggie is a strong character despite her worrier nature and has been taught from a young age to be self-reliant and resourceful. These skills put her in good stead both in Williams Lake and when she goes on her search. She has a good sense for her own safety and what risks are worth taking, but her youth and lack of life experience do show as well. As we learn more about Irene and her motivations, Maggie shows her strength of character and finds a way forward for the family.
beautifully written, heartbreaking coming of age story.
I found the story completely engrossing and couldn't wait to find out what would lead a mother to abandon her children. However, this mystery was answered in less than 2 pages about 3 pages from the end. How disappointing! Lots of unanswered questions.