cover image GRAVEYARD GIRL

GRAVEYARD GIRL

Wendy Lewis, GRAVEYARD GIRL Wendy A. Lewis. , $7.95 (176pp) ISBN 978-0-88995-202-7

While Lewis chooses a tenuous premise for her novel (an Anglophiliac geography teacher's staging of a reenactment of Princess Diana's nuptials), the characters are sympathetic. Set mostly in Canada, the book is broken into a series of stories, each narrated by one of the "mock royal wedding" participants. High school students who took part in the wedding narrate the first half, set in 1983, while the second half takes place 10 years later, with narrators who were preschool participants. Each character struggles with his or her challenges: Jewel has had a baby, and must deal with her mother's disapproval, and Kevin is watching his sister battle cancer. Ginger, who narrates the prologue and final chapter, set in 1999 (the reason for all these different dates is never made clear), was nicknamed the "Graveyard Girl" in high school because she slept with boys in the cemetery. Even as an adult, she is haunted by memories of her dark childhood, and mourns the loss of her own first love. Several of the characters manage their crises with supernatural assistance; for example, the new girl who tells Kevin that his sister will be okay may be an angel. Some readers may have a hard time understanding the mock royal wedding's significance or find some of the supernatural elements jarring or clichéd. However, those who make the leap will appreciate the tender moments, such as when Jewel's mother finds her daughter dancing with her baby, and embraces them both. Ages 12-up. (Feb.)