THE SIN EATER — Review

Thought for the Day:

“I try to leave out the parts people skip.”
~ Elmore Leonard ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Is your plot looking like Swiss cheese? Plot holes will trip your readers up and ruin the experience for them. HERE is an excellent post from K. M. Weiland with Four Questions to Prevent Plot Holes.

A good title can make a huge difference in the success of a book or story. HERE is a terrific article by Jacob M. Appel from Gotham Writers with some great ideas for finding just the right title.

Tiffany Yates Martin at Fox Print Editorial has a very interesting post HERE called Does Your Character Really Want What They Think They Want? This will help make your writing more layered and real.

I am beginning my journey through Gary D. Schmidt’s novels, trying to read or re-read them in chronological order. I’m still trying to get copies of some of his earlier novels, but I did get and read his first novel, THE SIN EATER, so hopefully the others will come in soon. I was interested to see that Schmidt hasn’t just written middle-grade novels, but he has written some picture books and also a couple of chapter books, which I also intend to read. Beyond that, he has written quite a few non-fiction books, including many biographies for middle-grade readers, and some books based on fairy tales. He also has some short stories and essays in anthologies. I believe he has written over sixty books. I will focus on his novels and fiction for young readers. I’m fascinated by the fact that whenever I read one of his novels, I find character names I recognize from other works. I am trying to see just how all these characters fit together in the larger scheme of his books. What you will get from all this is a series of reviews of all or most of Schmidt’s fiction works. It’s a delicious assignment I’ve set for myself: getting to read so many good books, some for the second time. I very seldom re-read a book because I just don’t have time, so this is really an indulgence. I hope you enjoy the journey with me.

Last week I offered a gently-read ARC of THE SUMMER SCRAPBOOK by Florence Migga to one of you. This week’s winner is Carol Baldwin. Congratulations, Carol! I will get your book out to you soon. If you don’t know Carol, she is a children’s writer from North Carolina whose debut novel, HALF-TRUTHS, came out last year. You can learn more about her HERE.

THE SIN EATER is the first of Gary D. Schmidt’s novels. I had no idea what a Sin Eater was. Wikipedia says it is “a person hired to ritually consume food placed near a corpse, absorbing the deceased’s sins to help their soul avoid purgatory, often in exchange for payment or food.” I must say the title intrigued me. The book was published in 1998, and things were a bit different in children’s book publishing then. I kept thinking about a link I posted last week—The Hidden Power of White Space in Middle Grade Books. The first word that came to mind as I was reading was dense. This is a really densely written book. The paragraphs are long and rich with beautiful writing. You don’t see that kind of writing much in today’s middle grade books.

Cole Emerson and his dad are leaving their home in Pennsylvania. It is the last day of school for Cole when they pack the car to go. Cole’s mother died slowly from cancer. It has been hard on both of them, and now Dad thinks it will be good for them to get a fresh start. They are headed to Albion, a small town in New Hampshire where his mom’s parents had a farm that had been in the family for generations. Cole soon makes friends with two boys in town who help him navigate his new life. His friends, his amazing grandparents, and good small-town neighbors are crucial for Cole as his father slowly disappears into his fathomless grief. Cole learns a great deal about his family, life, and mostly about himself.

The story is very compelling, though often heartbreaking. The characters (one with a very familiar name) are perfectly believable and the dialogue rings true for the ages and the place. The setting of Albion, New Hampshire is like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold day, perfect for this story. The writing is simply gorgeous with sentences like, “The Portsmouth County Fair fixed the calendar to the year like a pin through a wheel, spinning the seasons around itself.” and “It was the kind of day when tulips perk up their leaves and straighten their swelling buds, when dandelions open up in riots, when maples show off their shiny emerald finery, and fruit trees gush out in rosy pink.” As with all the Gary D. Schmidt books, it does not disappoint. If you haven’t read this one, try to hunt down a copy. It is well worth your time.

Please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.