The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande, 1 vote

The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry, 4 votes

Neither of these novels is great for a YA audience.

Dolssa is moving on, but we’re not sure it’s a YA novel. It’s a much higher quality book. It’s more interesting, but it is a lot of work. You really should read the glossary and the dramatis personae first. There’s also a historical note and additional reading. Will most YA readers work hard enough? Will they persist to the point where the many characters stay straight and the Provencal dialect becomes a bit familiar? A history lesson would have helped - this region seems to have had a very unique Crusade against perceived heresy. Some knowledge of Christianity helps too. Dolssa is passionately in love with Christ and shares her beloved’s teachings. We didn’t quite feel that the author sold this passion enough to convince a teen reader, especially as this will be so outside of their realm of experience.

There was a sense that our students might be more inclined to read The Distance Between Us.The taboo issues like child abuse may appeal to young readers. The illegal migrant experience is timely. For a kid who never sees their lived experience reflected in a book, this might be powerful. It was interesting, but we didn’t necessarily connect with the narrator. Maybe it’s the difference between fiction and autobiography, but we’ve read autobiography in which we connected emotionally. There wasn’t a lot of character development. Reyna, the main character, was not empowered. There are interesting pieces there but they weren’t effectively developed.  It’s an adult perspective on the experiences she had as a child and adolescent. Her five year old is full of worldly wisdom. She also skimped on the psychological issues behind what went on. Characters are pretty one dimensional. The end felt a bit like a cop out - “I forgive my abuser. The end.” Did it normalize the experience of abuse? We questioned recommending it to kids. Some of us are curious to know how this middle grades adaptation compares to her autobiographical novel for adults. Some of us definitely are not interested enough to bother reading it for comparison.