This week’s book review touches on a sensitive subject – domestic abuse and violence - within a fantasy novel.
As I discussed on Instagram, there are those who firmly believe that children’s books, from middle grade to young adult, should present a sanitized view of the world. While they may be well-intentioned in meaning to keep things like sex (always a big one), drugs, or violence out of books intended for a younger audience, I think they’re wrong. Removing tough issues from children’s literature doesn’t remove them from children’s lives.
Like it or not, many kids (myself included) have encountered situations like these in real life. Finding ourselves represented in a book can open our eyes to aspects of our experience, give us a vocabulary to discuss it, and reassure us that we’re not alone. One of the biggest tools that abusers use is to isolate their victims and create a culture of secrecy “we don’t talk about that outside the family.” Finding it in a book validates our experiences and gives us coping tools.
The Game of Fox and Squirrels, by Jenn Reese, eloquently and effectively addresses domestic abuse and violence through the eyes of main character Samantha (Sam) when she and her older sister Caitlin are sent to live with their aunt and her wife in Portland, Oregon. It is a touching book centered on a child’s reaction to abuse and upheaval.
Shortly after their arrival, Sam finds a card game “A Game of Fox and Squirrels,” and is drawn into the mysterious world of talking squirrels and a clever and charming fox, Ashander. She is struggling to understand the events that led to their removal from her parent's home and placement with her aunts. Ashander offers Sam the chance to return home and to the way things were if she completes quests for him and finds a golden acorn.
Reese uses fantasy tropes familiar to readers to draw back the veil on an abuser’s emotional manipulation, showing Sam’s continued vulnerability and its transformation to strength as she’s surrounded by her aunt's love and acceptance. Reese deftly reveals the reasons that social services have taken the sisters from their parents and placed them in another home, always keeping it appropriate for the book’s intended middle grade audience.
One thing I often think that writers who have not lived it get wrong about abuse is that they write kids as being eager to escape the situation. But often there is comfort in familiarity. If an abusive home is all you know, and you’ve spent your whole life managing another person’s anger, it’s not as simple as "I want to get out!"
Reese seems to understand this, and by showing readers Sam’s journey from wanting to go home to understanding she’s safe in her new home she avoids the trap of passing judgement on children who might be in a similar situation.
This book, frankly, made me cry. I wish it had been there on the shelves when I was a preteen, but I’m very glad that it’s there now. Even for kids not in abusive households, if they identify with Sam’s adventures in the forest and relate to her it will give them compassion for other parts of her life.
Children face more than many adults want to acknowledge. They have the strength to survive and thrive - I'm proof. For me, books and fantasy worlds were an escape, and I know I’m not alone in this. I hope this book finds its way into the hands of others who make sense of their world through the lens of a fantastical one.
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