One of the reasons I love being part of a YA book group, is that it sometimes makes me read a book I would not necessarily choose myself. Go and Come Back is the perfect example. The cover is dark and unattractive. I don't think I would have picked it up. But when my wonderful YA book group in Eugene, Oregon decided to read it, I bought a copy. I have treasured it ever since.
In this multi-award-winning novel, two female American anthropologists come to stay in a jungle village near the Amazon. The villagers are initially skeptical, especially teenaged Alicia. But as the months go on, Alicia finds herself drawn in, even becoming friends with one of the women.
Oddly, this is not a YA novel I would easily recommend to any child. But as a writer I am fascinated with how well it is written. The voice of a child in Peru is totally authentic. The book gives a glimpse into a foreign culture, which includes daily and social habits with which I was not at all familiar. I found it an intriguing story, well written and captivating.
Goodreads.com has this information about the author:
Joan Abelove is an American
writer of young adult novels. She attended Barnard College and has a
Ph.D in cultural anthropology from the City University of New York. She
spent two years in the jungles of Peru as part of her doctoral research
and used the experience as background for her first novel, Go and Come
Back (1998). Go and Come Back earned numerous awards and citations,
including a "Best Books for Young Adults" selection of the American
Library Association and "Book Prize Finalist" selection of the Los
Angeles Times. she also wrote Saying it Out Loud. She is also in a
critique group with Gail Carson Levine, writer of "Ella Enchanted" and
"Writing Magic", a guide for child authors who wish to make their
stories better. Joan Abelove now lives in New York city with her husband
and son.
ISBN: 0141306947 (ISBN13: 9780141306940)
