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Summary
Summary
This quietly devastating debut novel takes inspiration from John Steinbeck and Annie Proulx's portrayal of coastal communities, while still finding a voice all its own. Tom's life is turned upside down when a devastating flood destroys her home town, and her life begins a new and unsettling chapter. The flood has claimed the lives of her sister and her parents. Now she lives in an old fishing shed by the lake with Bill, who took her in when she had no-one else. But now Tom is pregnant with his child and she is desperate to escape.
Author Notes
Diana Sweeney won an Honour Book at the 2015 Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Awards with her title, The Minnow. This same title made the Queensland Literary Awards 2015 shortlist in the category of Young Adult.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Winner of the publisher's Text Prize, Sweeney's first novel is a powerful touchstone of longing and melancholy. Tom-as in Tomboy, as in Holly Thomas-is a 15-year-old wordsmith still reeling from the Mother's Day flood that decimated her town and killed numerous residents, including her parents and younger sister. When Tom discovers she is pregnant by Bill, one of her father's friends and her unofficial guardian, she opts for a makeshift life with her best friend Jonah instead, offering her support as he struggles with his own orphanhood and sexuality. With only Jonah and her grandmother to rely on as she prepares for baby Minnow, Tom navigates between reality and waking dreams, where conversations with her dead grandfather, animals from the pet shop, and mermaids abound, and where she can ignore the police's questions about Bill. Town characters are sharply drawn and memorable, particularly the residents of the nursing home Tom visits. Sweeney expertly moves between memories and time periods, creating a patchwork narrative that pulls readers toward answers just below the surface. Ages 12-up. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Suspend disbelief and prepare to accept talking animals, dead and alive, as well as a protagonist who maintains relationships with her deceased family and friends. Australian debut-novelist Sweeney has created a unique and fascinating world in which 14-year-old Holly Thomas (aka Tom, short for Tomboy) loses her family in the devastating Jessops Creek Mother's Day flood, finds herself pregnant by an older friend of the family, and yet discovers strength and resilience amid her grief. Her living, human support system includes her nana and other elderly friends, classmate Jonah (with whom she lives platonically), the sheriff, and a teacher. Her fantastical, extended family includes her deceased grandfather, a dead fish, and, above all, the Minnow, her growing fetus. Sweeney renders this world with a delicate touch while Tom navigates a treacherous time in her young life. Readers who can accept the ambiguous chronology and Tom's glib ability to communicate beyond worlds will be rewarded: the universe into which Minnow is born and will undoubtedly thrive is engaging and extraordinary. A promising and welcome debut.--Bush, Gail Copyright 2015 Booklist
Bookseller Publisher Review
"Tom's family have died in a flood, along with half the population of their small rural town. Fourteen-year-old Tom now relies on a mysterious older man named Bill, who takes her in and gives her a makeshift home in the loft of his boatshed. Tom soon becomes pregnant with Bill's baby: her own little Minnow. In The Minnow, which won the 2013 Text Prize, Diana Sweeney gives Tom a believable voice: innocent, headstrong, anxious but determined. The narrative is otherworldly at times, as Tom is able to see and speak with the ghosts of those who perished in the flood. She also speaks to fish and to her own baby in utero, and Sweeney gives these characters a voice to speak back. The Minnow is a story of loss and of the attempts we make to move on, not only for those left behind after a tragedy but also for those who are gone. Sweeney offers a unique interpretation of how the dead might watch over those who are living and grieve for their own lost loves. The Minnow could benefit from a more rounded ending, but this strong debut will resonate with young people and adults alike. Sarah Tanner is a freelance writer and editor, and former bookseller"
School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up-Tom's family was killed in a flood. Only Tom and her Nana remain. In her grief, the teen has formed a profound bond with the water-it is a place of peace, but also a place of overwhelming grief and loss. Living with her father's friend Bill (who might have taken advantage of her), she is neither cared for or loved by him and is acutely alone. When she discovers that she is pregnant, she leaves Bill and moves in with a childhood friend, Jonah, who has also lost most of his family. As her life and pregnancy progress, Tom is guided out of her grief by the ghost of her dead grandfather, her Nana's vivacity, and Jonah's steadfastness. She slowly bonds with her unborn child whom she calls The Minnow and whose clear voice only Tom can hear. The people in the young woman's life never push her harshly to face her loses, but offer palliation. By the end of the novel, Tom has perhaps not found a gleaming happiness, but has made peace with her losses and grows to love her child and friends who have become her family. The writing is lyrical and fragmented with a dreamlike style that swirls together like oil on water. The watery imagery throughout perfectly expresses the grief and the guilt of a survivor without being colored black with depression but rather blue-green with sadness. VERDICT A haunting and beautiful novel for sophisticated readers.-Patricia Feriano, Montgomery County Public Schools, MD © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
'I think Bill is in love with Mrs Peck,' I confide to an undersized blue swimmer crab, which has become all tangled-up in my line. The little crab doesn't appear to be the slightest bit interested, so I finish pulling it free and toss it over the side of Bill's dinghy. It makes a plopping sound as it enters the water and I watch it swim away. Bill, as usual, is asleep. He sleeps with his hand dangling over the edge, the line tied to his little finger. Sometimes I have to kick him awake, although he swears he always feels the fish tugging. That's Bill. Bit of a liar. Excerpted from The Minnow by Diana Sweeney All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
