[LM_NET] OT: Book Review by Toni Buzzeo

[Shonda Brisco <sbrisco@GMAIL.COM>]

Has anyone else read this book?  I will want to get a copy for myself
but I was curious if it might be useful in the classroom?

The Year We Disappeared : A Father-Daughter Memoir by Cylin Busby and
John Busby. Bloomsbury, 2008. 13-978-1-59990-141-1


Buzz has already begun in the children's bookseller community about
The Year We Disappeared, and it's no wonder! This gripping true story,
told in two voices, will hold readers in place; rarely will they
voluntarily set the book down, once begun.  Told in alternating
chapters by a father and daughter who lived a year of violence and
terror after Falmouth, Massachusetts police officer John Busby was
shot at point-blank range and lost the lower half of his face, the
book carries one along from happiness to heart-pounding fear and
despair before landing on a more tranquil shore of acceptance. The
violence of the incident is not toned down, nor are the more gruesome
aspects of its effects and the long recovery, but both serve the
authenticity of the story. None of what is told is for shock value.
Most poignant is the struggle laid bare, by both authors, to survive
the emotional turmoil wrought by the incident­terror on Cylin's part,
as the innocence of childhood is stolen from her and she and her
family are placed under 24 hour surveillance; anger on John's part as
he undergoes surgery after surgery in an attempt to render him whole,
able to eat and talk again, simply because a crime family has been
allowed to deliver justice in any way it saw fit.  The desire for
revenge is palpable in John's chapters and the need to fight against
that desire almost exceeds the human capacity to control after such
trauma. Cylin's chapters remind us of the wages of violence, the
fall-out that affects the families and communities rocked by such
tragedy. Prepare for a long reserve list when you add this title to
your high school collection.  Suggested grades 9-12.  ~ Toni Buzzeo,
MA, MLIS

-- 
Shonda Brisco
Assistant Professor / Curriculum Materials Librarian
Mary L. Williams Curriculum Materials Library
001 Willard Hall
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK 74078
http://www.library.okstate.edu/cml/index.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Digital Bookends wiki / blog:
http://digitalbookends.pbwiki.com
http://shonda.edublogs.org/
sbrisco@gmail.com

Resources for Texas School Librarians:
http://txschoollibrarians.ning.com/
http://txschoollibrarians.wikispaces.com/

"Digital Resources" columnist
School Library Journal

http://listen.grooveshark.com/song/Life_Is_A_Highway/5154183

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