LitBit Speaks

Psycho. Sick. Dangerous… Réal Dufresne’s reputation precedes himself. But except for the nightmares, all Ré remembers is beating the living crap out of Shaun the night of his death. Now Shaun’s girlfriend, sixteen-year-old Evie Hawley, I pregnant and the father of her baby is dead. Their grief and guilt draw Evie and Réal together. But the closer they get, the faster things seem to fall apart. And falling in love might just be the card that knocks the whole house down. McDonell’s novel is not one that was immediately on my radar, but Andrew Smith asked me if I had come across it, and what my thoughts were. So I am grateful to both Andrew and Orca Books for bringing this beautiful and painful novel to my attention. McDonell’s background in creative writing and poetry is evident in this excellent debut novel. The pain and angst of each main character is palpable, and the struggles they each face within their individual relationships as well as their shared community as large are re...

Ramona was only five years old when Hurricane Katrina changed her life forever. Standing over six feet tall with unmistakable blue hair, Ramona is sure of three things: she likes girls, she’s fiercely devoted to her family, and she knows she’s destined for something bigger than the trailer she calls home in Eulogy, Mississippi. But juggling multiple jobs, her flaky mom, and her well-meaning but ineffectual dad forces her to be the adult of the family. Now, with her sister, Hattie, pregnant, responsibility weighs more heavily than ever. The return of her childhood friend Freddie brings a welcome distraction. Ramona’s friendship with the former competitive swimmer picks up exactly where it left off, and soon he’s talked her into joining him for laps at the pool. But as Ramona falls in love with swimming, her feelings for Freddie begin to shift too, which is the last thing she expected. With her growing affection for Freddie making her question her sexual identity, Ramona begins to ...

When Nina Faye was fourteen, her mother told her there was no such thing as unconditional love. Nina believed her. Now Nina is sixteen. And she'll do anything for the boy she loves, just to prove she's worthy of him. But when he breaks up with her, Nina is lost. What is she if not a girlfriend? What is she made of? Broken-hearted, Nina tries to figure out what the conditions of love are. She's been volunteering at a high-kill animal shelter where she realizes that for dogs waiting to be adopted, love comes only to those with youth, symmetry, and quietness. She also ruminates on the strange, dark time her mother took her to Italy to see statues of saints who endured unspeakable torture because of their unquestioning devotion to the divine. Is this what love is? Until now, I didn't realize how destructive the old poem was: "Sugar and spice and everything nice; that's what little girls are made of." But then I read this novel, and I saw Elana Arnold...