Story Description:
Darla McKendrick
is nine when she first hears her mother and her aunt Didi secretly discussing
their younger sister, Rebecca, speculating about her life in squalor. From the moment Darla asks to know more about
her mysterious aunt, she is offered nothing but half-truths, distortions, and
evasions. As Darla grows into her teen
years, her life is oddly yet profoundly affected by this woman she has never known. She can’t help but notice that Rebecca seems
to exist only in dark corners of conversations and that no one ever wants to
talk about her – with Darla. Squalor, New Mexico is a coming-of-age
story shrouded in family mystery. As the
plot takes twists and turns, secrets are revealed not only to Darla but to the “secret
keepers” as well. Darla learns that
families are only as strong as the truths they hold and as weak as the secrets
they keep.
My Review:
Nine-year-old,
Darla is eavesdropping on her Mom and Aunt Didi’s conversation but the only
time they ever had this particular conversation was when they thought no one
else was around. That topic happened to
be, Aunt Rebecca, Mom and Aunt Didi’s youngest sister. Darla had never met her. Darla decided to let her presence be known so
she could gather some information about this woman as she figured if she never
asked then she’d never find out. She’d
heard her Aunt Didi say to her mother: “I’m sure she’s still living in squalor…unless
she’s screwed her way out!” Of course,
at nine, Darla had no idea whatsoever what that meant so she popped up and
asked: “What’s squalor, Mom?” Mom was
startled to say the least at, Darla’s presence and inquired as to how long she’d
been standing there. Aunt Didi quickly
piped up and responded: “It’s a town in New Mexico, Darla. It’s an Indian name.” There was no way the women were going to
discuss Aunt Rebecca with Darla around so they quickly sent her back to her
bedroom to complete her book report for school.
As Darla grew
older she began to notice that Aunt Rebecca was frequently the topic of
conversation but always on the hush-hush and no one wanted to talk about her to
anyone else, especially Darla, which,
Darla thought was kind of weird. Darla’s
life is very affected by this mysterious Aunt Rebecca but she still can’t get
anyone to discuss this unknown Aunt with her, but why?
Both her father
and her Uncle George seem especially rattled whenever, Aunt Rebecca’s name
comes up and neither seems to know where to look or what to do. All Darla knows is that she isn’t to ask
questions, period. Aunt Didi and Uncle
George’s three daughters, April, May and June don’t know anything about this
aunt either.
Squalor, New Mexico is a coming-of-age
story that is smothered in the unknown and on the surface, the family has a
good time but really underneath they are a family shredded, torn apart and in
great pain. Didi and Maggie often argue
over and talk about what a loser their youngest sister, Rebecca is but even
they don’t know the whole story. They
think they know what an evil, rotten, good-for-nothing person she is but one
day the truth may just set them free.
I so loved this
story and didn’t want to see it end. I
wanted it to go on forever and wanted to learn even more about each of these
characters right from Darla to her Mom, to Aunt Didi and Uncle George, her
three cousins, April, May and June and even her best friend, Melanie. The story was so well-written that I felt as
though I was standing inside Darla’s house sitting on a chair watching these
two families interact. I could picture
perfectly in my mind’s eye the layout of the house, could imagine the
knick-knacks sitting around and could smell the pancakes, Maggie cooked. Squalor,
New Mexico was a book I just couldn’t put down and I’m actually going to
read it a second time it was that good and I enjoyed it that much. This is definitely a keeper!! Thank you Ms. Brodey for providing me with
two days of entertainment that I lost my entire being in.
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