Madapple

Peach’s Picks Rating


Title:
Madapple

Author:
Christina Meldrum

Illustrator:
None

ISBN:
9780375851766

Publisher:
New York: Alfred A. Knopf

Copyright:
2008

Length:
410 pages

Plot Summary:
This story is filled with mysterious relationships, making the reader wonder who is telling the truth and who should be trusted. The book opens with Aslaug, a teenage girl, on trial for murder. A lawyer is interviewing her and is frustrated by answers that the lawyer finds incomprehensibly incomplete. Then the reader is taken back in time to 1983 when Aslaug is born. She lives with her mother, Maren, in a remote area of Maine, all but removed from the world. They live off the land. Plants play an important role in their lives both as food and medicine. Aslaug knows nothing of her background. There is only the all encompassing and controlling relationship with her mother. Maren insists that Aslaug’s arrival to this world was a virgin birth. Slowly Aslaug begins to doubt her mother and watches her wasting away. Maren dies leaving Aslaug on her own. Using pieces she has put together about her life story and through a series of events she travels to a small town in Maine where she meets and lives with her mother’s sister, Sara, and two cousins, Susanne and Rune. Rather than finding comfort with her new-found relatives, life becomes horrifically more difficult.

Critical Evaluation:
This is an achingly beautiful story that is long, complicated, and original. It is a very dark mystery of family relationships with twists and turns leaving the reader wondering who is telling the truth and, ultimately, seeing that truth varies depending on who you are and where you stand in this family’s interactions. Aslaug is naïve and battered by her family’s hidden agendas and twisted way of viewing the world. The book brims with references to plants. Each chapter opens with grey shadow drawings of a plant along with the plant’s name. This technique foreshadows events in the upcoming chapter. The text contains references to many plants making the reader scour the internet for information. Even though the story is fascinating and original, it is lengthy and very complicated. The author references mythology through the characters and their actions; for example Aslaug appears in Scandinavian mythology. Many readers will not grasp the association to mythology. A selected bibliography is included: books pertaining to religion and mythology, science and nature, locations and culture, and poetry. The book is best used with sophisticated readers who are ready to tackle a grim, challenging story and its concepts.

Reader’s Annotation:
A girl is raised by a fanatical mother who insists her daughter arrived in the world through a virgin birth. Life becomes even more twisted when the girl locates and lives with her aunt and two cousins.

Author Information:
Attended the University of Michigan and received a B.A. in religious studies and political science
Attended Harvard Law School and earned her Juris Doctor
Has worked for the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva, Switzerland and at the law firm of Shearman & Sterling as a litigator
Lives in the San Francisco area with her family

Genre:
Contemporary realistic fiction - mystery

Curriculum Ties:
Use in literature classes

Booktalking Ideas:
Recommended for those who enjoyed the book Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
Recommended for those who enjoyed What I Say and How I Lied by Judy Blundell

Aslaug, a teen girl, lives in a remote and secluded area cut off from the rest of the world until the unthinkable happens, propelling Aslaug into a world she never knew existed along with people she did not know existed.

Reading Level/Interest Age:
High school

Additional Books by Author:
None

Challenge Issues:
Sexual situations, religious cults, incest
Deal with challenge by having a challenge policy in place, selection policy in place (ALA policies). Meet with library administration if necessary. Provide positive review(s) from professional publications.

Why this work is included in Peach’s Picks:
The book received starred reviews in School Library Journal and Booklist. Four peaches are awarded because it is an otherwise fascinating and unique story, it is too long, bogs down, and is a little difficult to follow.

Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Madapple-Christina-Meldrum/dp/B002KE5VXK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272995672&sr=1-1

References:
Meldrum, C. (2010). “author bio.” Christina Meldrum. Retrieved April 27, 2010, from http://www.christinameldrum.com/christina.php