Bibliographic info
Anderson, L. H. (2014). The Impossible Knife of Memory. Viking Juvenile. ISBN: 9780670012091
Libby Scale
4 out of 5
Genre
Bildungsroman, Controvercial Issues, Crossovers, Realistic Fiction, Romance
Reading Level/Interest Age
15 + (including older fans of Anderson’s books)
Plot Summary
“For the past five years, Hayley Kincain and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in the town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.
Will being back home help Andy’s PTSD, or will his terrible memories drag him to the edge of hell, and drugs push him over? The Impossible Knife of Memory is Laurie Halse Anderson at her finest: compelling, surprising, and impossible to put down” (Goodreads.com)
Critical Evaluation
[Note: Sadly this review was written after quite a bit of time had passed, so I don’t remember most details fresh. 😦 ]
Fans of Laurie Halse Anderson will be expecting a novel addressing a controversial topic and they will not be disappointed. Her newest book captures PTSD in a very real fashion. Main character, Hayley, is a high school student who has spent the last 5 years of her life on the road with her father running and hiding from her father’s demons. He finally decided to move back home and put her in normal high school. True to her form, Anderson is able to write from the teenage perspective with such accuracy, you would swear she was still a teenager herself.
We start out thinking that Hayley is mostly “strange” because of her father’s severe PTSD. She is forced to play the “adult” and take care of him. We soon learn that her life hasn’t been peaches either. This is mostly because the woman she loved like a mom (her step-mom) walked out and abandoned her after her father returned from the war. She has harbored a lot of resentment towards her to the point that when she starts to make her way back into their lives once again she instantly feels betrayed once again. A few good (and reluctant) heart-to-hearts reveal why she really left and why she is back again.
Because she never knows what will happen with her father, she never brings anyone home and is reluctant to even make friends. Of course there is her old friend, Gracie, that she played with before they started living on the road, but Gracie’s home life has some secrets of it’s own. She kind of reluctantly falls in like with Finn and their growing relationship is pretty much the feel-good part of the novel.
I will admit I was leery of the writing style as soon as I figured out that the POV was going to switch between characters, and to make things worse they weren’t even characters of the same age, it was Hayley and her father. However, I found myself longing for more snippets into his brain because I personally have no experience with PTSD and his parts were eye-opening to some of the daily demons people face.
Overall I was very pleased with her newest book. While I was admittedly worried that I would find it juvenile and not as good as her previous novels (mostly due to the fact that I’ve grown myself). I was almost afraid to pick up this book because I didn’t want to ruin one of my childhood favorites by being disappointed. However, I found it good enough that if I hadn’t read her other books, I would have sought them out.
I give the book 4 rather than 5 stars, because I didn’t find it quite as emotional or impressionable as Speak, plus sometimes it felt like no one had anything good going on and that it was just being a Debbie-downer instead of trying to look at the positives.
About the Author
“Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author who writes for kids of all ages. Known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity, her work has earned numerous ALA and state awards. Two of her books, Speak and Chains, were National Book Award finalists.
Mother of four and wife of one, Laurie lives in Northern New York, where she likes to watch the snow fall as she writes.” (GoodReads, 2012)
Challenge Issues
This book portrays, in detail, post-war PTSD as well as alcoholism and abuse. There are also sexual situations and feelings among teens.
The Secret Bookshelf 