Oh, and this book cover is truly awful...

It's been a little while, things have been busy. Against all odds, however, I'm determined to clear the slate of books on my desk, write up on them and return them! I was at a stagette until the wee maws, and now I am coping with a very painful incision on my left pointer finger, the result of an overzealous rabbit ripping a piece of banana from my grasp...

The Hippie House by Katherine Holubitsky.

I heard a lot about this Canadian YA novel before picking it up, and I found it a little difficult to get into at first...probably in part because it's written a bit like an autobiography, as though the author is looking back into the past from a great distance in the future. And this is fiction, so I actually expected it to be a little grittier, particularly as the book is based on the discovery of a body and the changes brought to a community by the fear of an unknown murderer lurking in their midst. The protagonist is fourteen year old girl living growing up in a rural community during the 1970's. Emma is a pretty straight and narrow character, equal measure of perfect little achiever who sews and spends time with her family, and mildly rebellious and bored teenager... sounds like the way your mother would want you to picture her as a child, regardless. Half way through the book, however, I was really fascinated, and beginning to enjoy this nostalgic take on small town life, until in one of the final scenes it all falls apart becoming ridiculously contrived...but I won't spoil it for you!

What I think the author did really well, was to capture the emotions, reactions, and response of all the various members of the community to a shocking crime. And this was one of the unique aspects of this novel that made it such a worthwhile read in the end.

"Feeling powerless to fight back, the entire town was left in a heightened state of terror. After news of the second murder, doctors heard more than the normal number of complaints; unexpected illnesses - headaches and stomach aches - and absences from school rose. People developed phobias of things that didn't exist. Megan said that every time she walked somewhere she heard footsteps behind her. She was getting a stiff neck from turning suddenly to check it out....Those already predisposed to a general fear of life were paralyzed completely."