Y by Marjorie Celona – Book 63

The lovely Jennifer over at The Relentless Reader and I did a little book trade.  I sent her The Round House by Louise Erdrich, and she sent me Y by Marjorie Celona.

I was excited about this book for two reasons:

• Reason 1: I need a book that starts with a Y for my A-Z Book Challenge, so this satisfies that criteria.
• Reason 2: Jennifer made the book sound really good so I wanted to read it anyway! Here’s Jennifer’s review of Y.

Y is a book about Shannon, a girl who was left by her mother in front of the YMCA on the day she was born.  While under the age of five, Shannon proceeds through multiple foster homes, many of which are not so pleasant, some where she’s abused, until she finds a healthy home with Miranda and her daughter.

But Shannon just isn’t dealing with life all that well.  She feels lost, broken, and has no idea who she is.  Will a convoluted search for her mother and father yield any results?  And if so, will they make Shannon a happier person?

I definitely enjoyed reading Y.  I think that Marjorie Celona did a great job with making Shannon seem like a realistic example of a troubled, adopted child.

At the same time, most alternating chapters are relaying what was going on with Shannon’s parents, Yula and Harrison, so we get a well-rounded view of the entire story.  Shannon actually is telling the parts about Yula and Harrison to the reader, which is a unique take and makes the reading interesting.

I think Y was a great novel, one that had depth but was easy to comprehend.  It also explored how family can be more than just those related to you by blood, it can be found in those around you who care.

Now the book will do some more traveling, over to my friend Allison at The Book Wheel!

Do you have any books that have done any traveling like this recently?