The Darkness Under the Water by Beth Kanell
Posted by La Bibliotecaria Johnson on March 12, 2010
Set in Vermont in the 1930s, 16 year old Molly Ballou is not only haunted by her dead sister but by the looming threat of a governmental effort to rid the state of “unfit” people. More than a lesson in American history, though, this is a story of resilience and self-discovery. Molly finds a river of strength in her friendship with Henry Laporte, an Abenaki boy, who has remained true to himself and his people. The book concludes with an author’s note about the Vermont Eugenics Project. A haunting selection for historical fiction fans.
But you will have to wait until you are in middle school or high school to read this book. If you would like to visit Beth Kanell’s website go to http://bethkanell.com/
To read about the Vermont Eugenics Project read this archived article from the Boston Globe:
http://www.bigorrin.org/archive4.htm
To learn about the Abenaki Indians you can visit:
http://www.native-languages.org/abenaki.htm
March 14th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
I love the video trailer for this book, created by “La Bibliotecaria Johnson” — it really catches the fear and sorrow in THE DARKNESS UNDER THE WATER, as well as giving you a clue about whether Molly Ballou will find her way forward from her family’s situation. This book is historical fiction. That means I did tons of research about what was really going on in my part of Vermont in 1930, and got massively upset about the injustice that took place here. (I love Vermont so much that I was sure it had always been a fair place to live … what a disappointment!) On the other hand, Molly and her family and friends are my own creation. They’re a lot like my neighbors and like the people who talked to me about 1930. Of course, Molly might be a little like me, too. I’ve lived through a house fire, and seen how prejudice can hurt, but can also challenge a person to develop new inner strength.
Because I love telling stories to teens, I let this story include some frightening disasters. Teens in my world always prefer novels that show the real threats that can happen. If you don’t feel like pushing through some of the scary parts, it’s fine with me if you save the book for another time or another year. But know that Molly is not alone, and her friends will help her with these dangers. We all have a chance to pick friends who’ll do that for us.
I also want to form characters who earn their way to some form of happiness. The first question that I ask readers of this book, after they’re done, is: Do you think the ending is the right one? Think about how you want your own stories to turn out, and if you like, let me know whether you think this book satisfied your ideas. Most important, though, I hope you find the words and the courage to write about what’s important to you. There may be someone else who really needs to read your story.