Today’s book recommendation uses intense emotion masterfully to gain and keep a reader’s attention. I’ve been bringing you books illustrating different ways authors manage this feat over the space of an entire story—of course the best writers do it in many ways at once.
“Emotional stakes” is a term used often in the acting world; it basically refers to what a character has to lose if they don’t get what they want. It’s the nugget of what an actor uses to navigate their way to the heart of a character.
This same term applies to characters in books. The emotional stakes of a character have to be high, not only so the character will care enough to take action outside their comfort zone, but also so the reader cares enough to stay glued to the page.
If there’s a world I’m familiar with, it’s the world of emotion. I trust this comes across in Becoming Piper Pan as the girls struggle with their hopes and fears.
The Healing Spell, by Kimberley Griffiths Little keeps the reader on the edge of intense emotion, wanting resolution. Here’s the story summary:
“Eleven-year-old tomboy Livie is sure that she is responsible for the accident that has put her mother into a coma, so, trying to make amends, she travels through the Louisiana swamps to get a spell that will make her mother well again.”
The author skillfully swept me up in the intensity of Livie’s guilt, fear, confusion, and hope as she struggles to come to grips with her role in not only the accident, but in the family’s changing future.
The other standout element of this story is the way it brings the world of the Louisiana swamps to life. It’s a world I’ve never set foot in, but the details of the setting, of local traditions, beliefs, and speech patterns, brought it vividly to life. “Armchair travel” might refer to watching Rick Steeves’ DVDs, but it also refers to being carried somewhere else through a well-written book!
One of the things I like best about the “children’s” book genre is that endings tend to be mostly positive—that’s the case in The Healing Spell as well. When you know a book is filled with emotional intensity, it’s nice to know there is some kind of positive resolution ahead.
By the way, one of my favorite things about Becoming Piper Pan is that it has a much greater sense of resolution at the end than The Curse of the Neverland (thank goodness!)
Have you read it yet? Click here to order it on Amazon.