Raven's Flight

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is the
author of several books, including The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese
Women’s Lives, Kurlek and Margaret Laurence: T

This “real-life” novella for young adults is described as “part
harsh truth, part preventative fiction.” Three final pages in small
print list resources in British Columbia and across Canada where teens
at risk can find help.

When 15-year-old Raven learns that her sister Marcie is missing, she
sets out to find her. Leaving her home on the B.C. coast, Raven heads
for the slums of Vancouver’s downtown east side, where she’s heard
Marcie is reportedly “working.” At first, Raven finds few answers.
But soon she receives help from Ben, a street urchin, and Bertie, an
elderly woman, who tell her that Marcie may have been captured by a ring
that smuggles teenage girls into Asia. Help also comes in the form of
Marcie’s recovered diary from which Raven is able to decipher some
clues.

The horrors of Vancouver’s slums—of living rough and taking
drugs—are vividly portrayed as Silvey takes her readers through grim
realities and presents broken lives with compassionate insight. Raven
knows the traditional ways of her Native people and their respect for
all living things. These ways form a background and a striking contrast
to the big-city slums.

Raven’s Flight is a powerful story for adolescents delivered by a
strong, fresh, aboriginal voice. Highly recommended.