No Missing Parts and Other Stories About Real Princesses

Description

135 pages
$12.95
ISBN 0-88995-253-1
DDC jC813'.54

Publisher

Year

2002

Contributor

Reviewed by Dave Jenkinson

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

Review

The nine short stories and a poem in this fine collection are arranged
chronologically from the beginning of the 17th century to the present.
Each features a “princess,” a strong young woman more in the mold of
Robert Munsch’s Elizabeth in The Paper Bag Princess than dependent
fairytale royals. Because the opening story, “The Legend of Princess
Sheila NaGeira,” is based on Newfoundland folklore, some readers could
wrongly assume that the entire collection will be rooted in traditional
literature. Readers familiar with Anne Carter’s writings will
recognize that “Far from Home: Marie Robichaud’s Journey”
continues the historical portion of her time slip novel The Girl on
Evangeline Beach, while “Leaving the Iron Lung” is connected to her
novel In the Clear. Only “The Piano Lesson” has previously appeared
in another collection, R.P. MacIntyre’s Up All Night. “No Missing
Parts,” set in World War II, deals with the various forms loss can
assume during wartime. Other settings include late 19th-century Alberta,
where, in “Badlands,” 18-year-old Sybil finds herself teaching 18
unruly boys in a class of 20. In “Saying Good-Bye to Princess Di,”
Vancouver’s Diana, 16, who was born on the day of the wedding of the
century, discovers the strength on the occasion of Diana’s funeral to
shed herself of her controlling boyfriend. In “The Piano Lesson” and
“Skating Home,” two contemporary girls cope with the aftermath of
failed relationships: one has an abortion, while the other faces the
possibility of having contracted AIDS. The sole poem, “One Mighty
Kiss,” set in near Regina in 1891, finds 16-year-old Nellie dealing
with the age-old issue of parental interference in marital choice.
Highly recommended.

Citation

Carter, Anne Laurel., “No Missing Parts and Other Stories About Real Princesses,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed January 20, 2025, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/22425.