Saving Grace

Deborah Dowson is a Canadian children’s librarian living in Harvard,
Massachusetts.

At first, 15-year-old Evie just watches the house where her baby lives
with her adoptive family, but then she decides that Grace (or Brianna,
as Evie prefers to call her) belongs with her “real” mother.
Evie’s boyfriend is upset and argues that it won’t work out, even as
he continues to drive them toward Montreal. Things don’t go well—the
baby is sick and crying and vomits all over the truck. Justin refuses to
go any farther and calls the authorities. Evie proceeds on foot and
tries to hold onto her fantasy of keeping the baby, but the reality of
the situation overwhelms her. Ironically, Evie does become the mother
that she yearns to be, not by keeping the baby, but by giving her up.

Evie is a sympathetic character who desperately wants to love and be
loved and has suffered the loss of both her own mother and her child. As
the reader learns of Evie’s past, her motivations become clearer and
her actions more poignant. The use of Evie’s natural voice as narrator
keeps the language simple, realistic, and easy for the reluctant teen
reader to relate to. Yet, it captures in vivid detail and imagery both
the events leading up to Evie’s decision to take the baby and her
state of mind during the several hours that elapse over the course of
the story. This is a compelling, insightful addition to the Orca
Soundings series. Recommended.