Tattoo Heaven

Emily Walters Gregor is a graduate student in 20th-century American
literature and an ESL writing tutor at the University of Minnesota.

Quebec teenager Jackie’s father unexpectedly announces one summer
morning that he is moving out. Suddenly, Jackie begins to feel very
alone. Her mother takes a job cleaning houses, and the thought of facing
the taunts of her classmates whose homes her mother cleans, when she
returns to school in the fall, is daunting. Her best friend is more
occupied with planning the perfect life than listening to Jackie’s
problems. And her boyfriend is more interested in kissing than he is in
talking.

Matters only get worse when Jackie meets her father’s new girlfriend,
a tattoo artist named Nicole, who is just a few years older than Jackie
herself. Jackie’s summer begins to fall into a routine of silence and
loneliness. Soon, however, she begins to spend time with the daughter of
one of her mother’s clients, a girl named Theresa who has been so sick
since she moved to their neighbourhood four years ago that Jackie stayed
away from her.

In a moment of rebellion, Jackie asks Nicole for a tattoo of a
butterfly. Feeling empowered by this small, hidden symbol, Jackie begins
to speak out to her friends and family and on behalf of Theresa, whose
illness has kept her away from the world.

Tattoo Heaven is complex story with compelling characters and elegant
writing. The themes of loneliness, personal growth, and independence
will strongly appeal to young-adult readers. The story provides a
positive outlook on some very challenging issues without being trite.
Highly recommended.