The Things Owen Wrote

October 1, 2017

Gr 5-8-A love letter to the process of research, the experience of writing poetry, and Iceland. Owen, 13, is a boy growing up on the Alberta prairies trying to find his way through grief and the feelings of impostor syndrome. Owen struggles to negotiate his grandfather's memory loss, the recent death of his grandmother, and his own increasing desire to be perfect. Owen begins to question whether he is a strong writer; he has always wanted to write but he is becoming less and less sure of his abilities, even though his is complimented often on his skills. Asked to write a eulogy at his grandmother's funeral service, Owen plagiarizes the work of real-life Canadian-Icelandic poet Stephan Stephansson. Kerrin's commitment to bringing Stephansson's poetry and life history to the fore is what propels the narrative and somewhat overshadows it. Owen and his grandfather, Neville Sharpe, take a trip to Iceland in order to return a collection of cherished artifacts belonging to Neville's friend, Gunnar. Through the onset of Alzheimer's, Neville has sent one of Owen's writing journals to the Icelandic Stephansson archive outside of Reykjavik. They set about retrieving the notebook as well as delivering the materials to the archive, though their journey is besieged constantly by evidence of Neville's forgetfulness: leaving his driver's license at home and packing his suitcase full of socks. It is also buoyed by Owen's obsession with his lost notebook that is akin to adolescence itself, filled with anxiety, insecurity, and misguided certainty. VERDICT An unusual and moving novel that will require booktalking to move off most library shelves. Recommended for large collections.-Alpha DeLap, St. Thomas School, Medina, WA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 15, 2017
Owen's loving relationship with his grandfather Neville is moving in an unexpected and unwelcome direction.Neville has decided that he should send back to Iceland the medal that his now-deceased friend received for his sensitive translation of the works of Icelandic-Canadian farmer/poet Stephan G. Stephansson. He makes a spur-of-the-moment decision to travel--immediately--to Iceland, and Owen willingly comes along. The trouble is that Neville is becoming increasingly confused (to the extent that readers may find it surprising that Owen's parents left the eighth-grader in his care). Owen has a good reason to accompany Neville on the trip: his grandfather accidentally sent Owen's notebook there, and its contents are something the white boy doesn't ever want anyone to see. The reason for his need for secrecy isn't finally revealed until the conclusion of this gentle novel of love, loss, and self-fulfillment, all intertwining in Owen's life. Owen initially rationalizes both Neville's frequent missteps and his own character flaw, but it all finally becomes impossible to ignore. The present-tense, third-person narrative primarily focuses on Owen's point of view, permitting a believable and nuanced exploration of his emerging self-awareness. Owen, Neville, and Owen's dead but much-missed grandmother Aileen are fully realized characters. Even the (real) poet Stephansson emerges from the pages of this quiet tale. A tender and affecting coming-of age story. (Fiction. 10-14)

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January 1, 2018
Owen and his grandfather go on a spur-of-the-moment trip from Canada to Iceland. Owen is determined to retrieve his own notebook, accidentally sent to Icelandic archives by Granddad in place of a famous Icelandic poet's journal. Information about real-life poet Stephan Stephansson is woven into the earnest intergenerational family drama; Owen's concern for his increasingly forgetful grandfather is more compelling than the subplot involving Owen's secret notebook.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)