The Book of Jude [Hardcover]

Kimberley Heuston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2008

A brilliant young woman's fight against a debilitating psychological illness is set against the historical events of the Prague Spring and the anti-Soviet struggles in Czechoslovakia. When Jude's mother gets a fellowship to go to Prague to study, Jude's world is thrown into chaos. The teenage girl feels threatened and isolated. It turns out her whole family is going, but still Jude feels adrift. When she arrives in Prague and discovers that their life in the embassy compound is closely circumscribed by rules and regulations and that they are closely watched at all times, she begins to suffer even more. Desperate to break out of the constraints imposed on her and her family, Jude sneaks out one night only to encounter a security crackdown on students and dissenters. Although she makes it home safely, her consciousness continues to deteriorate as she fluctuates in and out of rationality. Only when Jude steals a friend's car and drives into the countryside does the true seriousness of her condition become apparent to her family. Then the long road to recovery begins.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up—In 1989, 15-year-old Jude is devastated when she learns that her family will be moving to Prague for a year while her mother completes her art fellowship. Before they leave New York, she begins to act out with spells of anger, despair, and recklessness. Her arrival in Prague only magnifies these feelings as she realizes that Soviet Communist policies not only limit her freedoms, but have also wreaked misery and poverty on the people of Czechoslovakia. Angry and naive, Jude sneaks out of her house to see an anti-Soviet demonstration and is horrified by the violence she witnesses. Her uncontrolled actions begin to worry her family. Her break with reality is apparent when Jude flees to the countryside, wrecks a car, and winds up in a German hospital. Confronting her mental illness, Jude struggles to regain control of her life. The story starts off slowly as the teen leaves New York and the political and social details of Czechoslovakia are presented. While some less-savvy readers may be alienated by the historical context and setting, others will be drawn in as it becomes apparent that Jude is struggling with more than the usual teen angst. Other novels do a better job of illuminating the realities of teen mental illness; what makes this novel unique is the context in which it takes place.—Lynn Rashid, Marriots Ridge High School, Marriotsville, MD
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From Booklist

Mental illness flares in a teenager transplanted from New York to Prague, and readers get the inside angle in this first-person historical novel from the author of The Shakeress (2002). Jude and her family arrive just as the unrest that leads to the fall of the Berlin Wall peaks, and the culture shock is enough to set off symptoms that had long been simmering in her; soon a combination of profound guilt and fear, a feeling of disassociation, and gremlin-haunted nightmares combine to drive her to erratic, impulsive, destructive acts. Ultimately, she winds up in a hospital, is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, and thanks to therapy sessions with an experienced doctor, along with medication and support from family and friends, takes steps toward winning back control of her life. Aside from a sour note sounded in one scene by otherwise-sympathetic supporting characters fulminating about Gypsies, Heuston constructs a solid cast and setting, against which her protagonist’s breakdown proceeds in a convincing way. Jude’s Mormon faith is a strong subsidiary element here, as well. Grades 6-9. --Frances Bradburn

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 217 pages
• Publisher: Front Street Press (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932425268
• ISBN-13: 978-1932425260
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,376,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Book of Jude, May 14, 2008

By 

Christian Mckay Heidicker "Xian" (Marugame, Shikoku Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Book of Jude (Hardcover)

This book caught me off guard. It began so casually, a toasty life in an intellectual Mormon household, I barely noticed the shadow of the impending tidal wave. To say anything more would spoil the story, so I'll focus on other things.

First, the author's language is effortless. She portrays complex ideas about psychology and history throughout Jude's journey, but I never found myself glazing over. Her descriptions were simple and vivid enough that dates and facts, normally lost on me, stayed put. In fact, I found myself asking my friends things like, "Did you know that Shirley Temple was the ambassador to Czechoslovakia in her later years? Because I sure as hell didn't."

Heuston outs herself as a (an?) historian from the beginning, and this is a good thing. Her extensive knowledge of life behind the Iron Curtain sets the perfect gray back drop for Jude's tale. As political and social events unfold at her doorstep, Jude learns to mirror her own life in the struggle. It reminded me how valuable paying attention can be.

The real triumph of the book is in the little things that let you live in Jude's shoes: smells and scrapes, elations and disappointments, and of course, her unnerving internal struggle. You get that same horrifying sense of falling that Jude feels throughout the book. It's dangerous and disconcerting, but not without redemption. Fortunately, nothing is over dramatized.

All in all, The Book of Jude left me changed, which is exactly what I look for in a book. I'm going to go back and read Heuston's other work now.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jude's incredible journey, March 24, 2008

By 

A reader in Vermont - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Jude (Hardcover)

THE BOOK OF JUDE is the beautifully crafted and evocative story of one young woman's unfolding illness and hope for recovery set against the transforming events of the Velvet Revolution in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1989. Heuston takes her readers on Jude's incredible journey along the dangerous knife edge between the marvelous elan of youth and the dark abyss of psychosis with unflinching honesty, care, and attention to detail. Mirroring Jude's journey is a nation broken by fear and distrust as it, too, takes its fledgling steps toward unfettered self determination. Thoughtful and unerringly engaging, THE BOOK OF JUDE puts a human face on the struggles of mind and spirit over oppression and builds the argument for the power of non-violent action as a pathway to healing and peace.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book., June 28, 2008

By 

M. Pettis "film major" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Book of Jude (Hardcover)

I am not the target demographic for this book, but enjoyed it tremendously and would read other books by this author. Heuston's characters are fantastically developed. Her writing is easy and clear while being potent and evocative. The book is heartfelt and informative without being heavy-handed. Overall, a tremendous success in children's literature.