I Can Hear the Mourning Dove [Hardcover]

James Bennett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 1990

Gifted but severely mentally disturbed, sixteen-year-old Grace moves back and forth between school and hospital, where she receives unexpected support from an antisocial delinquent named Luke.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the tradition of I Never Promised You a Rose Garden , this engrossing first novel invites readers to enter the imagination of an emotionally disturbed girl and trace the slow, difficult process of her healing. When Grace is released from the hospital after a suicide attempt, she feels disoriented and afraid. The people she encounters in her new town and high school seem to speak through static; much clearer is the internal voice that Grace associates with the father she has recently lost. Despite her confusion and bouts of depression, Grace begins to readjust to the outside world, but a violent incident involving a group of cruel teenagers causes enormous setbacks. With the help of a skilled psychiatrist, a loyal friend and a rebellious young man named Luke, Grace finally dares to step out of her shell to confront painful realities. With tenderness and remarkable insight, Bennett identifies the causes and effects of Grace's suffering and reveals her intricate system of defenses. Pat answers are not given to the narrator's complicated problems, yet the progress she makes in dealing with old conflicts and new challenges is clearly indicated at the story's touching conclusion. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

After the sudden death of the father she has blindly idolized and the loss of the confident, economically privileged lifestyle he represented, 16-year-old Grace Braun attempts suicide. Extended hospitalization follows; she undergoes shock treatments and various psychotherapies as she struggles to control hallucinations and the fear that her mind will again become "scrambled." Readers are introduced to Grace when she begins a journal for therapeutic purposes; at this point she is tentatively emerging from illness and is being encouraged to test the world outside the hospital. Throughout, she is supported by her diffident mother who has been forced to become family breadwinner and her daughter's link with reality. Grace, her mother, the psychiatric hospital staff, the well-intentioned teachers and students, and those who torment anyone who seems different--all are strong characterizations. The grim day-to-day life of the hospital and the heartbreaking, halting steps, forward and backward, in the process of recovery are painful testimony and are believable. Grace's intense relationship with the hostile, foul-mouthed Luke Wolfe, who is facing a murder charge for the mercy killing of his only friend, is melodrama that derails the story. Also, Bennett's off-and-on discussion of Grace's purported schizophrenia is confusing. In its better moments, this harrowing account may recall Joanne Greenberg's classic, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (NAL, 1977). --Libby K. White, Schenectady County Public Library, NY
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 197 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (October 29, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395536235
• ISBN-13: 978-0395536230
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,707,938 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really great book, June 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: I Can Hear the Mourning Dove (Point Signature) (Paperback)

I read this book in 8th grade and I've been trying to find it again ever since...and i'm in my twenties. This is one of those books that you'll never forget. Even though its description sounds depressing, its actually a really great and funny book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unveiling the torture within the soul of an adolescent girl., September 25, 2001

By 

Valerie Francisco (Westford, Massachusetts, United States of America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Can Hear the Mourning Dove (Point Signature) (Library Binding)

Grace, sixteen-years-old, lives within the tyranny of her emotions, mind, and environment. She develops a severe depression after the death of her father, which later blooms into Schizoaffective Disorder from outer sources. She also carries a deep fear of the 'Surely People', a group of hoodlums who cluster in her neighborhood that are cruel, degrading and evil. Finally, it also defines the bond between her and Luke, an antisocial patient labled as psychopathic. Together, they struggle through trying to release themselves from their internal hell, while also realizing that although they are hospitalized, they are as normal as the outside world.

High-strung, remarkable, engrossing and tender, "I Can Hear the Mourning Dove" reflects the true self barricaded within every person. It is a bipolar item, for many of its subjects are abstract and powerful. It clearly pulls you into the suffering of the main character from the first sentence, and never lets go, even after it has been read through. It is my favorite novel, and will always be remembered.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful story, April 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: I Can Hear the Mourning Dove (Point Signature) (Paperback)

I Can Hear The Mourning Doves is one of the books that you start reading and you just can't put down until you have finished reading it. It is the story of a young girl who struggles to survive after her recent suicide attempt. Grace is put in the mental hospital, where she meets a boy named Luke. Luke is the type of person Grace fears. Luke is dangerous, rough, and he has no respect for anyone or anything. However, he is the only one who is able to connect with Grace, and he is the only one who can help her. I highly recommend this book.