Customer Reviews

A Place Within the Sphere

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Engaging book about the life of an adolescent girl, her friendships and the way they open new avenues of thought. Especially compelling is her relationship with an autistic friend. The combination of poetry and prose is fascinating. An excellent Christmas gift for the young adult.

A delightfully challenging book that rewards the reader with insight, humor, and intruiging characters. The story is very powerful, yet handles the subjects of adolescence and autism with an unusual grace. The author has captured the spirit of youth with characters who are subtly flawed with normal human attributes and who offer thought-provoking dialogue and capture the reader's interest. Especially well-developed is the character Esmeralda, a bright, sensitive girl who struggles with figuring out who she is as she grows from a pre-teen into a young woman. I would highly recommend this book.

This very touching story of the coming of age of a young girl shares with the reader Esmeralda's exploration of her soul as she matures and comes to some kind of understanding of who she really is inside. Esmeralda Mrky enters the story as a young girl living in Lake Cowichan. She meets and develops an incredible connection with Savannah, who's autism allows a freedom that most teens rarely find. In a poetic, often poignant, and uplifting style, with humor and fantasy reminiscent of Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland", Tanis Morran gives the reader not only a glimpse into the life and mind of a young autistic girl, but also reminds us of the importance of nurturing our creative side and being true to the person that is inside us all.

This story moves quickly through time, filled with wonderful descriptions of the Cowichan Valley and the lower mainland of British Columbia. It invites the comparison of rural lake life in a part of the world that still hangs on to its natural beauty to the bustle of city life in Vancouver. "A Place Within the Sphere" reminds us that we need to look after not only our own inner selves, but also the place which gives us life. Through Esmeralda and Savannah, the reader meets a wonderful array of interesting characters who range from adults dealing with their adult concerns, creative and free spirited individuals, twenty-first century big city youths dealing with their own issues, and even a few fantastic individuals from the depths of the sphere.

"A Place within the Sphere", well suited to the teenage reader, has a great value to the adult reader. I truly enjoyed being taken back into my own youth and its confusion. I want to thank the author for sharing a wonderful perspective on the gift of autism, for reminding me to nourish my imagination and for giving me a better understanding of the way the mind can work.

I don't have much time right now, so I'll sum it up with a big WOW!!! More interesting than Mark Haddon's book by far. This book is listed an amazon.ca as being for 4-8 year olds, but that must be a mistake. I would not give it to anyone under 10. The book's cover has a picture of a girl on it, but it really deals with a lot of teen and adult issues and there are a lot of complex hidden "treasures" (puzzle pieces?) within the story, something the reader only figures out upon completion or upon a second reading. It all comes together beautifully and the reader is left feeling a little more worldly for having read it.

I found "A Place Within the Sphere" by Tanis Morran to be a beautiful and unique work. I look forward to Ms. Morran's next novel. Also, I am interested in the development of Savannah in each of the coming years.

Entertaining reading for all ages. Young adults and teenagers will especially identify with the characters and become involved in their adventures. Excellent book.

I have read many books that were written about disabilities or had characters with disabilities in them, but this is the first time that I have truly been enveloped by an understanding of how disabilities are a natural part of the human experience/culture/existence. The young woman with autism isn't treated as a freak of nature or as a saint or as someone who needs to be fixed. All the characters coexist. Questions arise as to what is best, not only for the woman with autism, but for everyone. This should happen, but there is also an acceptance of each individual for who they are, and a willingness on the part of the protagonist (who does not have a disability) to learn from others and to help when appropriate. This helped me understand autism and disabilities much better than the "we've got to fix them" approach that seems so prevalent. A most honest and thoughtful story.

"Words are flying out like endless rain into a paper cup,/They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe...images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes/That call me on and on across the universe...thoughts meander like a restless wind..." -- Beatles, 1970

The lyrics from "Across the Universe" underscore this book quite well. Esmeralda Mrky is introduced to readers at age 19 reflecting upon the past 8 years of her life. At 11, she meets the Andreasson family. Their son Sam is a year her senior and she and Sam's sister Savannah are the same age. Savannah has a severe form of autism, yet she is verbal and has her own way of communicating. She also likes to bang on the drum.

Savannah's spiritual freedom and lack of inhibitions impress Esmeralda and she views Savannah as having an advantage. Savannah's mother is somewhat of a free spirit who seems at home in the Summer of Love in 1967. The girl's father is interested in archeology and the Andreassons live in Arizona, but come to Lake Cowichan Canada for part of the year. Savannah's freedom seems to parallel the freedom of the natural beauty of Lake Cowichan. He is singulary focussed; not one to initiate social contact and his behavior is somewhat suggestive of Asperger's, which is the spectrum partner to autism.

Poetry is interspersed throughout the book and it is this lyrical "voice" that makes Savannah's autism all the more plausible and understandable. The girls share a love for jewelry and one Christmas Savannah gives Esmeralda a spherical ornament. Every time Esmeralda looks into it, she is drawn into a different world. The swirling imagery described by the glass ball makes me think the Beatles' classic, "Across the Universe" is very a propos.

In time, Esmeralda's family moves to another part of Canada. Her uncle marries a cashier who had been rude to Savannah's family when the girl melted down in her shop several years earlier. At a later point in the book, Savannah's mother explains autism in a very logical way and what life has been like raising a daughter with a severe form of it. One thing she says about autism which does not apply in all cases is that for Savannah, recent and distant memories are interchangeable; e.g. when asked what she ate, she might tell the person what she ate several months earlier. That is not a behavior that all people with autism have nor is it a confusing concept for all people on the autism spectrum.

Esmeralda makes friends in her new school; she becomes part of a group of individualists who decide to form their own church. That parallels with Savannah's "freedom" and lack of inhibition and connection to the natural beauty in Lower British Columbia, Canada. Esmeralda's new life in Vancouver does include Savannah, and, at 19 she returns to her girlhood home and reconnects with the Andreassons.

"Try to realize it's all within yourself, no one else can make you change." George Harrison, 1967

The sphere could be a metaphor for realizing what is in oneself and having the power to change. The elements of fantasy, such as the literary trips with talking tigers and the like add a note of whimsy to the story. The boundaries seem fluid at times and the time sequence is rushed along.

This book is geared more to teenage readers and will certainly appeal to adult readers. This book is a gift that allows one to realize it's all within our selves, our own spheres and no one else can make one change. It is a very different presentation of a very interesting topic with highly appealing characters. Let's hope for more books by this author.

What an adventure! I had no idea this book would be so much fun. When I saw the cover I thought it would be for little kids, but I was wrong. I think anyone over the age of 10 would get a kick out of this story. Well-written and definitely entertaining.

This was an extremely fun read and I'm sure almost any teen would enjoy this book tremendously. I understand that this is the author's first novel and, although it is beautifully written, I'm not surprised that it comes from a less-experienced writer. There are just some minor clues, as in how the flow seems a bit stiff at times. Still, the author shows great potential and with a little more practice and some relaxation she may be able to write a masterpiece. There are moments of sheer brilliance in this story.