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5.0 out of 5 stars
Circle Games, September 1, 2011
This review is from: Tin Angel (Paperback)
"Yesterday, a child came out to wander
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star." -- Joni Mitchell, 1970 from "The Circle Game"
Ronalda Page, 13 at the opening of the story which begins in 1969 is suffering the usual pangs of adolescence. She and her older sister Marcia, 16 live in a mountain resort called Raven's on Canada's West Coast in British Columbia. The girls are homeschooled and their mother years for a city life and an office job. She rues having inherited the rustic cabin.
In late 1969, the girls' father dies and the family moves to a house in a city. Their father dies in a car accident ironically, en route to meet an investor with the idea of saving Raven's from having to be sold. Ronalda enrolls in high school and is skipped two grades. She makes one friend, a girl with a birthmark named Janice, who later betrays her. Marcia works in a neighborhood theater and sometimes allows Ronalda in to watch movies for free.
The girls' mother sinks into alcoholism and despair, neglecting the girls and the house. The girls go for weeks without meals at home and at one point, Ronalda faints in school due to poor nutrition. Things deteriorate to the point where their mother is hospitalized.
A man named Louis has taken the girls under his wing, much to Ronalda's great displeasure. She chafes at Louis wanting to take over Raven's and eventually buy the place which she feels belongs in her family. Marcia, on the other hand is ready to accept Louis' help and is his staunchest ally.
By November 1970 things come to an ugly head. Ronalda harbors a fugitive in Raven's and, a month later confronts Louis there. She is accused and later arrested in the murder of a pillar of their community.
"And the seasons they go 'round and 'round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game." -- Joni Mitchell, 1970
The book is divided into thirds, covering the summer of 1969 to March of 1971. Ronalda's arrest and abuse by the police and a doctor are nothing short of appalling. Booked and detained, Ronalda's sentence begins at the close of 1970.
By Mach of 1971, she is brought to trial. The question of what took place at Raven's is the pivotal issue.
What makes this book so effective is the chronology of events covering that time period to recent years. I found the explanation of Canadian laws during 1969-71 and the changes made since very interesting and very effective in telling this grim and cutting edge story. This is a book that is very intense, very riveting and definitely well worth reading. I highly recommend it.
While Joni Mitchell's song "Tin Angel" is the title of this book, another Joni Mitchell song, 1970's "The Circle Game" could easily be the soundtrack of this book.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Poignant tale, but beware of hidden moral, April 24, 2008
This review is from: Tin Angel (Paperback)
At the age of fourteen, Ronalda Page was arrested for the murder of Louis Moss, an old friend of her mother's who had supported their family after the death of Ronalda's father. In three separate parts, Ronnie takes us back through the events that led her to this point, where she has been vilified for killing one of the town's most respectable citizens.
Raven's, an internationally renowned lodge high up in the Coastal Mountains of British Columbia, has been in Ronnie's family for generations, but even that can't save them from the shortage of funds to keep the place running. Despite the efforts of Ronnie's father, all of their hopes collapse when he's killed in an automobile accident, on his way to meet with a possible investor. Devastated, Ronnie's family collapses as well. Now left with few options, they sell the lodge to Louis Moss, who in turn puts them up in a suburban home in town and provides a job for Ronnie's mother.
While her mother drowns herself in alcohol and her older sister grows distant (and a bit too familiar with Louis), Ronalda struggles with her adjustment to attending school, getting along with her peers, and finding enough food in the cupboard to eat. As all of these things begin to elude her, she manages to finally find a friend in a young man who would prefer that questions not be asked. When his life and freedom come under danger, Ronnie's efforts to help him take her back to Raven's, and the horrifying night of confrontation that will change her life permanently.
The main part of this story appears to be in the third section, where Ronalda faces her detainment, questioning, and subsequent trial. While I'd been invested in Ronnie's story up until this point, I felt that the lesson obviously being taught about Canada's treatment of criminal minors detracted from Ronnie's tale somewhat. That aside, I found this book to be a well-written, poignant story with a few twists, and definitely worth the read.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, November 10, 2007
This review is from: Tin Angel (Paperback)
Ronalda Page, aka Ronnie, has had the perfect childhood. She lives at a mountain resort on the west coast of Canada. She has a loving mom, a beautiful older sister, and a doting father. She loves her life.
Then, after her thirteenth summer, tragedy strikes and her father is taken from them. In order to survive, they must sell the resort to Louis Moss, an old family friend who Ronnie doesn't trust. They then move to a small town near them and try to adjust to the loss of their father and husband.
Ronnie's mother becomes an alcoholic, and her sister takes up with Louis. Ronnie feels alone and not wanted. She is malnourished and ignored. Then, on a fateful night, Louis Moss is killed and Ronnie is framed by the local police for the murder and is tried as an adult.
The treatment of Ronnie by the police is brutal and is the most interesting part of the story. I felt that Ronnie simply reacted to the events of her life and never fought. Even when she goes on trial, she just lets things happen to her. She never lets authorities know what a hell she is living in and never trusts anyone to help her. During part of the story she is set up by a girl that she doesn't really like to let a boy make out with her and thinks that this is wrong but doesn't stop him. I mean, she is told to go behind the gym after school and she does, even though she knows what will happen, She doesn't like that her mother is not there, but she doesn't even try to make life livable. I had a hard time thinking that she didn't know how to cook when she was adept at living on her own in the mountains.
Even with these problems, though, it is a story which will make you think and be thankful for the wonderful legal system we have now.
Reviewed by: Marta Morrison
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