Dawn (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Dawn Kate Quealy-Gainer Brooks, Kevin. Dawn. Chicken House/Scholastic, 2009 [256p]. ISBN 978-0-545-06090-5 $17.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 9–12 “Today is the first day of January—the start of a brand new year. And tomorrow I’m going to start killing God.” So says fifteen-year-old Dawn, a self-described [End Page 237] “plain and lumpyish” girl who is ready to take down the big man upstairs after religion became yet another addiction for her alcoholic father and inspired him to commit a horrible act. It’s been two years since that incident, and after receiving no discernible messages from God about the hows and whys of her life Dawn is pretty certain that if such an entity exists (which she insists does not), he should be immediately executed. This is a heartbreaking story of addiction and abuse that manages to explore the repercussions of both in an achingly authentic and innovative way. While the revelation of Dawn’s rape at the hands of her father is not necessarily surprising, his reappearance and Dawn’s reaction to him is: in a scene that is at once bittersweet and chilling, Dawn welcomes her father back with angry words and a tearful embrace, making it clear that she is not only dealing with the horror of his act but also the revulsion she feels toward herself for still caring about him. Brooks manages to make Dawn more than just a victim, however, and the reader comes to know her as a compassionate daughter, a typically insecure teenager, a clever debater, and a young woman just coming into her as-yet-unclear sexuality. While the backstory of her father’s shady dealings gone awry is less successfully drawn, Dawn’s spiritual struggle is realistically poignant in her stubborn, sometimes contradictory righteousness. The shocking ending alludes to a bit of divine intervention, but it’s up to readers to decide what it means, making this an excellent choice for book-club discussion. Copyright © 2010 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois