Title: The Returning
Author: Christine Hinwood
Series: N/A
Publisher: Dial
Publish Date: 4/14/11
Genre: YA Historical
Pages: 320
Source: Borrowed from Library
Buy the Book: The Returning
SUMMARY: An engrossing epic tale with a cast of characters that will hijack your heart.
Cam Attling, having lost an arm, is the only one from his town of Kayforl to return after twelve years of war. All his fellow soldiers were slain, and suspicion surrounds him. When his betrothal to Graceful Fenister is called off and his role in the community questioned, Cam leaves to find the lord who maimed him but spared his life, seeking answers and a new place in the world.
But this is not just Cam’s story, it’s about all those whose fates entwine with his. Set in a medieval world that is entirely the author’s creation, this is an ingenious, exquisite story about what happens after the battle. When sisters, sons, friends, parents, and lovers are left to deal with the subtle aftermaths and unimagined repercussions of war. (Via Amazon)
BRIAN’S REVIEW: So since March, since I read John Green’s masterful debut novel Looking for Alaska, I’ve been seeking out books that were nominated for and won the Michael L. Printz Award. Looking for Alaska was the winner in 2005, and he was also honored as an runner-up the following year with An Abundance of Katherines. Shaunta loved Fat Kid Rules the World, which was an honoree in 2004, and I recently reviewed and got to interview the talented young author of Where Things Come Back, the 2011 winner! It’s become almost like a game to Shaunta and me now, every time we go to the library or the local independent bookstores — find the books with that seal of Printz approval on the front. I just went to a big warehouse sale a few days ago and came across two Printz books. I didn’t even read the summaries! I just snatched them up and plunked my money down. So recently Shaunta and I started the Printz Project here on the blog, where we try to find and review as many of the Printz award winners and honorees as we can. The prize is fairly new, having been introduced only twelve years ago. And it’s a great sign of quality, any books sporting the pretty stamp, because it means a group of people decided that novel was worthy of the highest praise of that year’s crop of YA.
The journey through the maze of Printz books continues with The Returning, an historical novel from an Australian author that was one of the four honorees in 2011. This is an interesting case, because in many ways this book doesn’t really read YA. While the main two characters are younger, it reads more as an historical romance than a YA. Also, author Christine Hinwood originally published the book under a different title, through an Australian publisher, in 2009, until Penguin put out the book for American readers in 2011. Either way, here’s hoping the prestigious Printz stamp will get this book out to the masses, because it’s a romantic, heartfelt read that is unlike many books I’ve read of late.
It took me about fifty pages to get into this one. I’m not so much into historical fiction–it kind of scares me, both as a reader and a writer, partly because I feel like the author will do so much research that he or she will cover the prose top to bottom with that research and not take the time to tell a worthwhile story. But that’s not the case here. Hinwood not only tells a startling story about a young man trying to come to terms with his new life back home, she really digs deep into what happens to soldiers after they return from war, how they struggle to move on. The novel is a little slow at times, and at times the dialog colloquialisms can be difficult to follow, but overall this was the kind of different read I like to seek out from time to time. It’s not on par with the other Printz books I’ve read, but I’m glad I took the time to check out The Returning! It got me thinking about re-visiting some anti-war fiction from high school, and even inspired me to pick up the classic film
from the local library.
