Haven

Growing Up and Going Forward

Various dictionaries define a haven as being a place of safety or refuge, where someone can feel loved and be themselves. Alternatively, it may also be what we think of when describing the essence of that special place we call Home.

ââ?¬Å"Haven,ââ?¬Â? by Valerie Biel, is a novel for middle-grade readers. The central character is eleven-year-old Mardella Houston, who, along with her mom, Louisa, will be living in the managerââ?¬â?¢s apartment at Rest Haven Senior Living in Haven, Minnesota. The Houstons hurriedly left their old town in Illinois for Louisaââ?¬â?¢s new job, leaving behind a difficult past.

Mardella�s mom, Louisa experienced physical abuse at the hands of her husband, Martin, who had descended into a life of drug and alcohol abuse, growing unchecked anger, and crime. Mardella had also been the sometime target of his substance-amplified rage. A final violent episode prompted Mardella to call 911 for help. The police found drugs in the home, arrested and jailed Martin, and accused Louisa as well, but released her after realizing she was not involved. However, the neighbors were angry at having this incident in their community, told their children to end their friendships with Mardella, and Louisa lost her job. As a result, mother and daughter made their move to Minnesota where they hoped to make a fresh start and feel safe.

Mardella, despite feeling relief at having her father out of her and her mother�s lives, feels guilty for making the 911 call that saved them, and for upending everything that was familiar. She feels that her mother blames her for setting off those changes.

When Mardella and Louisa arrive at the building where they will live, Mardella is depressed by its drab, sad-looking exterior. Everything in and outside of the facility is painted or carpeted in some neutral shade of beige to brown. When Mardella comments on the dreary site, her mother gives her the assignment of developing a plan to brighten up and refresh the surroundings.

Gradually Mardella and Louisa meet and form relationships with the senior adults who live in the building, and their fellow staff members, including the kindly maintenance man and the friendly cook who is assisted during school vacations by her niece, Ginger, a teen just a few years older than Mardella.

How Mardella executes her plans for improvements and develops bonds with the residents and forms a friendship with Ginger and others forms the well-constructed narrative of the novel. The transformation of the building using colorful paintings and plantings is a theme that runs through the action. The chapters have clever color-related names that reflect the ups and downs of the story as it unfolds.

Throughout the novel, author Biel sensitively addresses how children and teens (as well as adults) are affected by the trauma of experiencing or witnessing domestic violence. She also looks at the insecurities that influence their behavior, including lack of self-confidence, fear of judgment or rejection by their peers, doubts or discomfort about their appearance, and feeling a misplaced sense of responsibility for developments in life that are beyond their control. The multiple issues that affect Mardella and the others could lead to openings for discussions of these important subjects between parents and children.

Biel also focuses on the value and benefits of intergenerational friendships and shows how younger and older people can form bonds that benefit both. In our present time, where there are so many age groups superficially defined by labels, this is a welcome and important point of view. For the young readers, this book will reach, it can help to demystify aging and discourage attitudes that harden into ageism.

The vocabulary level feels just right for readers in the middle grades, and when dialogue occurs, it sounds natural and believable. In addition to effective writing, chapter structure, and theme, ââ?¬Å"Havenââ?¬Â? is attractively and appropriately illustrated with just enough full-color drawings placed to punctuate and support key moments in the action.

The overall design with its friendly, appealing typeface adds to the book�s attractiveness as well. It looks neither too young for the intended readers nor too old to be intimidating. All in all, this is a book that many parents, grandparents, and others will want to offer to the young people in their lives.