Young Adult Fiction Coming Of Age
The Mosaic
- Publisher
- Groundwood Books Ltd
- Initial publish date
- Sep 2017
- Category
- Coming of Age, Art, Loners & Outcasts
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9781554989850
- Publish Date
- Sep 2017
- List Price
- $18.95
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781554989867
- Publish Date
- Sep 2017
- List Price
- $10.99
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Where to buy it
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age: 14 to 18
- Grade: 9 to 12
Description
A teenaged pacifist and a PTSD-afflicted Marine form an unexpected bond over a secret buried in a decommissioned nuclear missile silo.
Twyla Jane Lee has one goal. To finish senior year so she can get out of her military hometown of Halo, Montana. But to graduate, she needs to complete forty hours of community service, and that means helping out a rude and reclusive former Marine named Gabriel Finch.
A young veteran of the conflicts in the Middle East, Gabriel spends his days holed up in a decommissioned nuclear missile silo on his family farm. Twyla assumes he’s just another doomsday prepper, readying his underground shelter for Armageddon. But soon she finds out the truth, and it takes her breath away.
Gradually the two misfits form a bond, and Twyla begins to unearth the secrets that have left the Marine battling ghosts. Her discoveries force her to question her views on the wars until she realizes that even if she gets out of Halo, she won’t ever be able to leave Gabriel Finch’s story behind her.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
About the author
Nina Berkhout is the author of three novels, most recently Why Birds Sing, which was described as a “must read” by the Globe and Mail and “not to be missed” by the Ottawa Citizen, a Best Book of the Year (Canada) by Audible, and a Great Group Reads selection by the Women’s National Book Association (USA). Her young adult novel The Mosaic was nominated for the White Pine Award and the Ottawa Book Awards and named an Indigo Best Teen Book, and her novel The Gallery of Lost Species was named an Indigo and Kobo Best Book and a Harper’s Bazaar Hottest Breakout Novel. Berkhout is also the author of five poetry collections, including Elseworlds, which won the Archibald Lampman Award. A recent finalist for the Alberta Magazine Awards, her poems have been featured in publications across Canada including Best Canadian Poetry 2024. Originally from Calgary, she lives in Ottawa. This Bright Dust is Berkhout’s fourth novel.
Excerpt: The Mosaic (by (author) Nina Berkhout)
Gabriel Finch’s longish hair was fair like his mother’s. He was scruffy and less bulky than I’d imagined. Younger looking, too, with dark circles under his eyes. Even so, he had an intense gaze that went straight through me when he gave me a half-second glance.
*
He put a hand on my elbow and led me to the middle of the space.
“Wait here,” he told me. The silence and pitch black was dizzying. I stumbled, trying to keep balanced.
There was a loud click then, like the sound of Hawthorn’s football stadium lights going on. My eyes were drawn to the spot of brightness, where Gabriel stood by a big rectangular light on a tripod. He’d set these up in a circle around the circumference of the space and he began switching them on one by one.
My gasp echoed back at me as I followed the light washing over the dome.
Editorial Reviews
Berkhout sensitively examines the loyalties we have to our ideals, to each other, and to our country.
School Library Journal
With this moving novel of self-discovery, Berkhout offers a mindful, timely reminder about the perils of blind faith and the power of change.
Booklist
Readers will be pushed to consider Twyla and Gabriel's disparate views on war, their divergent life paths, and the common ground that unites them in this timely, heartfelt coming-of-age story.
Horn Book
Berkhout’s prose has a maturity that respects her readers and also underlies the seriousness of this compelling novel.
Toronto Star
Berkhout creates a cinematic feel with her evocative language and scene setting.
Quill & Quire
Berkhout spins an ambitious and sophisticated tale … A rich and jumbled mix of war and peace by an author to watch.
Kirkus Reviews
