Raven Winter
By: Susanna Bailey / Narrated By: Kristin Atherton
Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
Oh gosh… P’raps middle-grade kids will find their own lives in here, but will it make them wanna go to bed and never get up???
I dunno if it was Kristin Atherton’s spot-on, grim delivery, or if it was some pretty brilliant writing from Susanna Bailey, but were I a child again, heroine Billie’s experiences as a kid without power and with verrrry little hope woulda had me looking around myself, seeing my own life there, realizing I HAD NO RAVEN, and gosh… Raven Winter woulda had me crawling into bed, the only hope in Life being that I’d POSSibly never wake up. Seriously, the author Bailey/narrator Atherton pair presents this Slice of a hugely awful Life THAT well.
Uhm, ya really, if you’re a parent, need to look at the Publisher’s Summary with the MAJOR Squid’s Eye. A story of friendship? Sorta, but our heroine little Billie has been threatened into silence so much that she can’t really open up to a new friend. A story of family? Sorta, but Billie’s Dad’s in prison, her Mum isn’t there for her as Mum is NOT there at all, is currently dissolving into a horribly abusive relationship and wants Billie to just shape herself into a tightly-wound knot so as to not draw down the wrath of boyfriend Daniel. The belief in a special relationship with a young raven?
Uhm (again…)
Let’s not get into what Daniel does to it (Not a spoiler, just a warning for sensitive kids who p’raps had to be taken outta the theater when Bambi’s mom got blown to smithereens).
And let’s not get into the fact that the vaaaaast majority of helpless and abused children who can relate will NOT have a raven of their own to bond with.
Here’s what we have, now that I’ve got my own Trigger Warning outta the way. Young Billie’s desperately missing her Dad. He’s in prison for taking money from his employer, and tho’ he’s to be let out fairly soon, Mum has cut him out of their lives. Instead, she’s found comfort in new boyfriend, Daniel, who is now moving in full time. Stuff is already hard for Billie what with having had to move and start in a new school where all the kids KNOW about her Dad, what with Mum being chipped away bit by bit into this new woman who explains away bruises, and who cheerily declares that she, Daniel, and Billie are now a Happy Family.
Early on in the story, we see that Billie is hyper-attuned to Nature, as her Dad had spent time with her, noting everything, teaching her the ways of the environment, the circle of life, that every creature cares for its own. And Billie, in this cold barren Winter, finds a struggling raven she names Bird.
The rest of the story is of the developing relationship between her attempts to nurture Bird and to soon have him healthy enough to choose where he wants to be. There’s the entrance of Our Nell into her life, a bubbly and resilient little girl who is enchanted with Bird and with Billie’s knowledge. And there’s Billie’s discovery of letters hidden from her that were sent from her Dad.
These letters give info on where he actually is, info that her Mum has kept from her, instead telling Billie that Dad has gone on and left them all, that he’s changed, no need to think of him again…
This entire time, the whole time Billie is lonely and bullied at school, the whole time Daniel’s turned her home into a life walking on eggshells, the writing is simply stunning, and Kristin Atherton’s narration has us TOTally feeling the unease, the terror, the helplessness of Billie’s situation. I had to jack my usual listening speed up from x1.3 to about x1.8 cuz, dude, I was seriously wanting to cry with despair. The writing? The ponderous and icy narration? Too much, not nearly enough hope for the average child in the situation. Billie has hope that she can find her Dad and that he’ll come and save the day.
But what does the average kid in an abusive situation have? A dad who’s currently out of the picture but who miiiiight be there? The grandmother of a new friend who just miiiiight be able to do and say all the right things? There are no reviews of this as of yet, so I was unable to see how others may’ve experienced Raven Winter, tho’ there were 2 global ratings of 5-stars, and I kinda sorta agree with them.
You see, this is stunningly well-written, with Billie’s jumbled thoughts and her blocked-off emotions told with strong and bold images that are enTIREly easy to relate to, to experience in the listener’s body. And tho’ Atherton’s slow reading was a BIT much, her narration was intensely moving, a bravura performance.
So, and this is just one person’s thoughts on the matter, one person’s humble opinion, but it’s one person’s extreme reaction as well. If your child is happy, no problem—it’ll give an appreciation for all they have. If your child is damaged, well, they miiiiight relate to the point that they don’t wanna get outta bed.
Verdict: No matter where your child is on the experience/emotional spectrum? Be there to give a warm hug afterward…
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