In his Young Adult novel debut, Kentucky author Silas House has successfully written an insightful, provocative narrative about a young man who gains self-acceptance and finds hope in family and friends while coping with the traumatic effects of war on a family.  While Eli the Good is the first novel written by House for Young Adults, readers will not be surprised to find the same characteristic truthfulness and descriptive detail so prominent in House’s three novels for adults: Clay’s Quilt (2001), A Parchment of Leaves (2003), and  The Coal Tattoo (2004). 

It is the summer of 1976 and the whole of the United States is finding itself in a paradox.  The Bicentennial has everyone in patriotic celebration, but the anger and disillusionment from the Vietnam War still pain the country.  Ten-year-old Eli Book realizes this all too well.  His father, Stanton, was one of the men who survived the conflict physically, but was mentally scarred instead.  The post-traumatic stress syndrome so prevalent in returning soldiers has captured the patriarch and nearly destroys his family.  To make matters worse, Eli’s war-protesting aunt comes to stay with the family.  While her free-spirited, music-adoring lifestyle is a welcome refreshment, she is hiding something that casts another shadow over the family.  The bitter resentment Stanton feels toward his sister’s protests of war increases the tension in the household.  Despite this palpable bitterness, Eli’s own sister begins to call the war into question—further fueling the conflict.  Eli also has questions, but they are ones he does not think he can ask.  He feels a distance between himself and his mother, and he knows his father will never talk about what happened to him in Vietnam.  For solace, Eli turns to his best friend and neighbor, Edie, who is also struggling to cope with familial turmoil.

    In this delicately handled and endearing coming-of-age tale, Silas House has managed to take on the burdensome confusion and hurt carried by children of Vietnam War veterans while exerting the universal truths of love and hope.  Readers who found Bobbie Ann Mason’s In Country too depressing will feel more satisfied with House’s tale. His startling attention to description is also captivating.  The reader can almost feel the summer heat and nightfall settling as it does upon Eli due to House’s brilliant, but never cumbersome, detail.  Readers will also appreciate the parallels drawn between the children of Vietnam War veterans and children who are growing up today under the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

    Eli the Good will be available in October 2009 from Candlewick Press.  Do not miss your opportunity to meet its author, Silas House, at the Warren County Public Library’s Main location on Thursday, October 22, at 6 p.m.  For more details, go to www.warrenpl.org or call 270-781-4882.    

Laura B. Johnson is a Youth Services Librarian for the Warren County Public Library in Bowling Green, KY.  She earned her B.A. in History from Western Kentucky University and is working to complete her Masters in Library Media Education from her Alma Mater.  Laura lives with her husband, John, and spends her free time gardening, reading and traveling.