For the Love of Strangers

by Jacqueline Horsfall, Mary Kelly (Illustrator)

Philoxenia. When the police call using this code word, 16-year-old Darya knows she will be sheltering strangers: women with missing teeth, dislocated jaws, black eyes - and stalking husbands. Other strangers - nonhuman strangers - seek Darya's protection too, whispering from the depths of the forest in voices only she can hear. If she obeys the voices, she risks her adoptive mother's rage, the taunts of a surly island boy, and the wrath of her community. If she refuses the voices, a primeval species faces extermination. What if you discovered your birth fulfilled an ancient prophecy? What if you were destined to save an entire wild species? Would you heed the call?

294 pages, Paperback

First published October 11, 2010

About the author

Jackie knew she wanted to write when a high school English teacher scolded her for writing a book report on a banned book. Jackie didn't know the book had been banned -- or even that books COULD be banned.

Now she does it all: fiction & nonfiction, 21 books & hundreds of magazine pieces, for kids, teens and adults. For 15 years she taught writing courses for the Institute of Children's Literature. Her early writing career began in Washington, DC, at the White House Correspondence Section -- answering the President's mail.

Jackie lives in the Finger Lakes wine region of upstate New York, deep in the woods where mushrooms form fairy circles.

Reviews

[Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally posted at: http://aurorareviews.blogspot.com/201...


You know the saying about how you can't pick your family? Well, that's not always true, especially for kids that have been adopted.

On the surface, Darya is a typical teenage girl on the verge of getting her license. She's a strange contradiction of resenting her mother and wanting the warmth of her affection and approval. Adopted from Russia at a very young age, along with her little brother, she has a few, vague memories of her birth parents and living in Russia. These memories are just enough to help her remember her adoptive mother, Teetee, only went there to adopt one child, a baby boy – not a young girl – but came home with two. This issue is revisited throughout the book as Darya struggles to believe Teetee also wanted her, which causes a lot of resentment, feelings of inadequacy and self-esteem issues.

For Darya's entire life, Teetee has operated what is called Philoxenia House, which is a shelter for abused women, hidden within a residential area. As a result, Darya is used to keeping secrets and sheltering and nurturing others. She learns, in the course of the story, that she has a special affinity for the deer of her area. Unfortunately, she also lives in an area of farmers and other residents who view the deer as a nuisance and want them gone. With the training that Darya has unknowingly received from Teetee her whole life, Darya has found her own cause to pursue. And by the end, she has grown up enough that she can finally view Teetee for what she really is – her mother.

Darya finds a kindred spirit in Rawley, a boy living with his uncle while his mother recovers from surgery. Once past some initial confusion, they seem to understand each other very well and have a connection that Darya hasn't found with anyone else.

This book includes many illustrations of deer throughout the book, with some added history at the end about the different myths surrounding deer that I found very interesting. The plot does tend to move a little slowly in some spots, which may put off some younger readers but older and/or avid readers should have no problems with it.

This book deals with several heavy issues for teenagers with adoption, domestic violence, reincarnation and anti-hunting being included, as well as a subtle, underlying tone of female empowerment – so much so that I'm torn on suggesting the age limit be over sixteen. The topics are handled well by the author, but I might suggest that if younger teens read this they are mature enough to handle and understand the topics included. There are also some borderline paranormal elements in this book with Darya and the spirit of the deer that will bring up the female empowerment issues.

Well written, this book is an engrossing read. It kept me reading to find out what happened next and by the last page, which was left open for a sequel, I was interested in finding out what happens after the end. If the reader can handle the topics included, it will leave the door open for many interesting discussions with parents or friends. It is also a good read for kids who don't feel they fit in anywhere, as Darya does come into her own by the end with a good understanding of who she is and how she fits into the world.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten years ago, Darya and her younger brother Nikolai live their life in a Russian orphanage. Six years later, they are now living with an elderly woman who called Tee-tee (whose real name is actually Teresa Tomasio and she is an American) whereby she works as a director of the Helpline Crisis Referral Center by day, and undercover shelter director by night. You see, she runs a safe house for battered women and their kids, and she named it Philoxenia (Greek for "love of strangers" and that's where this title comes about.)

When Darya first steps onto America's land and into Tee-tee's life, she is full of doubts. After all, Tee-tee saw Nikolai at the orphanage first. However her doubts and her insecurities slowly fade away after getting to know more about her adoptive mother and knowing that she has a soft spot for women who need to get away but have nowhere to go. Because the county is so large and it is so rural and poor, they can't possibly support for every woman who needs safety thus Philoxenia is part of a network of houses scattered in residential neighbourhoods.

However, it seems like there are also other strangers - nonhumans - who want to seek protection too. When Darya thought she could hear the voices and pleas from the deers roaming about the forest around their area, she thought she was imagining things but she could sense the fear and pain in their eyes and she knew that their life are threatened considering her community hunt for them. She wants to help them, but would she be able to get the support from her adoptive mother and most of all, would she be able to take all the taunts and wraths of her community?

For the Love of Strangers is a haunting yet a compassionate account of a young girl's mission of protecting not only the battered women and their children but also more on the deers which face the cruelty fact of extermination. Although some scenes of this story take on a mystical tone at some point (Darya being able to understand the pleas of the deers and so forth), the message behind about protecting the animals and the emphasis on the beauty of nature come off strong and clear. Though For the Love of Strangers is a fiction, the sad truth is how those deers suffered in the story indeed happen in reality and everytime I see those videos on skinning animals for their furs or killing them for any benefits just makes my heart breaks.

But of course this book isn't entirely focused on protecting the deers only (though I loved the premise and fully support the cause), this story is also about 16-year-old Darya and her insecurities even after she was being adopted. She often wonders if her adoptive mother truly loves her and whether or not would she be sent back to Russia one day. I think Darya is a strong character, yet there is also a vulnerable side of her that makes me want to hug and comfort her. I suppose this is how a child might feel towards her adoptive parents at some point regardless of anything.

Poignant and lyrical, For the Love of Strangers will appeal not only to the YA readers but to the adults as well.