Monday, September 24, 2012

Monday's Muse - Kimberly Sabatini's "Touching the Surface"


It's been quite awhile since I've written a post for this blog. But,after reading this great, soon-to-be-released novel, I'm inspired to revive this blog with a review. This book has made me think a lot about my writing, and about life in general. 

Last Friday, I was so excited to finally get to bring home the Advance Reader’s Copy of Kimberly Sabatini’s upcoming debut novel, Touching the Surface – its release date is October 30. I’d been looking forward to reading this book ever since I found out that it had been accepted for publication by Simon Pulse (a young adult imprint of Simon & Schuster) last February (2011) and since I first saw the actual ARC copy this past January. I spent last weekend reading it during my free time from work, not wanting to put it down, and finished it last Sunday afternoon, with just minutes to spare before I had to go to work. I was glad to have Kim’s words, characters and images in my mind during a long and mundane work-night. And they’ve been in my mind ever since.

There’s so much I want to say about this book and (as usual with my writing), I’ve spent much time trying to find just the right words to accurately convey what an excellent book Touching the Surface is.

Full Disclosure: This review post is going to be somewhat subjective, because Kim has been a good friend, as well as an active and supportive member of the children’s writing community here in the Hudson Valley, NY, for many years. Since the beginning of this year, I’ve helped her moderate the monthly meetings of our local Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Shop Talks. And she and I have shared many great SCBWI meetings and conferences together, as well as many great talks about writing and life.

I remember when, about five years ago, Kim showed up at a Shop Talk meeting, with a sheaf of pages – the first chapter of her novel, about a teen girl’s experience in the afterlife, and inspired by the death of her beloved father a couple of years before. She read it to everyone there in a faltering yet excited voice and I knew immediately that I’d heard something special and unique – unlike any other teen novel I’d read before. When everyone gave her their feedback, I told her that I could tell right away that her story was special – heartfelt and well-written – and I had no doubt that one day it would be a success.

Since then, I’ve read Kim’s manuscripts in various forms of revision, and each time I’ve been really impressed at how she rewrote and developed the story, while still remaining true to her original and ongoing vision. I think that her agent, Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Agency, and her editor, Annica Risi of Simon Pulse, saw the same great potential and the result is this wonderful published book.

Reading Touching the Surface in its ARC form, I have no doubt that it will have a great audience of readers – teens and adults – and that it will help inspire them for years to come.

It’s the story of Elliot, a 17-year-old girl, who has died for the third time and surfaces in a lake at the Obmil Center for Progression – she is pulled out by Mel, an older woman who has acted as her guide each time she’s been there. Kim explained to our SCBWI group that “Obmil” was her interpretation of the Catholic concept of Limbo – as a picturesque mountain lodge retreat that is a sort of way station for souls who have died, and need to have life lessons before they can move on to their afterlife. It’s such an inventive setting, especially since the various souls’ memories, thoughts and moods can cause the Obmil’s surrounding buildings and grounds, as well as its atmosphere to change, creating steep mountain paths, fields of flowers, or a sudden snowfall.  

At first, Elliot has no recollection of her previous life and only vague memories of her past two lives – as an elderly man who’d died alongside his twin brother, and as a forty-year-old divorcee who had died with her best friend in a plane crash after a self- help retreat.

One of Obmil’s objectives for a “Third Timer” such as Elliot is to go through a process called “Delving.” I loved these scenes, where, in a New Age-y Workshop setting, each soul is suspended in a “swing” that allows him or her to relive a past-life experience, and the participants in the group are able to share in it, while the guide helps the person to cope with or process the revealed issues that have kept him or her from moving on. It’s like a fantastical form of hypnosis.

Elliot’s memories are so urgent however, that she begins to re-live her past without the safety of the swing, and even, at times, outside the haven of the Workshop. Her remembrances involve Oliver and Trevor, two teens who are also at the Obmil, and who are as different from each other as day and night. Oliver is light and sweet-natured, with a positive, Zen-like outlook, but Trevor is dark and angry, with an aggressive attitude. Elliot feels a natural kinship to Oliver, and although she is repelled by Trevor, she is as equally drawn to him. Through her guided and unguided Delves, she is dismayed to discover her connection to both boys. And she finds it difficult to forgive herself for the effect she’d had on both of their lives, and now, afterlives. It’s hard for her to accept Oliver’s kind friendship, and she feels that she deserves Trevor’s wrath. Her relationship with them forms a constantly shifting triangle, and it’s interesting to see how all three characters are able to grow and work out their complicated and emotional ties to each other.

Another character at the Obmil is Julia, Elliot’s roommate at the lodge – she’d been Elliot’s closest companion in her first two lives, but was somehow absent from her recent past life. And for some reason, Julia is now avoiding Elliot, causing more hurt and confusion in Elliot’s already distressing afterlife. Julia does have her reasons, though, and when her back story is revealed through Delving, it’s understandable. It’s a good sub-plot about the give and take in long-lasting friendships.

Touching the Surface is the perfect title for the book’s multi-layered themes. Elliot must delve through the surface of her knowledge of her past life to uncover its meaning and to have a deeper sense of herself and the people she has loved. She also must learn to look past the surface of her companions, to forge deeper and more understanding perceptions of them. There is much more to each character than what appears on the surface. Even Mel and her Obmil colleagues - caretaker Freddie, and David, a pompous Guide - have an interesting and surprising connection to each other and to the Obmil.

Kim further enhances her theme with metaphors and images of water in its many forms – a hidden pond; a rushing waterfall; an unpredictable crust of ice on a lake. She also adds recurring
images of birds – eagles and paper origami cranes – to add beauty and resonance to her words. The result is a story that is as beautifully written as it is compelling. I found myself wanting to take a highlighter to its pages, to mark the phrases, sentences and passages that affected me and made me think – I will definitely make good use of the highlight feature on my Nook copy.

I’m so glad that Simon Pulse is the publisher of Touching the Surface – Kim’s book deserves to be released by a major publisher. But I also think that it’s more than just a “teen fiction” book. Yes, its protagonists are teens, and it does cover many of the typical teen-novel tropes – like making sense out of one’s life; a potential love-triangle; a best-friend relationship; the issues that a troubled teen must go through with parents and in school. But that’s just on the surface. Delving into the story reveals much more than that – I think it’s a metaphysical fiction tale about personal growth; person-to-person connections; guilt and forgiveness; the healing of hurt and anger; and overall, love that can transcend life and death. Offhand, I’m hard-pressed to come up with YA novels and authors with similar themes – Suzanne Weyn’s “Reincarnation” comes to mind. But I would classify Touching the Surface with some of the best metaphysical fiction – for any ages – that I’ve read, by such amazingly insightful authors as Richard Bach, Mitch Albom and Paolo Coelho.

It’s for that reason that I recommend Touching the Surface to any reader from teen to adult, who wants to read a beautifully-written, thought-provoking tale with wonderfully imagined characters, setting, and story-arc, that also gives a deep message about life, death and the afterlife, and has the potential to stay in the reader’s mind and heart long after they’ve turned the last page.

So, Kim is my muse - not just for this blog post, but one of my muses for my writing - for the past several years now, and into the near-future. Reading Touching the Surface has been so inspiring - it has made me think about my own writing, as well as life in general, and the themes that I want to express in my written works. Like Kim, I want to express my spiritual thoughts and ideas about life in novels that may also have meaning, not just to me, but to other readers. I've had several book ideas in my mind, and in various stages of notes and written beginnings, but I haven't felt that my writing has been adept enough to adequately express my point of view, to effectively reach others who may read my work. So, whenever I feel unsure about my writing, I'll remember Kim, when she first came to a Shop Talk meeting, and her hesitant reading yet fervent belief in her story and the importance of its meaning. And I'll strive to express my ideas and beliefs in words and characters and settings and plot arcs, and hope that one day, they'll result in books that will find an audience of readers, who will appreciate them the same way that I know they will embrace Kim and Touching the Surface.


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