A Swift Pure Cry

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Irish teen gets accused of killing her baby.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Kids say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this book, based on a true story, depicts some horrifying events, including a graphic description of a young teen giving birth on the kitchen floor, assisted only by her much younger siblings, and the murder of a baby by exposure.

  • Main characters shoplift with no consequences.
  • A boy is beaten up by a schoolmate. A baby is stillborn, another is left to die of exposure in a cave.
  • Young teens repeatedly have sex, not described, which results in pregnancy; kissing with tongue; a girl sees her father naked and aroused; references to periods, prostitutes, and abortion; a graphic depiction of childbirth.
  • British slang: "fags" (for cigarettes), "shite," "ass."
  • Not applicable.
  • Everyone, including young teens, smokes constantly. Teens drink, including sneaking the communion wine. A father is a drunk.

What's the story?

Life is tough for 15-year-old Shell. Since her mom died, her father has quit working and, when he isn't drinking, spends his time collecting for the church and skimming the donations for enough to buy booze. Mostly he isn't home, and Shell is left to take care of her younger brother and sister, Jimmy and Trix, with little money and no help.

She starts a relationship with a local boy, but after he leaves for America, Shell discovers that she's pregnant. Knowing nothing about having a baby, and with no adult to guide her, she is left to do the best she can on her own. But when she finally gives birth (in a harrowing scene, on the kitchen floor and aided only by her young siblings) to a stillborn baby, her problems have only begun.


Is it any good?

 

This was the late Siobhan Dowd's first novel, and it's a heartbreaking one. Based on a true story and set in Ireland in the '80s, it reveals a life that, one hopefully assumes, is far removed from that of most of its readers. For the first two-thirds of the book, it's a chronicle of a life no one should have to lead. Perhaps the saddest part of it is the way that Shell just keeps going along as if this is just what life is like and there's no reason to even suspect that it could be better.

In the last third of the book, it turns into a mystery. While the reader will have figured it out long before anyone in the book does, it's still a thriller. But throughout the book, there is one small hero who is almost overlooked: Shell's stalwart 9-year-old brother, Jimmy, who's the first to figure out that she's pregnant. His chipper and unobtrusive caring is one of the little touches that elevate what could have been a tale of unrelenting misery into something else, something hopeful ... and pure.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about Shell's situation while pregnant. Why didn't anyone see what was happening and offer to help? Why didn't she ask for help?


This review was written by Matt Berman

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This review was written by Matt Berman
Author:Siobhan Dowd
Book type:Fiction
Genre:Literary Fiction
Publisher:David Fickling Books
Publication date:April 1, 2007
Number of pages:309
Hardcover price:$16.99
Publisher's recommended age(s):12 - 17
Read aloud:14
Read alone:14

This review was written by Matt Berman
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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