When the Crickets Stopped Singing by author Marilyn Cram Donahue is a beautifully written novel full of imagery and parallels that really bring the story to life. It’s a novel about a nation on the cusp of war, while three girls in a small town are on the cusp of realizing the world isn’t always what it seems. Just as the world was losing its innocence with Hitler coming to power, the young people in Messina, CA were losing theirs as they realized that people like Jefferson Clement, a child predator/molester, existed. At the bottom of it, this novel is about the loss of innocence.
And that is the problem I, as the reviewer, have with this novel. It really is a well-written novel. Donahue is able to capture small town America with vivid descriptions and a cast of characters that add to the feel. She captures the voice of pre-teen girls and portrays them with vivid personalities that come through in dialogue as well as in descriptions. However, the subject matter is one that I could never imagine warranting a novel format for its targeted demographic. Yes, child predators and molesters did and still do exist, but to have it presented in novel/story form for 4th-6th graders doesn’t seem the appropriate format for that age group to have this particular subject introduced and discussed. Although there is nothing graphic or spelled out in detail, I would have a hard time giving this novel to a child of mine to read because of the theme.
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Calkins Creek
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 1 religious exclamation.
Violence/Gore: Characters retell rumor of a neighbor having killed his wife and buried her in the cellar; character says how someone threw a rock at her in the past; character threatens to skin the hide of someone; mention of someone having fought in the trenches of WWI and being blown out of the trench by a German bomb; character finds her pet chicken with its neck wrung by an intruder; 3 page account of man arguing with a girl which results in–man grabs girl; girl slaps and kicks man for touching her; man slaps girl; man grabs girl by shoulders and shakes her; man causes girl to lose balance and fall over edge of cliff resulting in injuries and being knocked unconscious; girl retells what she witnessed of the argument in court including the physical violence
Sex/Nudity: Boy and girl hold hands; girl tells how a man puts his hands on her; girl tells how a man wants to touch her where he shouldn’t; boy puts his arm around girl’s shoulder; man accused of sexually abusing girls.
Mature Subject Matter:
Child molestation; drunken parents; sexual abuse.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
Boy said to have been caught smoking. Man rumored to have whiskey in the bottle wrapped in a brown paper sack. Person said to “drink” up all the profits and was drunk a lot. Someone reported as being “out cold with a bottle”.
