THE SWING

by Emily Hanlon ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1979

Hanlon's chapters alternate between deaf, eleven-year-old Beth (she could be eight), who loves her family's summer place and the old swing nearby, and thirteen-year-old Danny Grady, who lives in the area year-round, hates his rugged stepfather, and resents Beth's use of the swing he considers his. The two meet on the mountain where Beth has wheedled permission to go alone, and where Danny startles a mother bear with his new rifle, then flees in panic and must be helped into a tree by Beth. Ashamed of the truth, Danny tells his stepfather that he has rescued Beth from a charging bear; the result is an aroused posse which shoots the offending mother and cub and drags them through town in a macho victory parade. Beth is overcome with grief for ""her"" bears, but the two children finally come together at the swing and more or less soothe each other's pain. Hanlon no doubt meant this to be moving in some elemental way, but Beth's intense, imploring love for the local forms of nature is about her only feature, and not especially appealing (other kids ridicule her, and indeed it is hard to imagine any other response except pity); Danny's problem with his stepfather might be easier to relate to, but where Beth's story is all souped-up emotion his is just crudely developed.

Pub Date: May 1, 1979

ISBN: 0595169139

Page Count: -

Publisher: Bradbury--dist. by Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1979

Categories: FICTION