A ZIGZAG LINE
by Sara B. Shirley
An aspiring artist uncovers family secrets and works to save a community in Shirley’s novel.
Fourteen-year-old Dre Elliott has big plans for the summer: finishing his portfolio so he can apply for a scholarship to the Collegio di Belle Arti in Florence, an essential step on his path to becoming a professional artist. But on his birthday, he receives a letter his mountain-climber father wrote to him years ago as he was dying on the slopes of Denali. The almost-illegible letter introduces Dre to an extended family he didn’t know about, and he decides to give up some of his portfolio-building time to travel to New Hampshire and meet his great-aunt—and learn more about the family responsibility his father’s last letter asked him to take on. Dre’s great-aunt EV lives off the grid in a house built into a New Hampshire mountain where she leads the agricultural collective established by Dre’s great-grandmother, who wanted to give back to the community after the closure of the family’s factory put much of the town of Forsyth out of work. Dre’s enthusiasm dips as he discovers that visiting EV means chores—it’s hard work, and leaves even less time for his art than he had expected. He’s also disappointed by his great-aunt’s reluctance to discuss Dre’s father or any of the other family history he had hoped to uncover. With the help of two new friends—and despite the hindrance of some local bullies—Dre does his own research and discovers that branches of his family are fighting over the futures of the agricultural project and Forsyth itself. He realizes that, as the last surviving member of his branch, he has a role to play and a responsibility to the community he has only just met.
Dre’s growing maturity over the course of the story—he goes from slightly naive, ungrateful, and self-involved to thoughtful, community-minded, and willing to risk his dreams to protect other people—is one of the novel’s most notable strengths. Readers may be inclined to dismiss him as a rather annoying protagonist at first, but Shirley gradually develops Dre into an engaging character who earns the reader’s sympathy. The story also has a strong cast of supporting characters, including EV (“If I’m forced to repeat myself, I get very, very grumpy, which isn’t a good thing for you or me, understand?”); Stan, Dre’s mother’s lawyer boyfriend; Gwen, Forsyth’s one-girl welcoming committee (and Dre’s crush); and Roland, whose research skills, sense of honor, and offbeat communication style are essential to helping Dre puzzle out his father’s dying wish for him. However, some of the other characters, like the local bullies, are more one-dimensional, or strain credibility a bit. The pacing is uneven at first, but the narrative finds its footing after Dre arrives in Forsyth, and pages will be turning rapidly by the time Dre, Gwen, and Roland are solving the family mystery. Shirley also does an effective job of exploring the tension between pursuing a passion, like art or mountain climbing, and acting responsibly toward friends and family.
A solid blend of coming-of-age tale, adventure, and mystery.