Sheree Fitch

I am going to just come out and say it. I loved this book. Told from the perspective of Jake Upshore, a train wreck of a teenage boy almost à la Holden Caulfield but for the small facts that he lives in small town Nova Scotia, he's poor, learning disabled, a recovering alcoholic/addict and cobbled by his anger issues.

Here is a little bit of Jake's voice:
"Murderer. It's one kick in the belly of a word isn't it? Has a taste, too. It tastes like barbed wire and has wild hyena eyes. Murderer. show more Murder-her. Did he? Did I? That's when I remember what I want to forget."

We first meet Jake in a cemetery where he is hauled away by the police. A body is taken away in an ambulance. We don't know what he has done. We don't know what happened. But slowly his story starts to unravel. It begins when he was five years old, the year his mother died and he met and fell in love with Sky Derucci, the smart, beautiful, daughter of the local police chief. Who, by the way, does not like Jake, not at all.

Now they are almost out of high school and are secretly seeing each other. But when Sky disappears suddenly with rumours that she is pregnant, Jake goes ballistic. He has to find her, he has to help. With only pages from her journal to guide him, he follows her and ends up on a journey where he must confront his own demons.

Fitch's prose is fiercely lyrical, a roiling ocean of pathos and humour. The character of Jake so fleshed out, so beautifully flawed and self-sabotaging, so damn...lyrical (there is that word again) I could not put it down. Her ending though hopeful was not sitcom-y nor unrealistic. This is a coming of age story, a gorgeous, moving love story, heck it is almost poetry. Sheree Fitch has popped up on my radar with big neon letters, spelling YA CANLIT CANON!

Hmmm. I wish that had a better ring to it... show less

Titled from lines in a Wordsworth poem ("He who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy; But he who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in eternity's sun rise"), Sheree Fitch's first novel for adults tells the story of Mercy Beth Fanjoy receiving news from her doctor that they've found a lump on one of her ovaries and the subsequent weeks of waiting for biopsy results. But don't let the grim-seeming plot fool you--KISS JOY AS IT FLIES is much more comedy than tragedy and is laugh show more aloud funny in places, even while Mercy makes poignant observations about the important things in life that we don't always appreciate or even notice until we contemplate (possible) early death. My copy of the book is dog-earred in several places where I just had to mark spots I wanted to jot quotes down from later.

I really liked Fitch's exuberant use of language. Her background in children's fiction shows in how she skillfully and unabashedly throws over the top descriptions about and uses wordplay and just, well, shows a lot of enthusiasm as she brings us Mercy--a hyperactive, eccentric character who's a tad self-obsessed and self-pitying (though in the story's immediate circumstances who can blame her?), who ends up being one of those people you really love even though you have to occasionally roll your eyes at her. show less

This is the story of a little boy who struggles in school. No matter how much he concentrates, printing is too difficult. He begins a rock collection which helps him to use his imagination to take him mentally away from school. The rocks are his solace. Unfortunately, when his pockets become too heavy, his pants fell down in front of the whole class. A storyteller comes to the classroom. He also collects rocks. This gives the boy the courage to tell his story. Afterward, he spells his name show more with rocks.

Although I love the idea of the story, I found the text lengthy and the narration jumpy. I think a child who struggles with school would probably still enjoy it but might find it too long and wordy. I was disappointed with the editing. A book that is meant to appeal to a child who struggles in school, should have crisp, fast-paced narration.

The pictures, done by Helen Flook, are bright and eventful, mostly two-page spreads. Insights into the child’s imagination are especially engaging. show less

As a person who lives were snow covers the ground six months of the year, I was deeply impressed by Sherry Features understanding and descriptions of all the different types of snow. The protagonist, a young blonde haired blue-eyed boy, is trying to explain snow to his dark skinned friend, who lives in a place with no winter. As you read the author's description, you can hear, see, and even taste the snow. She manages to portray detailed images through the use of poetry. Her words are to be show more savored. If you live in the north you understand the difference between slow feather shapes and splinters sharp snow. You've heard the rubbery squeak of snow beneath your feet. I've never heard such a perfect description of such a rich season.

Janet Wilson's illustrations complement the words beautifully. Whether it is a child catching snowflakes on his tongue are a group of children engaged in a snowball fight, sensations seep into the reader page to page. This is a book that is to be read slowly, enjoying the sounds, examining the shapes of the words, and exploring the pictures.
At the end of the book, Fitch discusses the roots of this book. She tells us that "every book, like every person and every snowflake, is different too." This book is for UNICEF and features activities at the end to celebrate your senses.

I highly recommend this book for those who enjoy snow and for those who have never experienced it. show less