Diamond Willow

Like a diamond, the concept for Diamond Willow is brilliant. Twelve-year-old Willow is named after a stick, a diamond willow stick, to be precise. When branches are cut from the willow, a diamond shaped scar is left on the branch. Written mostly in first person verse, each page of Willow's thoughts is a diamond-shaped poem; but the brilliance is not in the shape of the poem, it lies in the gem within. Nestled within each poem is a small truth - a truth that resides within Willow but cannot be seen from without,

(spacing incorrect due to formatting limitations)

"What
I love
about dogs;
They don't talk
behind your back.
If they're mad at you,
they bark a couple times
and get it over with. It's true
they slobber on you sometimes.
(I'm glad PEOPLE show more don't do that.) They
jump out and SCARE you in the dark. (I know,
I should say ME not "you" - some people aren't'
afraid of anything.) But dogs don't make fun
of you. They don't hit you in the back
of your neck with an ice-covered
snowball, and if they did, and
it made you cry, all their
friends wouldn't stand
there laughing
at you.
(Me.)"

Diamond Willow takes place in a remote Alaskan town where dogs and snowmobiles are the most common form of transportation. Willow is most comfortable with her family and her dogs, especially now, since her closest friend has a boyfriend. When an accident occurs while Willow is mushing the dogs, Willow uncovers the truth within, as well as a closely-held family secret.
More than just a coming-of-age story, Diamond Willow is a mystical tale of Native American and other ancestor spirits that reside within the creatures of the Alaskan wild.
A thoughtful look at the meaning of family, loss, friendship and love. show less

After reading this author’s book Keisha’s House, I immediately picked this up when I saw it on sale. I was not disappointed. Alternating between diamond-shaped poems, from the viewpoint of Willow, and from the viewpoint of her ancestors, the story takes the reader through the wild and frozen world of Alaska. Willow has spent her short 12 years under the knowledge that something isn’t right about her and her life. But it takes a journey, a horrible accident, and a special dog for her to set things right.
The unique story-telling technique brings so much to this narrative. With just a few words, the authors draws in the reader, and creates an authentic world, full of magic, sorrow, and redemption. I particularly enjoyed the First show more Nations mythology that is woven into the story. It gives this book a spirit and soul.
I highly recommend this book, particularly for late elementary and middle grade readers. It is an excellent introduction to story-thru-poetry. Also, SPOILER: No animals die. show less

Can’t recommend this enough. Such a beautiful story told in a unique way. Each page has a diamond poem with an additional hidden message in the middle. A young girl who lives in Alaska travels to her grandparent’s home on her dog sled. Friendship, deep loss, and courage in the face of fear are all wonderful themes it deals with.

Before I had read it, I heard the ALSC Notables Committee discuss this book at ALA in June. Mostly they liked it fine, although some committee members had some small reservations about the gimmick of using diamond-shaped sections of text on each page, with some words bolded to show the reader an additional small message. More serious were the reservations about the ancestor spirits of various characters, who show up as animals (a fox, a lynx, several dogs, etc) and watch over their descendants with kindly, concerned eyes.

Because this novel takes place in Alaska and involves a girl who is part Athabascan Indian, I assumed that these would be all Athabascan spirits, and so I was all set in advance to be irritated - how come white people show more never get any spirit guides? The diamond-shaped poems would also set my teeth on edge, I though.

That's what I get for assuming anything. The spirits are equal-opportunity - ancestors of both Indian and European descent get to come back as mice, chickadees, and whatnot - and those diamond-shaped poems make reading this moving and fast-paced novel a breeze (I must confess that I forgot to read those bolded "messages" about half-way through the book). The ancestors speak in regular prose, making them seem refreshingly practical and even a bit prosaic at times. I like my spirit guides to be wise but not too, well, spiritual, thank you very much.

Willow's trips with her sled and dogs back and forth to her grandparents house are thrilling but not belabored, and her interactions with her parents and others are just right. And the amazing revelation that comes out as the family is deciding whether or not to euthanize Roxy the dog after a terrible sled accident - well, I won't give it away, but it was really intensely moving.

The last few chapters, after we find out which former human Roxy represents, are a little anti-climactic and even strange - it's hard to continue to buy into the ancestor-into-animal concept after a while, only because it's belabored a bit too long. Still - this is a compelling book that many kids will find hard to put down. In fact, my 13-year-old daughter and I kept arguing about who got to read it during Olympics commercials. show less

I highly recommend Diamond Willow by Helen Frost. I loved this story—not only because of its touching plot, but also because of the unique way it’s written in diamond-shaped poems. The format made the story feel personal and poetic, and the hidden messages in bold words added even more meaning. It’s a beautifully told story about identity, family, and growing up, and the setting in Alaska makes it even more powerful. This is a book that stays with you long after you finish it.

12-year-old Willow yearns to be accepted and seen for who she is. One way she wants to prove herself is to run the family's beloved sled dogs 12 miles out to her grandparents...alone. But an accident on the way back blinds Roxy, their best dog, and Willow feels responsible. When Willow realizes her parents plan to put Roxy down, she takes action to save the dog, unaware that Roxy is the reincarnation of her dead twin sister. Other late relatives are reincarnated as animals in the Alaska wild who watch over Willow and her family. Told in prose and concrete poetry.

Excellent book. Although written for youth, I'd recommend this for adults. The message and the way it is written are not to be missed.

Starting with the author's note explaining a diamond willow branch and the method of writing. This book is thin and each page that is from Willow's point of view is written in the shape of a diamond willow "scar". Within each scar shape are bolded words that convey a very strong meaning, sometimes completely separate from what the rest of the words on the page are telling you.

There are also narrations from different animals in the story, which are reincarnations of family and friends. The circling around that occurs, making everything fit so incredibly well and have meaning really impacted me.

Very show more powerful book in a small package. Read it, you won't be sorry. show less