Book
review: IT'S ME, HANNAH by Carleen Bunde ( fiction, 2017)
A
Novel About Growing Up
Hannah
is an eight-year-old girl as the story opens with the sudden death of
her mother in a gruesome auto accident in the town of Munich, North
Dakota. Her only nearby relatives are her father, Johan, who is a
Swedish immigrant farmer, and her maternal grandma, Lieula. But
Munich is a small town, where most people know each other, and Hannah
has many friends, especially Annabelle Murger, her same age; their
mothers were best friends.
This
is a well-written series of fast-forwards of Hanna's life, mostly her
teen-age years. She and her father are both devastated by her
mother's death, but Johan takes charge of his home, his farm, and his
daughter's needs. She gets into many adolescent scrapes, tries to
hide them, but ultimately can depend on both her father and her
grandma for emotional support and help. She does her part well in the
farm chores along with her father, and in her studies in the little
one-room school; she even copes with a mentally disturbed school
teacher whom the school board finally dismisses. She becomes an able
cattle herder with the help of her horse Sally, and her dog Maggie.
Puberty
and high school in town, both beginning in the same year, are
difficult times, shared with her friend Annabelle. Hanna and an older
boy are attracted to each other, causing arguments with her father.
She gets a part-time job as a car-hop at Nick's Drive-In and loves
it, gets along well with the other workers. Gets in trouble driving
Papa's pickup without his knowledge, and gets stuck in a ditch in the
middle of the night.
She
is stressed out when her Papa, after several years as a widower,
starts dating Lucy Swan, a newcomer to town. Some weeks later, after
work, he tells Hanna, “ Get in the car and go pick up your grandma,
I have something to say to you both.” When they return, Papa's best
friend, Jacob, is sitting with him at the kitchen table.
Grandma
arrives, worried about what trouble her son-in-law may be in. Says,
“Johan, do you want us to sit in the parlor?”
“No,
Lieula, vat I got to say, I can say right here in the kitchen.” He
took his pipe out of his mouth, leaned back in his chair . . . “Now
jou know as vell as I do dat I've been courtin' Lucy Swan for some
time. She's a mighty fine voman.”
He
turned to me. “Hannah Marie, you're almost grown-up now.”
I
nodded.
All
of a sudden, I'm grown-up?
“Vell,
folks, vat I've got to tell you is: Lucy and I are getting married.”
The
news almost took my breath away.
I
can't imagine Papa married to anyone but Mama,
and I really
can't imagine Papa and Lucy kissing or anything like that.
“Papa,
did you say that you and Lucy are getting married?”
“I've
asked her and she said yes.”
Grandma's
mouth dropped open and her face went white. “Well, I never.”
Jacob
scratched his head hard and fast. “The hell you say, Yohan.”
In
a faint voice, Grandma uttered, “What's this world coming to? She's
half your age. Johan, you could be her father.”
“Age
is yust a number.”
“Don't
you care what people will say?”
Papa
rubbed his chin and looked over his bifocals at Grandma. “Jah, I
care, but I care more about Lucy. I yust told you, I'm marrying her
and dat's dat.”
Jacob
slapped the table with his big hand. “Goot for you, Yohan.”
Grandma
pushed back her chair, stood up and strode right out the door.
“Come
on, Hannah,” she wailed.
In
a hurry to leave the table, I nearly turned over my chair. Papa
heaved himself from his seat and walked with me to the back door with
his arm across my shoulders.
This
story is easy reading (although an author's written version of a
foreign language dialect can be a stumbling block for the reader.) It
will be of interest to those parents and teen-agers hoping to someday
understand each other. Author Bunde relates family conflicts in
brief, vivid scenes. The constant theme is that children are much
more likely to prosper if there is an adult in their life who loves
them unconditionally.
The
last ten pages summarize the rest of Hanna's life and end in a
surprising sign-off.
