Thin Places

by Lesley Choyce

Overview

A dazzling story told in verse of sixteen-year-old Declan Lynch and the girl whose centuries-old voice rings in his head.

One day, Declan Lynch, a restless teenager, starts hearing a girl’s voice inside his head. Eventually, he even begins to see her. Though he’s not certain the girl, Rebecca, is real, Declan finds himself falling for her. She shows him visions of places and people he has never seen — places he feels compelled to find in hopes of meeting her.

His quest takes him to County Sligo, Ireland, and its “thin places,” spots where the earth and the spirit world seem almost to touch. His slightly crazy Uncle Seamus takes him in, as Declan’s search has him wondering which world he belongs to — his or the one belonging to a girl who might not even be real.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459739598
Publisher:	Dundurn Press
Publication date:	07/29/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	759 KB
Age Range:	12 - 15 Years

About the Author

Lesley Choyce is the author of over ninety books. His previous verse novel, Jeremy Stone, was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award. He has won the Dartmouth Book Award, the Atlantic Poetry Prize, and the Ann Connor Brimer Award.

Lesley Choyce is the author of over ninety books. He has won the Dartmouth Book Award, the Atlantic Poetry Prize, and the Ann Connor Brimer Award, and has been shortlisted for the Governor General's Award. He lives in East Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia.

Read an Excerpt

Inside
When you are young
you have
imaginary friends
right?
You
make them up and
hang out with them
have adventures you can
never have
with real people.
I had a whole crowd
of friends who
didn’t exist
outside of my head.
Real people were
well
boring.
Adults were the worst.
They say How are you?
And I usually say nothing
because I know they can’t handle
the truth.
Some ask What do you want to be
when you grow up?
And sometimes I answer
I want to live in my own kingdom
an island filled with amazing beings
only I can imagine.

My Imaginary Friends
They
spoke to me
and told me stories
urged me to do crazy things
like
make parachutes out of sheets
and jump from
the shed roof.
They suggested I should learn
to juggle knives
and study the nature of
fire.
They told me where to look for
ghosts
and demons
and sometimes they
were not lying
although sometimes
they just wanted trouble.
(My father said he had a plan
to destroy
my imaginary friends.
That made them very angry.
But I said
I would never let that happen.)
Mostly
late at night
they spoke to me
of amazing places
that could not possibly
exist.
The voices were always clear
and
sounded like me.
I guess they were really
just me
or parts of me.

Let Me Introduce Myself
My parents named me
Declan Lynch
Names are important
but
it’s also important to
remember
that someone usually your parents
just made up your name.
You were not born with it.
Think about that.
You
were just you
when you came into this world.
My mom and dad were the Lynches
living on an average street Maple Terrace
like the tree
with the little helicopter seeds.
The Lynches had their first and only kid
me
and said I looked like my great-grandfather
whose name was Declan Timothy Lynch.
I only saw pictures of my great-grandfather
much later
when I could focus my eyes.
I didn’t look anything like him
but
the name stuck.
Declan
or Deck sometimes
or Declan Patrick Lynch
when I was bad
which was often.
Just jumping from shed roofs
getting lost in malls
hiking deep into the tangled forest
behind my house
always determined to not come home on time
chasing ghosts and demons
and listening for the next bit of advice
from the voices in my head.

Parental Advice
My mother told my father
it was just a phase
I was going through
a very long phase
and I would grow out
of it.
(But she secretly told me
that she understood the voices
and that I should learn the difference
between the good voices
and bad ones.)
My father
was a sworn enemy
of my imaginary friends.
Your imagination
he said
plays tricks on you
dirty tricks.
When I asked him what he meant
he tried to explain
but grew frustrated
and stomped away.
I heard him say to my mother in the kitchen
Sometimes, Fiona
Sometimes I think
that boy is not our son
at all.
Maybe they made a mistake
at the hospital
and gave us
the wrong
child.

Editorial Reviews

Thin Places will speak to readers of diverse tastes. It is a recommended addition to young adult library collections.

Resource Links

This lyrical high/low offering will captivate soulful teens as they seek to discover what future awaits Declan and ponder whether he is of this time and place or another.

Booklist Online

Thin Places navigates between physical and spirit worlds, concluding that reality — and belonging — is somewhere in between.

Canadian Materials

Readers embracing elements of fantasy, linking Ireland’s ancient lore, history, myth and contemporary life, will enjoy a magical journey and endure a truly tragic love story.

Atlantic Books Today

[P]owerful…a perfect novel for teen readers.

Quill and Quire

[P]owerful...a perfect novel for teen readers.

Quill & Quire

07/01/2017
Gr 8 Up—This novel in verse focuses on the relationship between 16-year-old Declan Lynch and the surprising new voice in his head. He hears a young woman who introduces herself as Rebecca, and she claims to have been looking for him. Declan falls in love with her almost immediately and without much just cause. While he has heard voices in the past, his conversations with Rebecca feel different. Declan tells a trusted friend and his parents about his experience, though his father remains insensitive about Declan's mental health. Through a series of images provided by Rebecca, the protagonist comes to understand that he must travel to Ireland to find her. Once Declan arrives in Ireland to stay with his uncle Seamus, readers will feel more invested in the teen's journey. His uncle helps him travel around the island to search for the mystery girl. Celtic mythology plays an important role in the plot, especially in the titular "thin places," where the spirit realm meets the physical world. The discussion of mental illness is not particularly nuanced, and while Declan has a support system, not much is offered in the way of hope by the story's end. The poetry is simple and highly readable, which will appeal to teens looking for accessible modern fantasy. VERDICT A fine addition for YA shelves.—Gretchen Hardin, Sterling Municipal Library, Baytown, TX

School Library Journal

2017-05-10
Feeling increasingly isolated from the world, 16-year-old Declan Lynch falls for a girl whose voice he hears in his mind.From a young age, Declan has heard voices in his head. Though his New Age-y mother tries to help him manage his situation, Declan constantly clashes with his science-driven (and extremely hostile) father because of it. The actual story kicks off when Declan begins to hear the voice of a girl named Rebecca. As she shows him visions of unfamiliar landscapes and people, Declan retreats further inward, fearing that their connection is weakening and thus becoming determined to meet the mysterious girl. Soon he flies to Ireland for answers and reconnects with his offbeat uncle Seamus. Choyce devotes much of the novel's first half to defining Declan's Irish roots, contrasting Declan's immigrant father's distaste for his homeland with Declan's journey of self-discovery in Ireland. Declan scours the Irish seaside in hopes of finding a "thin place," a sacred spot where the physical and spiritual worlds meet. Once he does find it—and Rebecca—the story takes a bizarre turn, ending on a beautifully melancholic note. However, occasionally stilted language pops in throughout the story to break the lyrical rhythm of the free-verse text. The romance element builds at an unbelievable pace, and the rather odd characterizations of mental health seem misplaced. More baffling still is the author's choice to use the specter of a school shooting as a plot device to get Declan to Ireland. Poignant at times but ultimately a frustrating read. (Verse fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews