Fault lines / Nora Shalaway Carpenter.

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Title:

Author:

Carpenter, Nora Shalaway, author.

ISBN:

9780762480999

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

379 pages ; 22 cm.

Abstract:

In rural West Virginia, anti-fracking teen Viv discovers an ability to sense forests' energy, a power that becomes heightened the more she interacts with Dex, the new boy in town.

Since her aunt's death, Vivian (Viv) Spry is aching to figure out where she belongs. Her father has become emotionally distant, and her best friend has found a new sense of identity in her theater group. No one in her rural West Virginia town has time for an assertive, angry girl, especially a girl dubbed "Ice Queen" for refusing to sleep with her popular boyfriend. The only place Viv feels like it is safe to be her true self is the tree stand where her aunt taught her to hunt. When fracking destroys the stand and almost kills her, Viv vows to find a way to take the gas company down. Dex Mathews is a new kid in town; his mom has a job laying pipeline. Viv's plan to sabotage the pipeline company could result in Dex's mom losing her job. As their worlds colling, Viv and Dex have to decide what is worth fighting for: their families, their principles, or each other. -- adapted from jacket

Reading Level:

Ages 13-18. Running Press.

Grades 10-12. Running Press.

Subject Term:

Ability -- Juvenile fiction.

Belonging (Social psychology) -- Juvenile fiction.

Interpersonal relations -- Juvenile fiction.

Environmental protection -- Juvenile fiction.

Ability -- Fiction.

Belonging -- Fiction.

Interpersonal relations -- Fiction.

Environmental protection -- Fiction.

Aptitude -- Romans, nouvelles, etc.

Appartenance (Psychologie sociale) -- Romans, nouvelles, etc.

Environnement -- Protection -- Romans, nouvelles, etc.

Aptitude -- Romans, nouvelles, etc. pour la jeunesse.

Appartenance (Psychologie sociale) -- Romans, nouvelles, etc. pour la jeunesse.

Environnement -- Protection -- Romans, nouvelles, etc. pour la jeunesse.

YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Social Themes / Class Differences.

Geographic Term:

West Virginia -- Juvenile fiction.

West Virginia -- Fiction.

Virginie-Occidentale -- Romans, nouvelles, etc.

Virginie-Occidentale -- Romans, nouvelles, etc. pour la jeunesse.

Genre:

Young adult fiction.

Novels

Ecofiction.

Magic realist fiction.

Romance fiction.

Novels.

Romans.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Teen Fiction Book Hardback	120791003085225	T CAR	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Riveting, powerful, and a little bit magical, Fault Lines offers readers a slow-burn romance alongside an unflinching examination of socio-economics, gender expectations, and environmental ethics.

Ever since her aunt died four months ago, seventeen-year-old Vivian (Viv) Spry is aching to figure out where she belongs. Her father has become emotionally distant and even her best friend has found a new sense of identity in her theater group. Unfortunately, nobody in her rural West Virginia town has time for an assertive, angry girl, especially a girl dubbed "Ice Queen" for refusing to sleep with her popular boyfriend. On top of everything, she discovers a strange ability to sense energy that really freaks her out. The only place Viv feels like it's safe to be her true self is the tree stand where her aunt taught her to hunt. It's the one place she still feels connected to the person who knew her best. So when fracking destroys the stand and almost kills her, Viv vows to find a way to take the gas company down.

When Dex Mathews comes to town--a new kid whose mom lands a job laying pipeline--his and Viv's worlds collide and a friendship (and maybe more?) slowly blossoms. But Viv's plan to sabotage the pipeline company could result in Dex's mom losing her job, putting them on the streets. Now Viv and Dex have to decide what's worth fighting for--their families, their principles, or each other.

Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

A relationship blooms between two misfit teens in rural West Virginia in this contemporary novel. High school junior Viv has a sort of supernatural connection to the energy emitted by the world. After her deceased Aunt Elle's favorite tree collapses in what seems to be a sinkhole, she becomes wary of Briar Gas, the company offering her father money for permission to use their property for a right of way. Twisted Pines newcomer Dex and his mom have struggled to make ends meet for as long as he can remember, and her job working on the oil pipeline that's being built offers them a badly needed shot at economic security. In alternating third-person narratives from the points of view of Viv and Dex, the story shows the unlikely pair being drawn together even as they often disagree with one another's stances on the environmental and economic implications of the pipeline. If the many issues explored here, such as environmental racism and systemic poverty, are at times a bit obvious in their delivery rather than seamlessly interwoven into the story, they are nevertheless important ideas explained by well-developed, nuanced characters with whom readers will easily empathize. The forested setting comes to life in lush, vivid descriptions. Viv and Dex both read white; there is diversity among the secondary characters. An engaging novel that will keep readers thinking. (Fiction. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

In her latest, Carpenter (The Edge of Anything, 2020), takes Viv, fierce-hearted about environmentalism, and pairs her with Dex, struggling with poverty and with a mother who has recently been hired by a fracking company. While Viv tries to emphasize that society can't afford not to fight companies that foster climate change, Dex brings shades of gray to her argument: not everyone can afford to eat without the jobs these companies offer. Meanwhile, both teens contend with social issues around gender norms even in the face of their conforming and critical peers. Drawing from personal experience living in West Virginia, Carpenter cleverly braids the emotional, intellectual, and practical issues around pipelines and fracking. Without getting too into the weeds, this lays out the basic arguments for each side, accessibly and effectively defining the conflict. At the same time, the novel traces Dex and Viv's tender romance as the pair find comfort in each other despite their very different personalities and circumstances. Hand to fans of activism fiction, like Marisa Reichardt's A Shot at Normal (2021).