Reviews: (by author)

Trottier, Maxine. Three Songs for Courage. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2006.

In the summer of 1956 in Erie View, Canada , sixteen-year-old Gordon Westley's mission in life was to be cooler than cool. After Gordon makes extraordinary efforts in front of the mirror to achieve the perfect look, he swaggers out into the driveway planning to slide into his 1950 Pontiac to pick up the rest of his band of friends--The Lakers. He sees something that will derail what he thought would be a carefree summer. A cigarette butt has singed the newly polished hood of his car. There is another group of guys in town, The Sultans, and they operate more like a gang. This is surely the doing of Sultan leader Lancer Caldwell. He will pay.

Three Songs for Courage is the story of a young man finding his way into adulthood through tragedy and adversity while still trying to keep his dignity and self esteem. Trottier has packed this novel with history, innocence, savagery, humor, suspense, wisdom and love. Gordon's charm and innocence make him instantly loveable. His battle with Lancer is classic good vs. evil. Gordon's love for his girlfriend Mary is so passionate, readers will fall in love with her too, especially when we learn she is hiding a secret of her own.

Trottier's pacing suspends time by using long flowing sentences that engage all the senses. I felt like I was alongside the Lakers enjoying a burger at Denison 's Drive-in. And just when I felt lulled into carefree summer days, Lancer Caldwell, the Sultan bully who has it out for Gordon, commits some horrific act of violence, leaving me sucker- punched in the stomach. This happens again and again, as the plot keeps young readers turning those pages.

The story is told in the third person, allowing the reader inside every character's head. Even the pawnshop clerk and the funeral director have a story to tell which helps in creating a small town feeling.

One of the sub-themes of the books is the trauma that veterans suffer from the wars they fought. Gordon's Grandpa, his father, and his friend Injun Joely all live haunted by war memories. Injun Joely seems to get through it with his peculiar brand of Odawa Indian wisdom. When tragedy is brought to the Westley family and Gordon discovers it is Lancer's doing, Joely teaches Gordon about the Odawa's Three Songs for Courage. Joely explains that Odawa Indians consider a song to be a prayer. The first song is for when victory is clear and the second for when defeat's bitter taste is in one's mouth. The third song is one that every man must learn alone. As Gordon plots his revenge against Lancer, he must learn the third song.

Young readers will enjoy being transported back in time, though may get impatient with too much nostalgia. Trottier keeps the story alive with her evocative language. The humor is found in the raucous dialogue and Trottier's use of rich simile and metaphors. I would have liked to see Lancer Caldwell's motives explored, but maybe he is just a rebel without a cause. Trottier pulls out all the punches, creating an engaging coming of age story with substance.

Shelley Moreno, December 2006

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