Missing May by Cynthia Rylant

My favorite part of Missing May is the characterization. I often miss getting to know the characters when I read Cynthia Rylant, however I feel as though I know Ob, Cletus, even May, and especially Summer. I was pleasantly surprised. When Rylant described Ob, I had a visual of his appearance, his mannerisms, and an idea as to his personality. I felt like I knew Ob well from early in the story but it took most of the book for me to know Cletus, May and Summer.

Cynthia Rylant set the tone for Missing May from the outset. I felt somber and slightly depressed all the way through. I think her craft was at play here to set the tone. Initially, she used several repetitious phrases such as "and hold me and hold me" (p. 4) "swallow and nod, swallow and nod" (p. 5), and others. I was struck with the sentence that read "I feel adrift." (p. 10) I thought, what a simple, yet perfect description for how she must feel without her mother figure, May.

In Missing May, Summer's aunt has died. Her uncle, Ob and herself are trying to heal and go on with life without May. Summer is frightened because she is afraid Ob will leave her too. Eventually, Ob and Summer lstart earning to live without their beloved May, with the help of their new friend Cletus. They have a long road ahead of them when the book ends, but I felt assured that they would make it through.

From Summer's description of her life, the reader can tell she had everything she thought she needed. However, details about their lives clearly indicate that they are impoverished. Summer's perspective on her life is different than outsider's view. Since Rylant wrote from Summer's point of view I was able to see what she found to be so rich about her life. Otherwise, I probably would have felt like the kids at school described her. What craft to let me understand Summer's point of view while recognizing that many other people probably view her life differently.

Poverty, and grace in poverty, reappear in Rylant books. She writes about individuals in poverty but writes about their lives beyond their poverty. I was reminded of Miss Maggie where the poor old woman is eventually befriended by a young boy whose family helps Miss Maggie, and Silver Packages where the boy receives Christmas gifts each year and appreciates the smallest of things he receives. Then, as an adult, he returns to doctor to his childhood community. She writes of the things that make her characters human--kindness, sorrow, pain, and joy while recognizing the poverty. I'm sure her childhood in the Appalachia mountains has inspired her to share such stories with us.