The Handle and the Key

Being invited to live with the Knox family on a permanent basis, foster-child Dan doubts that this will come to be as their biological daughter, Mary Kate, makes it clear that she thinks that the family would be just fine with just their new baby and her.

Grade 4-6-Dan, a primary grader, has been in and out of foster-care settings and is now newly adopted by the Knox family. His struggle to trust them is made more difficult by the behavior of the couple's jealous birth daughter, older than Dan by several years. The small steps he takes toward believing that he has found permanence and the truce he and his new sister establish lead to a satisfying conclusion. However, children curious about adoption will be misled by the author's highly unlikely scenario that includes no pre-placement visits and no time for the new family to adjust before the adoption is finalized. These factors contribute to Dan's unease in his new home. The parents are also perfectly patient and incredibly wise; the metaphorical title is drawn from a conversation the mother has with her daughter in which she explains the need to unlock Dan's heart. Despite these missteps, the childlike mindset is well plumbed and consistently applied and carries the story to moderate success. Because of the emotional truth of Dan's perspective, readers will look beyond the flaws and connect with the child as he feels displaced but longs to belong.
Faith Brautigam, Gail Borden Public Library, Elgin, IL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Neufeld's (Lisa, Bright and Dark) rather flat novel centers on Dan, a boy of indeterminate age who has lived in numerous foster homes and has just been adopted by the Knox family. Though his new parents may be welcoming (albeit overly angelic), his snide older "sister," Mary Kate, is not. The narrative chronicling the boy's thoughts and his fears that this family, like others before, will return him to "the state" is relatively convincing, but the Knox family comes across as stereotypical. Mary Kate and her mother (who is pregnant) engage in ongoing and repetitious conversations about why they adopted Dan ("Aren't I enough for you?" she asks her mother). One such exchange inspires the title (Mrs. Knox tells her daughter that Dan has "a lot locked up inside him.... I'm not sure I can find the key to unlock Dan's heart. And I'm not at all certain even Dan knows where the handle or the key is"). Readers may be dubious about why Mary Kate's insensitivity to Dan's plight (she suggests to him on several occasions that he leave the family) grows to such cruel proportions (she forges her mother's name on a letter to the state's Child Protective Services, in an attempt to get rid of Dan). Unlike his sister, Dan is a sympathetic character, yet the dynamics between the two fail to ring true and frequently tiresome dialogue makes for a sluggish pace. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 3-6. The Knox family has taken in foster children for some time. Spunky, bright Mary Kate is their birth child, and a new baby is expected very soon. Now they have adopted Dan, a quiet boy, some years younger than Mary Kate, who had lived in many foster homes and been treated badly, even possibly abused. Mary Kate is not so sure that her parents have made a wise decision, and she is cool to Dan, especially after her mother tells her that the bad experiences in Dan's past may never allow him to open his heart. Dan continues to be aloof, but when the new baby, a little girl, arrives, he is thrilled; Mary Kate, on the other hand, seems troubled, and the Knox family finds itself suddenly in danger of losing Dan forever because of her actions. This low-key novel about a family's adoption of an older child is the genuine article. The depiction of changing family structures, children's fears and jealousies, and parents' attempts to maintain the family as things change are very real in this restrained, gentle story--as heartwarming as it is true to life. Jean Franklin
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