A young girl braves the ordeal of being a restavek (child slave), never losing faith that she will one day find the mother she has never known.
Good news for lili Dauphin fans. In the tradition of Angeles Ashes comes a based-on-fact work of fiction that affirms once again just how resilient children can be in the face of dire circumstances. Lili Dauphin' new adolescent title, "I Will Fly Again" is an extraordinary follow-up to earlier one, "Crying Mountain." In "Crying Mountain," the novel's heroine, Tilou, an eight year old girl, exhibited a grit and pluck far beyond her years as she dealt with the destruction reined upon her village by what the natives dubbed "crazy hurricane." How did an eight year old manage to keep her composure and help others while gale forces were ripping her village asunder?
Maybe rewind a few years and see how this little lady's steel resolve was tempered. A prequel. A prequel that tells a tale of woe more tragic that anything nature could whip up. "I Will Fly Again" exposes a dirty little secret about our modern world. Slavery still exists. Including child slavery. In Haiti, The Island of Hispaniola, such child slaves are call restaveks. In the new novel, one restavek goes by the name of Tilou. Enslaved by her own family and relegated to the life of a slave, Tilou refuses to give into her lowly status and indefatigably works to free herself and find her mother. The many fans of "Cry Mountain" will be delighted to hear that the prequel will feature "Crying Mountain's" most endearing characters including Tant Nana, Tiyaya, Ton Pifo, Chantal, Tant Nadelle, Tipa, the palm tree, and the lovable mutt, Moun.
So many of the novel's themes hitting home for Lili Dauphin, the writing was difficult going for her. But scribing the novel was ultimately quite cathartic for her and represented something of a rebirth, as if Tilou were her inner-child. Despite trepidations about how the general public and skeptical critics might take a realistic work of fiction dealing with the issue of modern child slavery, Lili slogged away and left a book that perhaps could be put in the same attic as Anne Frank's diary. A novel that could spark outcry and change. It is amazing what a few letter from earnest teens could accomplish! Maybe a reporter wants to stay ahead of the curve and see if Ms. Dauphin is onto something. Something dark that needs to see the light of day and be righted. And short of that, here, simply is a book that an adolescent can marvel at, use if she needs to summon courage and determination.
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