A Portal to Vibrancy

by Laurette Folk

A Portal to Vibrancy is the story of Jackie Fellini, a pious Catholic girl, conscientious daughter, and straight-A student who is preoccupied with sinister aberrations - a rib cage hanging from a tree, the demons in the wood grain of the cellar door, her reclusive uncle's deformed foot. Infatuated with Stephen, the new latch-key kid across the street, Jackie is conflicted about falling in love with a boy who is an atheist, who calls his parents by their first names and indulges in the sensuality and rhythms of the natural world. Stephen Sedgwick weaves in and out of Jackie's life, showing up at crucial points, when she is choosing a career, when she is diagnosed with a mental illness and provokes her to examine her life of conformity by contrasting it with his life of creativity. Ultimately Jackie must come to terms with her "programming" and seek her identity, not only as a woman, but as an artist.

270 pages, Paperback

First published June 16, 2014

About the author

LAURETTE FOLK’s fiction, essays, and poems have been published in Waxwing,
Gravel, Brilliant Flash Fiction, Boston Globe Magazine, and Best Small Fictions. Her
first novel, A Portal to Vibrancy, won the Independent Press Award for New Adult
Fiction. Her second novel, The End of Aphrodite, won the Eric Hoffer Award for
General Fiction and was described by Kirkus Reviews as “[a] haunting and poignant
reflection on grief, spirituality, and the loving bonds that provide guidance and
sustenance.” Laurette is a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee and a
graduate of the Vermont College MFA in Writing program.

Reviews

[Anne Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is very different from what I expected from the description on the back of the book. Yes, it is a coming of age story, but it does not deal with mental illness or the devil. It is about a young girl, then woman, who does not feel loved enough, understood enough, and who is - or thinks she is? - madly in love with her childhood friend, Stephen. Some people in her family, her grandmother and others have anxiety problems: fear of the outside world is blocking them from being happy and fulfilled and Jackie takes the same path until she finally learns to relax and be herself.
The style of the book is closer to poetry than most novels. It has a dreamlike quality which turned me off at first, mostly because I expected a story, with the usual twists and turns. Instead, the book just flows chronologically into the life of Jackie, as a child, a young girl, a young woman (biggest part of it). She is not really prisoner of her tight upbringing or caught with religious or metaphysical questions. But every time she thinks something unappealing, disturbing, unpleasant, different, she believes she hears the devil's voice. It seems that art is the key to help her. Painting makes her feels better, and she learns, like every one, sadly, that the world is not a dream and some sad realities do occur.
It bothered me that most of the practical hardships of life were spared to her (she has a loving and huge family, she goes through school and college without problems, she finds jobs whenever she needs or wants them, money is never a question, etc) she still gets depressed. It bothered me that her "cure" was so easy: get her not to look at her belly button all the time, give her an easel and a couple of canvases, and the problems are solved.
But maybe I did not take enough time to get used to the very specific style of the author.
What I am trying to say is that I did not love the book because it did not touch me enough, but it may be me. Other people may love it, don't let this review discourage you.

[Priscilla Herrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jackie Felllini is a young Catholic girl, growing up in a Massachusetts town, haunted by the "programming" of her family and the church, trying to find her own way in the world. She meets Stephen when they are both still children, yet they experience a strong attraction they recognize as love. All too soon, Stephen moves away and Jackie moves into young adulthood, never forgetting him as she finishes high school, then college, then moves to New York where she works as an engineer inspecting bridges. Once in a while Stephen reappears, then leaves again. Independence and life away from her family became overwhelming; Jackie hears the Devil speaking to her more insistently than he had when she was younger. Jackie's breakdown causes her to move back home, into the heart of her family. She is immersed in the family disease, Fear. She reconnects with her art, finally moving into her own apartment and becoming her own person. Yes,
Stephen plays a role in her recovery, but in the end, it is Jackie who steps through the Portal to Vibrancy.

This book is so well written it feels more like living Jackie's life than reading it. Jackie is likable though thoroughly human with her anxieties and inner conflicts. The author is knowledgeable about both the worlds of art and engineering, providing interesting details without becoming pedantic.

This could be the best book you'll read this summer!

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this beautifully written coming of age story of Jackie Fellini. We follow Jackie from her childhood and adolescence, to college, and as she struggles to find value and meaning in her life and career. Her relationship with family and with Stephen, her unusual and artistic childhood neighbor, help guide her as she finds her way in the world.

I loved her unique perspective on family, the tensions between worldly/traditional expectations and artistic passions, and struggles with anxiety and depression. Jackie's story is written with humor and grace. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in character-driven stories, and especially readers interested in perspectives of women not often depicted in books. I hope to read more from this author in the future.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this lovely and poetic first novel, Folk paints a vivid and unforgettable world. It is a coming-of-age novel, yes, but Folk also brings us deep into the psychological and emotional world inhabited by Jackie, our heroine. The writing is fluid and evocative, and the world of the novel is completely compelling. Jackie's family relationships, her complicated attraction to Stephen, and her struggles with mental health as she enters adulthood are utterly convincing and moving. A deeply satisfying and captivating work.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book on Goodreads First Reads and promised an honest review. According to it's description Portal to Vibrancy sounded like it had a bit of horror to it. The things talked about on the back cover are told in basically one sentence and have nothing to do with the story. Almost the whole book is written passively with way too much detail on the unimportant. I was not drawn into the story through most of the book.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

In her compelling first novel, Laurette Folk maps a young woman’s sexual and artistic coming of age with honesty, humor and compassion. Folk writes wisely and convincingly about sex and longing, family and faith, loss and anxiety, creating a world which is at once eccentric, familiar, and unforgettable.