Deliver Us From Evie

by M.E. Kerr

Parr Burrman and his family face difficult times when word spreads through their rural Missouri town that his older sister is a lesbian, and she leaves the family farm to live with the daughter of the town's banker

Genres: Young Adult, LGBT, Fiction, Queer, Lesbian, Realistic Fiction, Teen

177 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

M. E. Kerr was born Marijane Meaker in Auburn, New York. Her interest in writing began with her father, who loved to read, and her mother, who loved to tell stories of neighborhood gossip. Unable to find an agent to represent her work, Meaker became her own agent, and wrote articles and books under a series of pseudonyms: Vin Packer, Ann Aldrich, Laura Winston, M.E. Kerr, and Mary James. As M.E. Kerr, Meaker has produced over twenty novels for young adults and won multiple awards, including the Margaret A. Edwards Award for her lifetime contribution to young adult literature.

Reviews

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

whew. this 1990s lgbt+ classic actually holds up really nicely, though it often feels like it came from an earlier decade. it's about a missouri farm family living in an insular and very religious rural small town, so not a particularly progressive community.

while i have a lot of old school gay novels on my list, i wanted to read this one sooner than later because the author marijane meaker, or m.e. kerr, is none other than lesbian pulp novelist vin packer. i read spring fire not long ago, and i wanted to see how the author's style shifted when she moved from scandalous lesbian pulp of the 1950s to realistic YA fiction of the 1990s.

meaker's author's note at the end of the book is lovely. she says she was unable to find an agent, so she became her own agent, writing prolifically under various pseudonyms as clients within different genres. love that she made her writing dream happen despite the obstacles, and that her pseudonyms gave her the freedom to write about queer characters without consequences. (sadly, her note mentions a memoir she was working on titled remind me, which seems to have been unfinished and/or unpublished)

meaker died only a few months ago, and before she went i hope she was able to see the golden age of sapphic romcoms we're in right now. the context of lgbt+ fiction has shifted so dramatically in these years, and it's fascinating to see the progression.

anyway. as for the book itself, it's a quick, entertaining read. it's told from the perspective of parr, evie's sympathetic younger brother, who watches drama unfold as evie's secret gets out.

evie is a super butch lesbian farm kid, and her personality is magnetic. she is funny and defiant and unapologetically herself, and her family adores her. they love her enough to remain in deep denial about her sexuality, aside from parr, who is particularly understanding.

i think it was clever of meaker to write the book from a sibling's perspective. we're in the straight kid's shoes, fostering empathy for a lgbt+ loved one, and hopefully straight readers of the 90s were able to feel empathy for evie too. meaker's author's note also says she didn't want to make evie femme in order to make her likable, and thank god she didn't. evie is perfectly lovable in all her butch glory.

the story is insightful, showing us a range of ignorant public reactions to "homosexuality" in their very own small town. through all of it, evie never wavers, and she does eventually make her escape with her girlfriend. but it's not a romance, it's more about the family's experience of truth coming to light, and how they patch up damaged relationships and eventually move forward together. it's not a bury your gays novel. it's thoughtful and hopeful, and very appreciated within the context of its publication.

[Chandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things i love about this book: Evie (I'd totally have wanted to date her), Parr (he reminds me of my own brothers), and that this story is told through Parr's perspective.

It's an open, honest exploration of how being gay affects on only a person's life, but the lives of those around them.

I read this around the time that I was figuring out my own sexuality and it struck me deeply. Not because of what Evie, the lesbian older sister of the narrator, experiences, but for how Parr's life is impacted.

I love that it's completely accessible to readers of all sexualities and political leanings, it doesn't proselytize or force one perspective, but leads the reader on a thoughtful exploration of how he or she feels about gay rights.

[Elvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ha .. first off, this book gets an extra star b/c it's about gay teens.

2nd, it gets a half-star cos it's about the dykiest bulldyke teenager ya ever did encounter in a young adult novel!

The book, in general, is not amazing, but really funny.
The main character chain-smokes, tells utterly corny jokes, "does the work of two men" on the family farm...so thoroughly a dyke stereotype, but that of the toughest trucker butch on the block! hilarious.

the thing I didn't like was the "Other"-ness of Evie. Basically b/c the POV is that of a straight sibling, the theme is repeated of "what are we gonna do with Evie," "Evie's so different," etc...

Well anyhow< it sucked me in< so in the end I"m glad it"s on library shelves in America>

[Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in the shortest time period I could manage. It follows the style I am beginning to expect from Young Adult novels of the 80s and 90s: minimal analysis of emotion, written chronologically with no flashbacks, but not entirely plot-driven is the plot is often not hugely important. I guess what's important in this type of novel is that the main character goes through some kind of self-discovery, a coming-of-age type story.
I'm beginning to love this simple style of writing. No flowery prose, no dystopian setting, just raw, real people, in all their shortcomings and successes.
What drew me to this book was, predictably, the fact that it was about a lesbian. But, as I quickly discovered, it was told from the point of view of Parr, our resident lesbian's (Evie's) younger brother. This made for a refreshing perspective.
I also loved how the author wasn't afraid to include the "stereotype" of a lesbian in Evie's characterisation, as well as giving Patsy a very feminine character. It seems to me that in our fight for adversity we often forget to remind the stereotypes that they are no less important or valid for being a stereotype, and that in perpetuating these stereotypes they are not being what society expects of them and "damaging the idea of a diverse community" but instead are being themselves.
Essentially, this wasn't the typical young lesbian coming out story but instead something deeper which showed how a whole family could be affected by something they struggled to understand.
4.5 stars, which I'm rounding up to 5 obviously because mathematically a5 should always round up. Great book.

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that it was a good story, and I enjoyed reading from the brother's point of view. I liked the discussion about being a butch lesbian vs. being femme, and would have liked to hear more about what Parr's thoughts really were about his sister. However, I thought that the dialog often got confusing, and the narrator didn't have very strong characterization; even though he was telling the story, I feel as though I never got to learn much about him. Too many of the characters were stereotypical: the small town boy who wants something more, the religious family, the once well off mom stuck on a farm. Overall, an interesting read but not my favorite.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Queer YA from 1994; set on a farm in rural Missouri and follows the secret romance of cool butch Evie and privileged yet rebellious Patty from the point of view of Evie's sympathetic younger brother. So good! So real! Loved this.

[Kelly Kittens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't relate to small town farming life but I applaud Evie. I wanted to meet her. An easy and direct read, almost reads like young adult. Four stars only because I wanted to better know the narrator, Evie's straight younger brother.

[Amy Holliday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can you help when you fall in love, or who you fall in love with? No. Love just hits you like a poison dart, and there is nothing to be done. But, while this is the common answer for boys and girls or men and women who fall in love, the world has harsher standards when a girl and a girl fall in love. Imagine living in a small farm town in Missouri, and finding out that your sister is in love with another girl from the community and has been sneaking off to see her frequently. Well this is exactly what happens to Parr, the main character in this book. Parr has to decide what is important in life and whether or not he can support his sister, when it seems like the world is against her. Plus, in the midst of dealing with his sister’s issues, he also has to figure out what it is that he wants with his own life, and where it is that he fits in. If his sister can be in love with a woman, is it possible that he can escape living on the farm, and pursue other things that he loves instead?

I would recommend this book to both boys and girls from junior to senior high, as there are really no graphic details in this book. I actually think that this book is more designed for a younger teenager, as it is delves into issues of self-awareness, and self-scrutiny in relation to physical and family appearances.

[Roberta R. (Offbeat YA) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort-of-disclaimer: I read this one in Italian. I don't know if any changes/edits have been made in translating.

This is an oldie (1994) and it shows, in what it's a pretty straightforward (and rather short) story, and it's not even narrated by the 18 y.o. queer character, but by her younger (by two years) brother Parr. Then again, it's a nicely done study of the impact that a lesbian daughter can have on a rural community, and on a loving, but clueless family. Plus the story of two brothers (and their lesbian sister of course) trying to figure out their future, and navigating their first sentimental turmoils. It reads more like a MG/YA crossover (and Parr himself sounds at least a couple of years younger than he is), but it could be a nice introduction to queer themes without too much angst. And I'm not even sure I could say it's outdated, because some schools of thought (like your classic and dismissive "it's not a sin if it's two women - it's not serious enough") are probably still alive and thriving.

Note: definitive review (I don't have enough to say to justify writing a full-length one later).

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Subjects: First love, sexual identity/orientation, lesbians, stereotypes, prejudice, family life, farm life, and religious beliefs. Kerr has been citied as one of the pioneers in realistic fiction for teenagers. Deliver Us From Evie was one of first books written on the subject of lesbianism for young adult readers. Sexual identity is a very realistic teen anguish with deep emotional feelings. Our society shuns individuals whose sexual preferences are not “the norm”. Books such as Deliver Us From Evie help young adults who are struggling with their own sexual identity. A second sub-plot in Deliver Us From Evie is escape from rural farm life. Older brother Doug has made a decision to become a vet, Evie has gone off to see the world with Patsy, and Parr already knows he doesn’t want to live on a farm the rest of his life, but fears he must. Deliver Us From Evie is listed in Nancy Pearl’s Book Crush under GLTBQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual, and Questioning). Pearl notes that Deliver Us From Evie is one of the very best teen novels featuring gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transsexual characters (p. 212).

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read because of my interest in Marijane Meaker from her role in the lesbian pulp and NYC gay scene in the 1950s, and because I had heard of this one as a significant piece of early, well-received gay YA.

It’s good! Definitely much better crafted than Meaker’s early (first?) novel from the 1950s, Spring Fire, which is a real mess!

She’s a workmanlike writer who knows her craft at this point, and has been paying attention to lesbians and their families for a very long time. The details of how the family and the town react feel very lived-in to me, and they vary a lot! The knowing-without-knowingness, or knowing-without-saying, were well done.

The POV character Parr, the younger brother of the lesbian in question, is an interesting choice, and it worked for me. Reminds me a bit of My Antonia in this device—the book is definitely about Evie, and the effect she has on Parr, but we only have limited insight into what Evie is thinking and feeling filtered through this younger, more normative male character.

[HeavyReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

M.E. Kerr must have written this book after I stopped reading young adult fiction, because I had never heard of it until Gish recommended it to me.

The story is told from the viewpoint of a teenage fellow, a junior in high school. His sister, Evie, has always been different, masculine, good at repairing machines, a strong worker on the family farm. Their mom tries to get Evie to look and act more feminine, but Evie maintains that's just not the way she is.

Then Evie falls in love with a 17 year old rich girl who loves her right back. That's about the time all hell breaks loose.

The book is an easy read and somehow difficult to put down. (I stayed up too late last night reading it all the way through.)

I believe this book was published in the 80s, but it had a real 1950s feel to it (or at least what I imagine the 1950s felt like...)

[Leann Maxwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evie and her family learn to accept who she is as a lesbian. The story is told through the voice of Evie's younger brother who really doesn't have a problem with Evie except that if she leaves the farm he will have trouble leaving, too. This book is obviously older since it deals more with the "coming out" than with the relationship Evie has. But, it does do a good job of portraying Evie as just a regular person. Other characters have pretty outdated ideas about homosexuality, which is to be expected for the time, but what is scary to me is that many people still share some of those views. I do think this is a good book especially when read in context. It serves a purpose when juxtaposed against more recent novels with gay characters to show how far YA literature has come in this genre.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Small town Missouri sets the stage for a family grappling with a sensitive subject: homosexuality.

Our narrator, Parr Burrman, navigates the tricky topic of lesbianism in a small farming town. Parr is the younger brother of Evie, the definitive dyke. For years, Evie has been mocked for her boyish ways, but her family has always attributed her masculine ways to her interest in farming. After all, farmers aren’t exactly feminine.

Things come to a head when Evie starts dating Patsy Duff, daughter of the town’s banker. The Burrman family is then forced to deal with their own feelings about sexuality and acceptance.

This is a decent (and different) look at a topic often explored in young adult literature.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story of 18 year old Evie, a lesbian growing up in a farming community in the Midwest, is told through the eyes of her younger brother, Parr. Evie's style fits the stereotype of the more masculine lesbian, but as you read you realize there is so much more to her; just like there is so much more to any person than a stereotype. The family and community also seem stereotypical, but as the story evolves, they are much more complex than originally thought. Evie's family has prejudices, but they are a loving family; and ultimately love carries them through the difficulties they face.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Do your folks know what's being said about Evie?"

Evie Burrman's mother is trying hard to change her, trying everything, but it's like trying to change the direction of the wind. Then Evie meets rich, beautiful Patsy Duff at a Halloween party at 1,000-acre Duffarm. Evie doesn't seem to be herself afterward. Or, maybe the trouble is, that Evie seems to be herself for the first time. Soon everyone is talking about Evie, and in the seasons ahead their ways of thinking about love, the land and the lives will be change.

[Jakey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a memory of reading this book in elementary school, but i bet it was more like freshman year of highschool. I wasn't out to myself even yet, but I was so psyched there was a sympathetic queer major character. I read all the other M.E. Kerr books in the library and decided that Kerr or someone in thier family was gay because of all the queer side characters. anyway, good books for the young un's.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always disliked that this book is written from the straight sibling's perspective, however strategic a choice it might have been for the author. But I remember it as having the first depiction of a butch/femme relationship between queer women that I came across. So I don't love it, but it was important to me when I was a queer youth. I just always wanted more about the queer sister/her girlfriend, but that isn't the focus of the book.

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

can't believe the reviews said best m.e. kerr book ever.
maybe the fact that the lesbian sister is portrayed almost completely unsympathetically was what wowed them.

although realistic in some ways, do NOT give this book to any budding teen lesbians you know, unless you want to drive them to despair.
might be an ok book for that Midwestern dyke you know who's in her 40s and wants to identify with all the crap she went through.

[Heather Larocchia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book because it’s gay history - rereading this as an adult made me feel like I was being transported in a time machine. I first read this when I was in high school (around 2007) because it was one of the only books featuring a lesbian character I could get my hands on. All these years later, I’m glad the world of YA novels has greatly expanded, but I can appreciate these gems that remind me we are not that far removed from 1994 and the mindsets that were prevalent during that time.

[Lizzie Winns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The storyline was good and kept me interested. Character development was good as well. They were relatable and each had flaws, that made you love them even more.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sure, I'll give this five stars, even though I haven't read it since 1990.
I was fifteen, and for the first time, I could see myself--my whole self--in the pages of a book.
Thank you, M. E. Kerr, for writing to us young queerlings at a time when nearly no one else was.
You were an inspiration.

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading this furtively in my window seat and not liking it as much as Hey, Dollface but then liking other parts of it way better.

[Jenny]

I read this for a tomboy character class. Interesting to see how the characters interact with each other.

[♫✯Em loves Hollenstein✯♫❤the summertime and butterflies all belong to your creation❤ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this all in one sitting. A very important novel.

[Debby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Evie Burrman and her family live in Duffton, MO, a small farming community. Doug is in college and plans to take ofer the farm until he starts dating a sorority girl and decides to be a vet instead. Evie loves the farm and repairing machinery... until she meets the rich daughter, Patsy Duff, of the family who founded the town. A lesbian relationship starts between the two girls, but discretely. Younger brother Parr feels the pinch of his siblings problems, especially when his girl friend dumps him after there's a flood and her fundamentalist father blames it on Evie's homosexuality.

Disturbing book, but not graphically done as homosexuality; especially in a small town. More on the effects of this on the family and community. Told through Parr's point of view.

[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It might be hard for me to review this story based on its merits. The narrator may be a skilled reader, but he was all wrong for this particular story. He'd be great reading a goofy kids novel like Holes, I think, but not a poignant drama like this one.

That aside, I probably would have really enjoyed this story had I read it when I was younger, and before the world changed (in terms of gayness being cool and accepted). I'm very pleased that
it doesn't go along with the whole "the lesbian must die or heartbroken in the end." In fact, it's the straight little brother who ends up alone! I also liked that Evie made the right decision and moved to NYC. And that her family came around, and she accepted them despite her father's bad behavior.

[Theresa Costello · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read it when I was in high school, would burn it if I ever found it in another high school. Kids these days have stuff like "It gets better!" We had "Hey look! Its totally a book with a lesbian in it aren't you excited to find even this small blip of representation?! Yeah...well, don't get too excited because this is about to be depressing AF."

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an easy read, but not always very purposeful in how the plot unfolded. The resolution at the end felt a bit overly simple, like it didn't actually address much of what was going wrong in the story. Using Parr as the main narrator was an interesting choice.

[caoimhe murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve read in a while. I absolutely loved it. Characters were all likeable. I liked the names of the characters. It had a nice balance of sadness and happiness. It touched off of relatable issues.