Saving Grad

by Karen Spafford-Fitz

Vienna is a mixed-Métis teen whose mother has moved in with a man who turns out to be racist and violent. Vienna and her mother decide to end the situation by moving to a new city. In Edmonton, where she knows no one, Vienna goes to high school for her final year. Gradually, her school and home life feel more normal and she starts making friends. She joins the committee planning the school's graduation, where her determination and decisiveness show through. When her step-father unexpectedly shows up at Vienna's grad party, threatening Vienna and two of her schoolmates, Vienna finds the strength to keep herself, her friends and her mother out of harm's way.

Genres: Young Adult

184 pages, Paperback

Published August 15, 2017

About the author

Karen Spafford-Fitz grew up in an old limestone farmhouse that she suspects was haunted. “My childhood home near Kingston, Ontario expressed itself through an alarming range of squeaks, creaks, moans, groans, bumps and thumps—especially on dark, stormy nights. It was perfect for fuelling the imagination of a young writer-to-be!”

Karen’s early training as a writer involved reading thousands of books. “As a child, I had mounds of books on my nightstand that frequently avalanched onto the floor. These mounds included the Anne of Green Gables stories, Little House on the Prairie, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and Trixie Belden. I was horse-crazy too, so Black Beauty, The Black Stallion, and my dad’s old Lone Ranger books were also favorites. At one point, I went through a horror-story phase where I read the creepiest books I could find—even though they scared me to death.”

Karen later went to Queen’s University, where she received degrees in English and in Education. For the next eight years, she taught elementary and junior high students in Toronto and in Edmonton. Although Karen enjoyed teaching, she wanted a home-based career after her daughters were born, and so she turned to freelance writing. One of her projects involved writing educational software for students, which helped Karen discover her love of writing for young people. She soon began creating her own stories for children and teenagers, and Dog Walker, Karen’s first book, was released in March 2006.

When Karen is not writing, she is often reading, gardening, running, skiing or enjoying Edmonton’s river valley with her husband, her two daughters and her two enormous dogs. Karen also enjoys visiting schools and libraries in the Edmonton area where she speaks to students about the inspiration for her stories, the creative process, and the writing life.

Reviews

[Karen W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific fast paced read that tackles some tough issues while remaining an entertaining read. Vienna and her mum escape an abusive home to start over in a new city. Who can she trust? Is she truly safe from her violent past? She has some tough choices to make in order to make a better life for herself.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a while to figure out where the title of this book came from, but figured it out!

Short book, but I loved it. The story of family violence and hope when they managed to get away. This book was both inspirational and scary as it does not shy away from domestic violence and the results of living it.

I loved Vienna, who was a strong character that I immediately loved. Story was very well written, sensitive but honest.

The only negative for me - the characters speak a mixture of Parisian French, immediately followed by the English translations. First of all, most French people do not say "cherie" at random times, especially not in a sentence. I hate when authors do this as it makes the characters sound so silly. I am bilingual and can tell you that nobody says something in French and then translates it immediately for that same person. UGH! pet peeve.

Otherwise, I loved this book

[kerrycat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast-paced, easy to read, and definitely an empowering representation of a teen standing up for herself in an abusive situation when the adults in her life don't. Her mixed race heritage (Metis) and the way her stepfather looks down on her and her mother because of it is important, and she does mention how she finds prejudice against First Nations everywhere, even in the most subtle of expressions. I wish it had a different title that was more representative of the story - even though the grad party is important to her new life and her friendships as well as to her personally, rescuing her mother and leaving her cushy life with her abusive stepfather for an uncertain future is the big story here.

[Destiny Bridwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

 I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I have to say this off the top that the title did not work for me for this book. I know that her getting through her final year and graduation was important, but the story about so much more. It was about the strength of a mother and daughter who put the end to the violence that was going on in their lives. Vienna does what she has to keep her friends and her mother save when her family's problems come after them. It is a good fast paced story. I enjoyed it. 

[Carol Anne Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love stories about young women stepping into their own power. Especially when those characters have so many challenges pitted against them.

Vienna, the protagonist in SAVING GRAD, is one such young woman.

Fast-paced and believable, this compelling novel targeted at reluctant readers is sure to hold their attention.

Thoughtful and sensitively written, SAVING GRAD is an important book that I'm thrilled to ad to my "#YA Reads" collection.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow such an amazing book! I highly recommend it!

[Nicole Luiken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast read with a strong opening and a courageous main character in a very tough situation.