Flutie

Description

Flutie Moses, is a Native American girl growing up in Western Oklahoma who, in a reflection of the frustration around her, is so shy that she cannot speak. Her throat fills with saltwater--or hot lava--when she tries to speak in class or in front of anyone she's not close to. Flutie goes from 13 to 20 in these pages, struggling with her own fierce silence, her father and brother's dead-end business and her brother and their mother spending time in jail. Flutie initially turns to drugs and alcohol to escape but eventually reads a book that helps Flutie find her strength and eventually gain control of her speech and life, graduating from high school and going on to college. Highly recommended.

Description

Flutie lives on the edge of an enormous quiet that she wants to transcend. Her family's life on a dirt road in Western Oklahoma, her father's job repairing old cars and tractors belonging to impoverished hay farmers, her brother's betrayal, and her mother's indifference are all parts of a story Flutie wants to tell if she can find the words. In a library book, Flutie reads the myth of Philomela, whose tongue was cut out by her sister's husband so she cannot tell that he raped her. As Flutie faces the poverty of the land and the turmoil of her family, she feels she is also without a tongue. She is not just afraid to speak, she is afraid of being. She especially fears her imagination, which produces visions of deer and spirit women. For a time, Flutie loses herself in drinking and drugs and a friendship that becomes oppressive. But through the influence of a kind neighbor and her own resolve she ends up doing what once seemed impossible - she finds her voice as she overcomes her shyness and fears.

Subjects

Other Editions

• Flutie: a novelMoyer Bell1998-01-01
• FlutieHardcoverMoyer Bell1998-01-01
• FlutiePaperbackMoyer Bell2007-05-01