The Redemption of Sara Louise Bradshaw: Jacob Have I Loved, by Katherine Paterson

At this time of the year, I often find myself drawn to children’s books, or young adult books, probably for multiple reasons. I often feel that I have challenged myself in the books I’ve read during the rest of the year, and I’m looking for something a little less demanding. Perhaps in the chaos of the holiday season, I need something short and simple. There’s another reason I gravitate toward Newbery Award winners when the weather turns cold, to be honest. I’m also looking for books that I can read quickly, so I can boost the number of books that I’ve read during the year.

This year is following the script precisely. I’ve read some challenging and lengthy books, (The Bible, Moby Dick, some plays of Sophocles, and others), and I’m also behind on my reading goals. Two birds with one stone, and I’m reading several Newbery Award winners in the months of November and December.

I really enjoyed Jacob Have I Loved, by Katherine Paterson, which is narrated by a young woman living on a small island in the Chesapeake Bay, during World War II. The setting isn’t as important as the character dynamics, which are as old as the oldest human story. Sara Louise Bradshaw is a twin, and her relationship with her younger sister. In the words of “Wheeze”, as Sara Louise is known:

“I was the elder by a few minutes. I always treasured the thought of those minutes. They represented the only time in my life when I was the center of everyone’s attention. From the moment Caroline was born, she snatched it all for herself.”

Wheeze struggles with her identity, and with her relationship with her talented and widely beloved sister. The conflict is as old as Cain and Abel, or more precisely, Jacob and Esau, which is where the book gets its title. Similar to the Jacob and Esau story, Sara Louise and Caroline are twins, and the younger appears to be the favored twin. Of course, Louise is the narrator, so we don’t have a necessarily reliable narrator. In fact, Caroline seems unaware of Louise’s jealousy most of the time.

By the end of the novel, there is a beautiful image of Louise coming to terms with her own goals for life, and her relationship with Caroline. Louise has become a respected midwife in a remote mountain community, and is called to help with the birth of twins on a snowy winter night. In a chance to work her own redemption, Louise fights for the life of the younger twin, when it looks like she may not survive. She fiercely loves and nurtures the child on the night of her birth, and in the process, shows us that she has come to terms with herself and her strained relationship with Caroline. The image is beautiful, and Paterson handles an intimate exchange beautifully well for a young adult readership.

As I’ve often found at this time of the year, good novels for young adults can be emotionally rewarding and evocative, and Jacob Have I Loved is certainly among the better.