The First Book of Samuel by Ursula Dubosarsky

Let's begin with these three very different covers.  The First Book of Samuel was written in 1995 and so it is long out of print (sadly). It was a CBCA Honour Book (Older Readers) in 1996 and a NSW Premiers Award winner in 1995 so I think it should still be in print. The winner that year was Pagan's Vows by Catherine Jinks. The First Book of Samuel is a Young Adult book so to my eye the first jacket design is misleading. If you saw this title in a shop today you might think this is a book for a younger child.  The second cover looks a little 'too adult' and more mysterious than the actual story written by Ursula. I think the third cover, by Anne Spudvilas, is just right. 

Here is the blurb:

"On his twelfth birthday, Samuel Cass disappeared. Most of this story happened when Samuel was nearly twelve, and Theodora, his half-sister, just thirteen. But stories only happen because of all the things that happened before, no matter how small and sudden, or how large and terrible they may have seemed at the time. If the past had been different then perhaps Samuel wouldn't have disappeared. But the circumstances of his birth, the holiday when he was a baby, the mysterious, tragic past of his beloved grandfather, and even his own name - his own sense of self - all lead to a quiet vanishing, a dramatic rescue and a perfect discovery."

The things that happened before:

"Samuel was his father's last child, and his mother's first. His father, Elkanah, also had five daughters, but only the youngest of these, Theodora, lived with Samuel and his parents. The other four lived with their mother, Elkanah's first wife, Pearl."

The family take a holiday to Papua New Guinea:

"He caught malaria when he was just seventeen months old but nobody knew it. ... the disease slumbered deep inside him, like a salamander buried in the desert sand; comatose, innocuous, only struggling to the surface when the rain fell at last. And it would fall, as rain always does, bringing its own particular devastation." 

Who is Samuel?

"Gentle as a baby, Samuel had grown into a quiescent infants, a taciturn toddler, and a rather gloomy kindergarten pupil. He was the kind of child who speaks slowly and is rarely driven into fits of passion that express themselves in beating limbs and rising screams."

Who are the characters in this book?

Samuel

Theodora - she like to write everything, everything, everything down as she observes life

Hannah - mother to Samuel and step mother to Theodora

Pearl - mother to Theodora

Elkanah - father to Samuel and Theodora, opera singer

Elias - father to Hannah and grandfather of Samuel "Samuel knew nothing about Elias's family except that they were all dead. They had all been murdered all those years ago in Europe, half the world away, when huge armies gathered against each other, guided by terrifying figures on black-and-white newsreels, with black moustaches and jerking hands thrust high in the air."

Rhody - father to Pearl and grandfather to Theodora

Randolph Butcher - a new friend who comes to visit Hannah.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Samuel himself is such an authentic character. Life is confusing and he has great difficulty expressing his thoughts and worries as his noisy family bump and crash around him. Samuel is part of a complex family structure. In other books I have found the focus on step children and various marriage partners contrived and unrealistic but in The First Book of Samuel it helped me feel such huge empathy for this young boy.  Equally the story of the Holocaust and the horrific events endured by Elias, Samuel's grandfather, were perfectly placed and paced in the story. At no time did it feel as though the author had an agenda or a need to preach to her reader.

I missed reading this book when it was first published. Luckily for me a friend who works in a school library invited me to look through her boxes of culled books. I was able to retrieve some books I wanted to read.  All were in very poor condition and certainly need to be disposed but the pages were intact so I am now working my way through the pile. On her web page Ursula gives a link to the bible story of Samuel. I had no idea about this story but my ignorance did not alter my enjoyment of this book. 

Here is another book cover - and this one looks perfect to my eye - it is the German edition:

Theodora's Gift (2005) is the sequel to The First Book of Samuel and yes it is also out of print. Both of these books are on the NSW Premier's Reading Challenge book list for 7-9 so you might be lucky and find a copy in a High School library.  I need to keep my eye out for a copy. Here are two very different covers:

I had talked previously about some books by Ursula Dubosarsky especially her book Leaf Stone Beetle.  Ursula Dubosarsky is our 2020-21 Australian Children's Laureate.