I found The Sunflower Forest by Torey Hayden buried with some books.
[Multiple covers were available when I did an image search.]
I read it some time back. It was marked at fifty cents as a previous library book, but I think it is from a free rack. The book is from the 1980s.
Torey Hayden has written many books reflecting her experience with helping emotionally troubled children. She has written fiction and nonfiction.
This is inspired by fact fiction. I do not know if a particularly horrible mid-book twist is based on fact. I think it is a bit too much. But the author has handled tough cases.
The narrator is seventeen. She has a younger sister. They live in Kansas with their parents. Her mom was a survivor of this:
Nazi authorities created the Lebensborn program to increase Germany’s population. Pregnant German women deemed “racially valuable” were encouraged to give birth to their children at Lebensborn homes. During World War II, the program became complicit in the kidnapping of foreign children with physical features considered “Aryan” by the Nazis.
The mom has lingering psychological problems that result in tragedy.
[The author has moments of blunt horror. At one point, the daughter tells her father that she needs to know one thing. His answer is yes. The mother was raped.]
We see how it affects each family member. The book is also a coming-of-age novel.
The author moved from the United States to Wales. She uses her knowledge of Wales for the final part of the novel. There are no simple answers. This, looking at the author’s website (see link above), seems to be her style in her books as well.
The book is well written and provides a realistic teen voice. Young adult books can be enjoyed by adults. This one provides a teen perspective that allows us to see reactions from multiple adults and children, particlarly her younger sister.
As one writer of “young adult” fiction once wrote:
I like to think that I write about young people but not exclusively for them. Down with distinctions. … well written stories that happen to be about the young can and should be read without apology by adults. If I have, so far, written primarily about young people, it is probably because in my life adolescence is inescapable. Two adolescents are permanent residents [1980] of my house. I taught for many years in a public high school. My own childhood and teenage years stand out in sharp focus for me, most of the time, than more recent stages of my life. Finally, I like young people enormously. I hope I convey that, above all, in my books.
Robin F. Brancato
Her father tells her that he is an ordinary person with an extraordinary love. He feels a special obligation to protect his wife. We are left wondering if this resulted in tragedy because he felt the little family alone could protect her.
The mom lives in her own world. It is a means of survival. But it is also harmful to others. The question becomes how harmful it might be. We will see.
The book is 344 pages. I was wondering how it would spend all those pages because the general plot seems to be settled early. Then somewhat happens.
I sometimes feel that way about a book. Will it keep my interest? This book did.