Disappear Home

Gr 7 Up—When 14-year-old Shoshanna's physically abusive father offers his daughter's body to a fellow member of the violent, drug-dependent commune Sweet Earth Farm, Shoshie's mother, Ella, secretly flees with Shosie and her six-year-old sister, Mara. It's 1970, and with flower power waning, hippies Ella, Shoshie, and Mara can't find their way to a new home in the foreign outside world. Enter Judy, a young hippie who has found a way to balance her ideals with practicality. Together they form a new kind of family with some added help from old and new friends. While Shoshie remains terrified of her father finding them, she also begins to enjoy feeling safe on the rural California farm where they have settled. When Ella's cancer diagnosis upsets the good vibes of their new life, Shoshie draws on her newfound strength to carry on despite challenges and tragedy. While this pat ending may leave some readers dissatisfied, others may be relieved. Despite the emotional and mental stress caused by the threat of Shoshie's father potentially returning, nothing particularly sinister actually takes place. The historical dialogue is so "groovy" it can feel farcical; however, Hurwitz's descriptions of California and progressive cultural movements create a vivid and accurate landscape.