Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Splinter
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.sashadawn.com/
CITY:
STATE: IL
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 2013029759
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n2013029759
HEADING: Dawn, Sasha
000 00297nz a2200121n 450
001 9273432
005 20130524144856.0
008 130524n| azannaabn |n aaa
010 __ |a n 2013029759
040 __ |a DLC |b eng |c DLC |e rda
100 1_ |a Dawn, Sasha
670 __ |a Oblivion, 2014: |b ECIP t.p. (Sasha Dawn)
953 __ |a xc05
PERSONAL
Partner’s name Joshua; has daughters.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and educator. McHenry County College, Crystal Lake, IL, instructor; College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL, instructor. Also, previously worked for the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Sasha Dawn is a writer and educator based in Illinois. She has worked for the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service and has served as a writing instructor at the College of Lake County and at McHenry County College. Dawn writes novels for young adults.
Oblivion
In an interview with a contributor to the Jean Book Nerd website, Dawn discussed her first novel, Oblivion, which was released in 2014. As a teaser about the book’s plot, she told the interviewer: “Callie has been writing on the walls of an abandoned apartment. She may have witnessed a crime; she may have committed one. She doesn’t remember. The only clues as to what transpired that night come to her in bouts of graphomania—a debilitating urge to write. What’s more, the words she writes may help her to remember what happened, and remembering is essential. That night, a young girl from her parish disappeared, and so did Callie’s father. The sooner she remembers, the more likely she can help Hannah come home.” On the walls of the the room, Callie has written: “I killed him” over and over again. However, the detectives investigating the two disappearances do not consider Callie a suspect. Her father, known as Pastor Palmer, is a minister at the local fundamentalist Christian church, and the missing girl is a twelve-year-old named Hannah. There is speculation that Pastor Palmer kidnapped Hannah. Since her father is gone and her mother has been placed in a facility because of her mental health, Callie is sent to live with a foster family. The foster family is affluent, and Callie grew up poor, so she is initially jarred by the transition in economic status. Callie’s foster sister is close to her age and is dating a boy named John. John and Callie find themselves drawn to one another, causing strain in Callie’s relationship with her foster sister. Callie believes John may somehow be involved in the mystery surrounding her father. When Callie goes to a cafe to hook up with a boy named Elijah, a flood of memories overcomes her. Over time, her memories offer her the information she needs to solve the mystery. However, solving it leads to even more problems. In the same interview on the Jean Book Nerd website, Dawn described Callie, stating: “She’s a sixteen-year-old foster child, living with the Hutch family. She’s in the process of making a priority out of herself.” Dawn also stated: “Hannah was supposed to be two-dimensional, a conductor, if you will, to propel Callie’s story along. I didn’t expect to care about her to the extent I did.”
Henry Poggie, critic in Voice of Youth Advocates, remarked: “Oblivion is not badly written; the plot, though slow at first, is interesting, and the writing style is solid, though perhaps not solid enough to save the book from its characters.” Writing on the TeenReads website, Sabrina Abballe suggested: “Oblivion has a highly promising premise but a disappointing execution.The novel is entirely too long but the ending unfortunately abrupt, and the flashbacks are frustratingly repetitive.” Abballe continued: “However, Oblivion does feature a fascinating and complex heroine.” In a more favorable assessment, a Kirkus Reviews contributor commented: “The story works on two levels: as a psychological mystery and as a story of Callie’s rocky relationships.” “Readers will feel unmoored until the last few pages of this novel, and that’s all right,” asserted Ilene Cooper in Booklist. Cooper added: “The book’s intensity can be overwhelming.”
Splinter
Sami Lang is the protagonist of Dawn’s 2017 novel, Splinter. Sami’s mother, Delilah, has been missing for the past ten years, and Sami, now sixteen, determines to find out what happened to her. Among the initial suspects was Chris, Sami’s father and Delilah’s ex-husband. Sami has reason to believe her mother may still be alive. She has periodically received postcards from various locations with mysterious messages that have connections to Delilah. When a new disappearance occurs in Sami’s town, the local authorities believe it could be related to Delilah’s case. Once again, they focus on Sami’s father. Disturbing facts lead Sami to believe that the authorities might be right about her father’s involvement in the disappearances. Meanwhile, she develops a crush on the nephew of one of her neighbors.
“Dawn pens a wonderfully written suspense novel that both young adult readers and adults will enjoy. Each character is dynamic and unique,” asserted Anjeanette Alexander-Smith in Voice of Youth Advocates. A writer in Kirkus Reviews suggested: “Sami reveals enough of other characters to give them depth and plausibly build the psychological suspense.” The same writer described the book as “detailed and suspenseful.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer commented: “Dawn … creates an engrossing thriller, blending Sami’s amateur sleuthing with believable teen angst.” Reinhardt Suarez, critic in Booklist, called Splinter “an absolute pageturner that uses well-paced suspense instead of graphic violence to craft an edgy tale.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, May 1, 2014, Ilene Cooper, review of Oblivion, p. 52; December 15, 2016, Reinhardt Suarez, review of Splinter, p. 50.
Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2014, review of Oblivion; December, 15, 2016, review of Splinter.
Publishers Weekly, January 16, 2017, review of Splinter, p. 62.
Voice of Youth Advocates, August, 2014, Henry Poggie, review of Oblivion, p. 60; August, 2017, Anjeanette Alexander-Smith, review of Splinter, p. 56.
ONLINE
Jean Book Nerd, http://www.jeanbooknerd.com/ (May 1, 2014), author interview.
Sasha Dawn Website, http://www.sashadawn.com/ (October 18, 2017).
TeenReads, https://www.teenreads.com/ (April 28, 2015), Sabrina Abballe, review of Oblivion.*
SASHA DAWN
WRITER, PHILOSOPHER, COLLECTOR OF TAP SHOES
MY STORY
(or at least the beginning of an ongoing tale...)
HOME
MY STORY
REACH ME
RANDOM
NOVELS
My Bookshelf
Pictured here are works of one of my all-time favorite writers, the poignant Jessica Warman, alongside the haunting White Oleander by Janet Fitch, some classics by Delinksky and Sparks... and a pair of tap shoes, child size 11.
The story begins when I'm seven years old, living in a haunted house. I don't sleep. I'm afraid, and I'm seven. Would YOU risk falling asleep amidst the spirits of the night? One thing I know I shouldn't do is wake Mom. The woman is exhausted all the time. Besides, if I tell her of the hauntings--the whispering, the pulling on my hair, the tickling of my toes--she won't believe me. "Chalk it up to her wild imagination," she'll mumble to my father, who is somewhat of an apparition himself.
My brother, who is about four, walks the hallways at night in a daze, sleepwalking. Sometimes, if I drift off, I wake up to find him staring down at me. It's another reason I don't sleep. He's cute, but creepy. I wonder if the entities in this house influence him to rise out of bed every night.
My sister sprawls on the twin bed on the other side of the room. The spirits don't bother her. I wish they would, and not just because she's somewhat of a nine-year-old tyrant, but because if she experiences it, she'll believe me. She's a good person to have on your side, if you know what I mean.
Tonight, I've already walked my brother back to his room, and I'm trembling beneath the covers when I hear it: "Psst! Sasha! Go into the closet!" They're snickering at me, yanking at my toes. It's nearly 3 a.m. I'm tired, and I want it to stop. I have much to do in second grade tomorrow. So I do the unthinkable. Walk into the closet. Sit on the floor. Wait for something to happen. NOTHING happens. But they're silent at last. When I look up, I see a notebook and a pencil waiting for me on a shelf. I take it down and start to write. I haven't stopped since...
QUOTED: "Callie has been writing on the walls of an abandoned apartment. She may have witnessed a crime; she may have committed one. She doesn’t remember. The only clues as to what transpired that night come to her in bouts of graphomania—a debilitating urge to write. What’s more, the words she writes may help her to remember what happened, and remembering is essential. That night, a young girl from her parish disappeared, and so did Callie’s father. The sooner she remembers, the more likely she can help Hannah come home."
"She’s a sixteen-year-old foster child, living with the Hutch family. She’s in the process of making a priority out of herself."
"Hannah was supposed to be two-dimensional, a conductor, if you will, to propel Callie’s story along. I didn’t expect to care about her to the extent I did."
Sasha Dawn Author Interview
12:00 AM Oblivion Blog Tour, Sasha Dawn Author Interview No comments
Book Nerd Interview
Sasha Dawn teaches college composition to America’s youth at McHenry County College and the College of Lake County. She’s drawn to suspense, the survival instinct in people, and has a crush on Thomas Jefferson. She lives in a suburb of Chicago.
Social Media
Was there a defining moment during your youth when you realized you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve always wanted to be a writer. It was probably in second grade, in Ms. Czop’s class, that I realized I could do with words what other people couldn’t. She validated my talents, and I loved creative writing.
Why is storytelling so important for all of us?
Storytelling is as old as time, and it’s the way we chronicle important events. More importantly, it’s an appeal to emotion. A good storyteller can reach any audience via the evocation of emotion.
Beyond your own work (of course), what is your all-time favorite book and why? And what is your favorite book outside of your genre?
My all-time favorite is Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird because it’s a historical study of family, race, and gender roles in the south, and it edges on incredibly adult subject matter, although the book is told from the point of view of a child. Lee’s ability to pull this off is nothing less than admirable. My favorite book outside my genre is either Janet Fitch’s White Oleander or Lee Smith’s The Last Girls. Both are very character driven, and the characters are wonderfully flawed.
What is the best piece of advice you ever received from another author?
If it doesn’t progress the plot or give a character depth, cut it. Don’t keep something solely because it is beautiful.
In your book; Oblivion, can you tell my Book Nerd community a little about it?
Callie has been writing on the walls of an abandoned apartment. She may have witnessed a crime; she may have committed one. She doesn’t remember. The only clues as to what transpired that night come to her in bouts of graphomania—a debilitating urge to write. What’s more, the words she writes may help her to remember what happened, and remembering is essential. That night, a young girl from her parish disappeared, and so did Callie’s father. The sooner she remembers, the more likely she can help Hannah come home.
For those who are unfamiliar with Callie, how would you introduce her?
Meet Callie. She’s a sixteen-year-old foster child, living with the Hutch family. She’s in the process of making a priority out of herself.
What are some of your current and future projects that you can share with us?
After Oblivion, I wrote a novel currently entitled Caliber, which is about a girl finding the means to protect herself when strange coincidences point to the possibility someone is trying to kill her. Then Blink, a novel detailing the mysteries of a missing sister. The third is Gone, a tale about a girl whose father is suspected of killing her mother, who disappeared ten years ago.If you could introduce one of your characters to any character from another book, who would it be and why?
If I could introduce any character in Oblivion to a character in another book, I’d acquaint Elijah Breshock with Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Together, I think they might rule the world…or organize a crime ring.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating Hannah?
Hannah was supposed to be two-dimensional, a conductor, if you will, to propel Callie’s story along. I didn’t expect to care about her to the extent I did. I began to lament the things she had gone through, especially because I’d invented her plight.
When asked, what’s the one question you always answer with a lie?
When people ask whose idea it was to bring Kody home, I blame it on Joshua. Kody is puppy #4, and we really didn’t need puppy #3. But I fell in love with him instantly. While it was Joshua who handed over the credit card, I know he did so because he saw that I was smitten.
What’s the best advice you can give writers to help them develop their own unique voice and style?
Write, write, write. You can’t hone your craft without constant practice.
What's the most memorable summer job you've ever had?
I worked with the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service, running 4H programs for less fortunate children. The job took me to some questionable locations, and at age nineteen, I was exposed to an entire world of children whose lives didn’t allow them the luxury of innocence. I worked with wards of the court, pregnant runaways, children whose parents were incarcerated. It scared the daylights out of me, but I’ll bet I learned more from those children than they learned from me.
Who was your first boyfriend?
My first boyfriend—the one who made a difference, anyway—is now a genetic scientist, father of two, and the dedicated husband to a woman I’ve never met (but I’m confident she’s amazing). Coincidentally, he shares the name of Callie’s love interest—John. We met when I was eleven years old, but didn’t date until I was eighteen. He was Joshua’s man-crush in high school because he was, in all sincerity, the coolest guy ever. He played baseball, which I love, had excellent taste in music, and was crazy-smart. I spent three years in high school shoving my chewed gum into his locker door (locker #1306…is it weird that I remember that?), and I think he had to clean it out before they allowed him to graduate. While I haven’t seen him in a very long time, I have apologized profusely via email for the rough waters he navigated while I was his girlfriend.
Tell me about your first kiss
My first kiss was a meeting of the lips, not of the mind.
Where is the best place in the world you’ve been?
I can (and will) tour Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello over and over again. It feels like home. I love Virginia.
When was the last time you cried?
I cried two days ago, when I once again saw the proof that Joshua loves my girls as if they were his own.
What decade during the last century would you have chosen to be a teenager?
1960s. I probably would have been in and out of jail, but I would’ve embraced the opportunity to coax change through the power of expression.
What is your greatest adventure?
Aside from motherhood, which is challenging, joyous, and the most important job on the planet, I explored Virginia for the first time at age 12. There were about 40 of us, along with faculty chaperones (who’d gotten their CDL licenses to drive us), on a yellow school bus. The trip encompassed intense learning experiences over the course of 15 days. It was not a vacation. Each student on the trip had studied for an entire year to become an expert in a colonial craft and a historical topic. We were up with the sunrise, late to rest, and were required to write journal entries about our experiences along the way. It was an exercise in critical thought, in independence, and in finding oneself. That trip helped shape the person I am today. My senior year in high school, my BFF Mary and I took the trip again, as a mentor to the seventh grade students. Last June, Mary and I traveled to Virginia to replicate some of the experiences. We spent a week away from our lives, reacquainting ourselves with Virginia, and in (not always quiet) contemplation. I highly recommend traversing paths along maps, learning along the way. Particularly with your best girlfriends.
Where can readers stalk you?
Email: Sasha.dawn at rocketmail.com OR Twitter: @_SashaDawn
Lisa McMann’s Dead to You meets Kate Ellison’s The Butterfly Clues in a psychological thriller full of romance, intrigue, and mystery.
Two years ago, Callie was found in an abandoned apartment, scrawling words on the wall: “I KILLED HIM. His blood is on my hands. His heart is in my soul. I KILLED HIM.” But she remembers nothing of that night or of the three previous days. All she knows is that her father, the reverend at the Church of the Holy Promise, is missing, as is Hannah, a young girl from the parish. Their disappearances have to be connected and Callie knows that her father was not a righteous man.
But the more she remembers, the closer she comes to the horrifying truth. And when a good looking guy in school helps her to remember what she's buried for so long, she might wish she never dug up the past.
You can purchase Oblivion at the following Retailers:
QUOTED: "Dawn pens a wonderfully written suspense novel that both young adult readers and adults will enjoy. Each character is dynamic and unique."
10/16/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1508196396440 1/7
Print Marked Items
Dawn, Sasha. Splinter
Anjeanette Alexander-Smith
Voice of Youth Advocates.
40.3 (Aug. 2017): p56.
COPYRIGHT 2017 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
4Q * 4P * M * J * S * NA
Dawn, Sasha. Splinter. Carolrhoda Lab/ Lerner, 2017. 304p. 224p. $18.99. 978-151241-151-5.
No one wants to imagine that a parent could be a murderer. For Sami, it has been a ten-year reality. Her life is like an
Unsolved Mysteries episode gone rogue. She should be concerned with school crushes, prom dates, and whether she
should take Ryan out of the friend zone. Wondering if her father actually did kill her mother--and perhaps another
woman he was involved with in the past--is not what she had in mind, but it is enveloping every aspect of her life. As
the persistent Detective Eschermann seeks to prove her fathers guilt, Sami wavers between standing by his innocence
and believing in his guilt. The unfolding facts lead her (and the reader) down a messy trail that could boggle the most
forensically inclined mind. What Sami discovers at the end of her journey will amaze lovers of suspense.
Dawn pens a wonderfully written suspense novel that both young adult readers and adults will enjoy. Each character is
dynamic and unique; each one of the large cast of family members, neighbors, and friends shows depth and growth.
The reader can visualize each scene and sympathize with Sami as the case unfolds in very nonlinear fashion. Teachers
can use this book in a mystery/suspense unit. It would pair well with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the
Baskervilles" (Strand Magazine, 1901-1902) or Patricia Reilly Giff's Pictures of Hollis Woods (Random House, 2002).
--Anjeanette Alexander-Smith.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Alexander-Smith, Anjeanette. "Dawn, Sasha. Splinter." Voice of Youth Advocates, Aug. 2017, p. 56+. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA502000780&it=r&asid=25c82fba177d650558e5b456d8779ce5.
Accessed 16 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A502000780
QUOTED: "Sami reveals enough of other characters to give them depth and plausibly build the psychological suspense. Detailed and suspenseful."
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Dawn, Sasha: SPLINTER
Kirkus Reviews.
(Dec. 15, 2016):
COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Dawn, Sasha SPLINTER Carolrhoda Lab (Children's Fiction) $18.99 3, 1 ISBN: 978-1-5124-1151-5
Sami still hopes that her mother is alive 10 years after she disappeared. She also hopes that her father didn't murder her.
Every time some new development in the still-open case surfaces, the white teen must dodge the stares of her
classmates and the presence of the news media on her lawn. She was 6 when her mother disappeared, and she struggles
to remember the events of that day. Meanwhile, although the police have always suspected her father, the detective on
the case urges her to keep an open mind even when events again point to her father as the guilty party, and Sami begins,
finally, to believe that it might be possible. She develops an ever closer friendship with the handsome nephew of their
neighbor, also once a suspect. Even after 10 years a cascade of new evidence turns up. Although Sami dutifully reports
everything to the police, nevertheless she ultimately finds herself in great danger even as she realizes who the true
culprit might be. Dawn keeps pouring in new facts and new speculations as she winds her way through the labyrinth of
evidence and suspicions she builds into her narrative. Present-tense narrator Sami reveals enough of other characters to
give them depth and plausibly build the psychological suspense. Detailed and suspenseful. (Mystery. 12-18)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Dawn, Sasha: SPLINTER." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Dec. 2016. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA473652295&it=r&asid=8137ba3b3eb8edc9388b194ed17f42c8.
Accessed 16 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A473652295
QUOTED: "Dawn ... creates an engrossing thriller, blending Sami's amateur sleuthing with believable teen angst."
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Splinter
Publishers Weekly.
264.3 (Jan. 16, 2017): p62.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Splinter
Sasha Dawn. Carolrhoda Lab, $18.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-5124-1151-5
When new evidence surfaces in the unsolved mystery of her mother's disappearance, 16-year-old Sami Lang is
determined to uncover the truth. No one has seen Delilah Lang since that afternoon 10 years earlier when she left the
house and never returned. Suspicion fell on Sami's professor father, Chris, recently divorced from her mother and well
on his way to becoming an alcoholic. Sami, who has since grown close to her stepsister and stepmother, never believed
that her mother died, especially after she began receiving cryptic postcards from around the country, inscribed with her
mother's two favorite numbers. Now the police have a new lead: another woman is reported missing and has disturbing
ties to Sami's family. Dawn (Oblivion) creates an engrossing thriller, blending Sami's amateur sleuthing with believable
teen angst: Sami develops feelings for her strange neighbor's handsome visiting nephew, while contending with the
unwanted media attention her mother's case attracts. It's not the shot at a happy ending that makes this such a
compelling story, so much as Sami's struggle to come to terms with tragedy without letting it define her. Ages 13-up.
Agent: Andrea Somberg, Harvey Klinger. (Mar.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Splinter." Publishers Weekly, 16 Jan. 2017, p. 62. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA478405351&it=r&asid=f3e62115da151301c413d24112212fe4.
Accessed 16 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A478405351
QUOTED: "Oblivion is not badly written; the plot, though slow at first, is interesting, and the writing style is solid, though perhaps not solid enough to save the book from its characters."
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Dawn, Sasha. Oblivion
Henry Poggie
Voice of Youth Advocates.
37.3 (Aug. 2014): p60.
COPYRIGHT 2014 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
3Q * 2P * S
Dawn, Sasha. Oblivion. Egmont, 2014. 400p. $17.99.978-1-60684-476-2.
Calliope "Callie" Knowles was missing for over thirty-six hours before she was found in the apartment over the bar
with the words, "I killed him" written on her body and the walls with a red felt-tip pen. Her father, Reverend Palmer
Prescott, is missing along with a parishioner from his church, twelve-year-old, Hannah Rynes. The trauma has triggered
in Callie an obsessive compulsion to write known as graphomania. Her mother stabbed her father before he went
missing and she is currently in a mental hospital where he had her placed. After Callie was found in the apartment, she
spent time in "County" where she met a boy, Elijah, with whom she formed a bond and a sexual relationship. Since she
was released from County, Callie lives with a foster family and she considers their daughter to be her sister. Lindsey is
interested in a boy at school, John, who stares at Callie one day in choir class when she slips a note from Lindsey to
him. This begins a complicated relationship, just one of many in Callie's life.
This is a gripping, psychologically intense mystery, but there are times when the story lags. There are sexual
relationships and the missing Reverend believes that honoring God is shown to him through sex and torture. This title
would be an interesting purchase since the unique subject of graphomania is described so vividly, and this type of
resilient fiction may help someone struggling with the compulsion.--Pat Clingman.
Despite its merits, this reviewer was still irritated with Oblivion, mainly with the characters. The main character,
Calliope, comes across as weak while her two love interests are disloyal and her adoptive sister--regardless of what
Calliope herself might say--is just a jerk. Apart from these flaws, Oblivion is not badly written; the plot, though slow at
first, is interesting, and the writing style is solid, though perhaps not solid enough to save the book from its characters.
2Q, 3P.--Henry Poggie, Teen Reviewer.
Poggie, Henry
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Poggie, Henry. "Dawn, Sasha. Oblivion." Voice of Youth Advocates, Aug. 2014, p. 60. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA378680509&it=r&asid=8d25fde9e36690d2510f642239eb2d2e.
Accessed 16 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A378680509
QUOTED: "An absolute pageturner that uses well-paced suspense instead of graphic violence to craft an edgy tale."
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Splinter
Reinhardt Suarez
Booklist.
113.8 (Dec. 15, 2016): p50.
COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
Splinter.
By Sasha Dawn.
Mar. 2017.304p. Carolrhoda/Lab, $18.99 (9781512411515). Gr. 9-12.
Ever since her mother walked out the door years ago, Sami's hope has been stoked by mysterious postcards that arrive
in the mail. The only thing written on them is the cryptic "11/7"--the date Sami's mother was supposed to return. Sami
eventually gained a stepmother and sister, creating a semblance of a normal family. Then one day, the long-closed case
of Trina Jordan, another vanished woman, is reopened. The catch? Both Jordan and her mother had once been married
to Sami's father. Could he have been responsible for their disappearances? Darkness pervades every nook and cranny of
this novel. Sami is a troubled girl who has lost faith in her family, friends, and own hazy memory of the day her mother
disappeared. Dawn has written a twisty mystery interwoven with long-hidden family secrets. She strikingly captures
the trauma of losing a beloved parent, as well as the horror of being betrayed by those you trust. An absolute pageturner
that uses well-paced suspense instead of graphic violence to craft an edgy tale.--Reinhardt Suarez
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Suarez, Reinhardt. "Splinter." Booklist, 15 Dec. 2016, p. 50. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA476563563&it=r&asid=2a3245e7135eda79f977b219874c223f.
Accessed 16 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A476563563
QUOTED: "The story works on two levels: as a psychological mystery and as a story of Callie's rocky relationships."
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Dawn, Sasha: OBLIVION
Kirkus Reviews.
(Apr. 15, 2014):
COPYRIGHT 2014 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Dawn, Sasha OBLIVION Egmont USA (Children's Fiction) $17.99 5, 27 ISBN: 978-1-60684-476-2
Callie, 16, suffers from graphomania, a debilitating mental disorder characterized by an irresistible urge to write, in this
psychological thriller. Callie's chaotic writing comes across as poetic, but her therapist and the local police believe she's
trying to remember a traumatic event that occurred one year ago: Her father, fire-breathing pastor of a fundamentalist
church, may have kidnapped a young girl. No one knows if either is dead or alive, but whatever Callie experienced was
too disturbing to remember. Now living with a wealthy foster family, Callie copes with a newly strained relationship
with her foster sister, who loves John-who finds himself far more attracted to Callie. Meanwhile, Callie meets Elijah
for sex in a room above the old cafe where her mentally ill mother used to read tarot cards. As events trigger emerging
memories for Callie, she begins to believe she can eventually solve the case. When she succeeds, however, far more
trauma comes to light. Dawn weaves Callie's memories and her uncontrolled writing into a tapestry that slowly begins
to form answers and uncovers a crime more monstrous than Callie could have foreseen or remembered. The story
works on two levels: as a psychological mystery and as a story of Callie's rocky relationships with her sister and
boyfriends, always grounding her difficulties in reality. Thoroughly compelling. (Thriller. 14-18)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Dawn, Sasha: OBLIVION." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Apr. 2014. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA364690977&it=r&asid=56c5af0b85f720ca02a2a4ab5c581c1c.
Accessed 16 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A364690977
QUOTED: "Readers will feel unmoored until the last few pages of this novel, and that's all right."
"The book's intensity can be overwhelming."
10/16/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1508196396440 7/7
Oblivion
Ilene Cooper
Booklist.
110.17 (May 1, 2014): p52.
COPYRIGHT 2014 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
* Oblivion. By Sasha Dawn. May 2014.400p. Egmont, $ 17.99 (9781606844762). Gr. 9-12.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Readers will feel unmoored until the last few pages of this novel, and that's all right--so does the story's narrator, Callie.
Almost a year earlier, Callie was found in a deserted room scribbling "I killed him" more than a thousand times on a
wall. At the same time, she developed graphomania and became someone who is impelled--to the point of terror, to the
point of exhaustion--to write down the words screaming in her head. The police don't believe that Callie killed either
her father, Pastor Palmer, or the 12-year-old who disappeared that day. But her journals of repetitive poetic ramblings
obscure rather than illuminate the case. Literally raised in a church, Callie doesn't do normal. Her mother is in a mental
institution after stabbing Palmer, whose persona alternates between man of God and sexual predator. Her new foster
family has given her an upgraded life for which she is unprepared. When she finds herself clinging to her "sister's"
boyfriend, John, who is somehow related to the mystery, her world is jolted again. The book's intensity can be
overwhelming. Callie's uncontrollable need to write--and the anxiety she feels when she can't--is communicated as if
by osmosis. Though readers may wonder why foster parents so uninvolved would take Callie in or how she maintains
good grades, these questions fade in the face of the incessant demands that the graphomania makes on both the
characters and those turning the pages.--Ilene Cooper
Cooper, Ilene
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Cooper, Ilene. "Oblivion." Booklist, 1 May 2014, p. 52. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA368378942&it=r&asid=1035098c6bc684773ef19f0c76060286.
Accessed 16 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A368378942
QUOTED: "OBLIVION has a highly promising premise but a disappointing execution.The novel is entirely too long but the ending unfortunately abrupt, and the flashbacks are frustratingly repetitive."
"However, OBLIVION does feature a fascinating and complex heroine."
Review
Oblivion
by Sasha Dawn
Buy this book at IndieBound
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Calliope Knowles suffers from graphomania --- a compulsive need to write. Callie feels the words rising up within her and must set them free by frantically scribbling with her red felt-tip pen on any available surface. These graphomania attacks began almost a year ago when the police found Callie in an abandoned apartment where she had scrawled the words “I killed him” thousands of times on the bathroom walls. Callie remembers nothing of what happened in the 36 hours before she was found that night. All anyone knows is that Palmer, Callie’s father and reverend of Holy Promise; and Hannah, a little girl in the parish, are still missing.
The journey Callie undertakes to deal with her graphomania and redefine her sense of self is emotionally wrought and compelling.
The key to discovering what happened to Palmer and Hannah may lie in the words and riddles that fill Callie’s notebooks. As the one-year anniversary approaches, Callie’s graphomania attacks become more frequent and more intense, as they are often accompanied by blackouts and flashbacks to moments involving Palmer that Callie would rather forget. Most people believe Palmer to be a pious reverend and just as much a victim as Hannah, but Callie knows how abusive and dangerous her father is. With Hannah’s life hanging in the balance, Callie welcomes the flashbacks and violent outpouring of words, hoping that her mental illness will become the little girl’s salvation. But as Callie battles with her memories and begins to unravel the mystery of what her father did, the secrets she uncovers may change her life forever.
OBLIVION has a highly promising premise but a disappointing execution.The novel is entirely too long but the ending unfortunately abrupt, and the flashbacks are frustratingly repetitive and occur so often that they lose their effect and impede the flow of the story. However, OBLIVION does feature a fascinating and complex heroine, and the journey Callie undertakes to deal with her graphomania and redefine her sense of self is emotionally wrought and compelling.
Reviewed by Sabrina Abballe on June 5, 2014
Buy this book at IndieBound Buy this book at Amazon Buy this book at Barnes and Noble
Oblivion
by Sasha Dawn
Publication Date: April 28, 2015
Genres: Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Youth Fiction
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: EgmontUSA
ISBN-10: 1606845705
ISBN-13: 9781606845707