Cooney's large body of work for adolescents defies easy
classification. She has written award-winning adventure, suspense,
romance, family, mystery, and historical fiction, as well as
action-driven horror stories and a time-travel trilogy. Her purpose
in some books, most notably horror like The Perfume, is just to
encourage reluctant readers to enjoy literature. However, in her
most serious and artistic books, Cooney relies on a source that is
likely to surprise her readers: biblical stories and parables. For
example, readers can find the seed of the idea that eventually
became Whatever Happened to Janie in the story of King Solomon's
wisdom when he was asked to decide which of two women, both of whom
claimed to be mother of an infant, should be recognized as the true
mother. The parable of the Good Samaritan provides a backdrop in
several of Cooney's most successful novels. Cooney's understated
use of biblical stories, and the way her Christian faith subtly
informs her fiction, are explored in the book. The organization of
the text reflects Cooney's major fiction categories: the "Janie"
mysteries, romances, catastrophe novels, horror and suspense
novels, the time travel trilogy, and her historical fiction.
Representative books are discussed in detail within each chapter.
Although most of the text is devoted to critical analysis of her
literary work, and of the intersection of fiction and faith in her
novels, Cooney's biography is also presented within the frame of
her life as a single mother of grown children. The influences of
her talents as an organist who played regularly for her church, the
lessons she has learned from her children when they were teenagers,
and life experiences that have led her to consider issues of race
and gender, are examples of issues that are discussed. For
children's and YA libraries and students of children's literature.
General
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