2008 Woodie Awards
Happy UnValentine's Day
Barclay Hayden
Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: Opinion
Ever wonder what Wednesday from the Addam's Family would do on Valentine's Day? Allow me to introduce you to Lily, a dark, cynical girl, very similar to Wednesday, who likes black roses, does not believe in love and hates Valentine's Day. This unhappy youth's discovery of the joys of Valentine's Day is awaiting you in The UnValentine by Sam Beeson.
This short book of verse, poetry that explores the hatred of Valentine's Day by gothic lovers, begins with an expression of Lily's abhorrence towards a generally loved day of red roses, boxes of chocolates, sugar hearts with idiomatic phrases stamped on them, and gaudy cards with corny verse scribed inside. This young girl writes in her journal about how she hates the pink and red spattered holiday as she sits alone musing about her cynical views.
But on Feb. 14, Lily notices a crumpled up piece of paper. Instead of receiving a primp and proper Valentine card, she unravels a marvelous display of gothic poetry expressing a young boy's desire for the lonely, disbelieving young girl. Lily did not believe in love until she received a Valentine that sung to her heart.
"With eyes as wide as saucers, and with mouth just like her eyes, sat Lily, speechless, breathless, and in uttermost surprise," Beeson writes about Lily's reaction to the unValentine. "Among her one-dimensioned classmates (somewhere in the fluff) a needle in the haystack lay! A diamond in the rough!"
If you have ever been stung on Valentine's Day, and not by Cupid's arrows, but by the pain of being rejected or dumped on a day meant for lovers, then pick up a copy of this book and be inspired by a young girl's discovery of love, albeit an odd love. Sometimes we try too hard to find what we perceive as the perfect mate; but as Lily shows, sometimes the diamond in the rough is right in front of us.
Beyond the intriguing and inspiring verse that is found in this wonderful little book, there can be found some of the best illustrations of the dark and lonely Lily by Jesse Draper. Included in the back of the book are six tear-out cards with unique sentiments for you to distribute as unValentines. So run out, pick up a copy of this inspiring book and get rid of the anti-Valentine's Day blues.
This short book of verse, poetry that explores the hatred of Valentine's Day by gothic lovers, begins with an expression of Lily's abhorrence towards a generally loved day of red roses, boxes of chocolates, sugar hearts with idiomatic phrases stamped on them, and gaudy cards with corny verse scribed inside. This young girl writes in her journal about how she hates the pink and red spattered holiday as she sits alone musing about her cynical views.
But on Feb. 14, Lily notices a crumpled up piece of paper. Instead of receiving a primp and proper Valentine card, she unravels a marvelous display of gothic poetry expressing a young boy's desire for the lonely, disbelieving young girl. Lily did not believe in love until she received a Valentine that sung to her heart.
"With eyes as wide as saucers, and with mouth just like her eyes, sat Lily, speechless, breathless, and in uttermost surprise," Beeson writes about Lily's reaction to the unValentine. "Among her one-dimensioned classmates (somewhere in the fluff) a needle in the haystack lay! A diamond in the rough!"
If you have ever been stung on Valentine's Day, and not by Cupid's arrows, but by the pain of being rejected or dumped on a day meant for lovers, then pick up a copy of this book and be inspired by a young girl's discovery of love, albeit an odd love. Sometimes we try too hard to find what we perceive as the perfect mate; but as Lily shows, sometimes the diamond in the rough is right in front of us.
Beyond the intriguing and inspiring verse that is found in this wonderful little book, there can be found some of the best illustrations of the dark and lonely Lily by Jesse Draper. Included in the back of the book are six tear-out cards with unique sentiments for you to distribute as unValentines. So run out, pick up a copy of this inspiring book and get rid of the anti-Valentine's Day blues.
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