Strong for Potatoes
by Cynthia Thayer
List Price: $12.95
Pages: 256
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0312200277
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Strong for Potatoes is the resonant story of the difficult youth
of Blue Willoughby, a remarkable girl growing up in eastern Maine. In
a life beset by tragedy, beginning with the death of her twin sister Berry
only days after their birth, Blue must discover on her own what strength
she needs to survive. Blue’s true rock of strength is her grandfather,
a full-blooded Passama- quoddy Indian who passes on to Blue the ways of
his ancestors, including the art of weaving baskets from ash and sweet
grass--knowledge that Blue will need to find a sense of her own true self
amid the chaos of her adolescence.
Strong for Potatoes
is a rich, evocative literary debut by a gifted writer and teller of the
most rewarding kind of story: beautifully crafted, authentic, moving,
and ultimately uplifting.
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1. Is the novel’s first-person voice believable? Is it believable once you learn that the author was a grandmother when she wrote the book and is neither a twin nor Native American? What are the advantages and limitations of this first-person narration?
2. What does the Passamaquoddy element add to the novel? What role does Blue’s heritage play in her development?
3. What purpose does the narrative frame, the snapshot captions, serve in the book?
4. How much responsibility do Blue’s parents have for Blue’s troubles? Do you have sympathy for them in their own struggles? Do you consider Blue’s personal obstacles “extraordinary”? How do they shape her? What other coming-of-age novels have characters that must face such extreme struggles, and how do these characters compare to Blue?
5. What do baskets and basketweaving symbolize in the novel for Blue, both literally and figuratively?
6. Do you consider the novel political?
7. How does Blue’s image of Berry work, both for Blue and for the novel itself? What is the purpose of the character of Berry? How successful is the character of Berry as a “foil” for Blue?
8. What role does the theme of “mothering” play in the book? When and where does it appear, and how does it develop over the course of Blue’s life?
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"[Strong for Potatoes] celebrates diversity and strong women. "
——Kirkus Reviews
"Poetic...a substantial fictional achievement...Gifted with considerable talent, Cynthia Thayer talks with the power of a fine writer directly to her readers. "
——Portland (ME) Sunday Telegram
"Thayer’s first novel is written with skill and patience, like one of Blue’s handcrafted ash baskets. "
——Booklist
"Harrowing yet beautiful, shattering yet life—affirming, Strong for Potatoes is a quietly ambitious story rich with compassion. Cynthia Thayer has written an astonishing debut novel. "
——Todd D. Brown, author of Entries from a Hot Pink Notebook
"Striking in its originality... daring...interesting. "
——Ellsworth (ME) America
