The Fall of Alice K.

July 16, 2012
In Heynen’s uneven first novel (after several short fiction collections, including The One-Room Schoolhouse), rising high school senior Alice Krayenbraak has her future mapped out: she’ll take a hiatus from sports, concentrating instead on academics, all with an eye toward college—some place sophisticated and far away from the hog manure and endless chores that characterize life on her family’s Iowa farm. But the year is 1999, and falling hog prices, combined with inclement weather and fears of Y2K, portend the downfall of the struggling farm. When the Hmong Vang family moves to town, Alice is attracted to bad boy Nickson. Dutch heritage and Calvinist doctrine dominate life in their community, and as Alice’s relationship with Nickson intensifies, she struggles with whether—in her pastor’s words—to be a restless Seeker or a satisfied Dweller. This simple dichotomy—between a desire for a different life and contentment with one’s lot—characterizes much of the novel. Although Heynen’s portrayal of young women and their relationships leaves much to be desired, his depictions of the Midwest’s evolving social and financial landscape ring true. `

December 1, 2012

Gr 11 Up- In Alice's Dutch Calvinist community in Iowa, many family farms are collapsing and being displaced by corporate agribusiness conglomerates. A high school senior, Alice is an excellent student who's looking forward to college. Yet her family's farm is failing; she has a troubled relationship with her emotionally disturbed mother, who is obsessed with the oncoming Y2K apocalypse; and her parents are making plans to send her special-needs sister away. Alice defies her family by befriending and becoming romantically involved with Nickson Vang, a Hmong immigrant who has recently moved to the area. A large part of the novel depicts Alice's thoughts and perceptions; rather than being driven by action and dialogue, it is an introspective, contemplative exploration of the impact of socioeconomic and political change; cultures in conflict; and the concepts of faith, sin, and guilt. The narrative is that of an adult looking back at adolescence, viewing it through the hindsight of adult sensibilities. Heynen's novel provides a unique glimpse into a way of life that has rarely been explored in literature. However, although the narrative revolves around a teen protagonist, this title will probably be of very limited interest to teens and would have better circulation in adult collections.-Francesca Burgess, Brooklyn Public Library, NY

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2012
Intelligent, attractive, and confident, Alice Krayenbraak cannot wait to break free from her restrictive Dutch farming community and repressive parents to build a new life at college. But the gunshots on a neighboring farm that starts Heynen's novel foretell that Alice's world will quickly and unalterably change. Entering her senior year in high school, Alice is focused on school and her future, but the arrival of the Vang family, Hmong immigrants, into the homogeneous community of Dutch Corners changes everything. Blinded by her attraction to Nickson Vang, Alice excuses warning signs that her relationship with him is slowly destroying everything that was important to her. As her family's farm sinks into bankruptcy, Alice comes into increasing conflict with her parents. Heynen's poetic language vividly depicts the grinding strain of life on a struggling farm and the strict moral code of the Protestant farming community. Heynen finely portrays the complicated character of Alice, a girl at the brink of adulthood with a promising future but naively willing to put it all at risk for the recklessness of first love.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)