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The protagonist in S.E. Hinton's HAWKES HARBOR is one Jamie Sommers, a young man who runs away to sea after a rough upbringing in an orphanage. The novel moves forward and back in time. When the story opens, Jamie is a patient in a private psychiatric hospital, the patient of a sympathetic doctor. As Jamie undergoes therapy, we get glimpses of both his more recent and his more distant past. An adventurous life at sea and in dubious ports of call was the precursor to a nebulous terrifying encounter that is partly responsible for Jamie's hospitalization. Although Dr McDevitt is interested in uncovering the source of his patient's trauma, this is not a mystery in the traditional sense of the word. The puzzle here is what turned a functioning, albeit slightly louche young man into a veritable basket case. Does the answer lie in his relationship with Kell, his sailor comrade or his mysterious employer, Grenville Hawkes? The Hawkes Harbor of the title is the name of the small seaside town in which Jamie finds himself prior to his hospitalization. The Hawkes family is literally the wealthiest one in town. Grenville, we gradually learn, redefines eccentric. He also has some problems of a supernatural nature. These tie Jamie to him in ways that preclude escape. How Jamie deals with his terrifying situation becomes the thrust of the last two-thirds of the book. Although I am aware of Hinton's significant contribution to modern young adult literature, I am probably one of the few people unfamiliar with her books. As such, it's hard to judge the comparative quality of HAWKES HARBOR with say, THE OUTSIDERS or RUMBLE FISH. The plot of HAWKES HARBOR owes much to the soap opera DARK SHADOWS, and indeed to gothic literary traditions, but Hinton has created something unique here. The book's structure is essentially in three parts. The first third, the one dealing with Jamie's life at sea, is a fast, gripping read with vivid characters and situations. The second and third sections, which concern both Jamie's torment and his slow recovery, are not up to the same standards of the first part. The setting and the secondary characters have a blurry quality to them; I'm not sure I ever had a clear picture of the setting or indeed any of the Hawkes family, aside from Grenville. Given the superior handling of such things in the book's beginning, this is problematic for me. Having said all of that, HAWKES HARBOR ultimately is Jamie Sommers' story and as such, it's a successful book. It's a quick, engaging read and for anyone interested in this genre, is well worth picking up.
Reviewed by Michelle L. Zafron, December 2004
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