What Raven finds is so often, so dismissively, summarized by a few sentences in the paper, a brief minute on the six o'clock news. For Raven, of course, it's much more personal, and so too, it becomes for readers of Raven's Flight. Author Diane Silvey plumbs what the paucity of news copy hides--the tragic circumstances and real personalities of a depraved landscape. She does so by ruthlessly describing the fallout from alcohol and substance abuse. Crime, poverty, addiction, and, to a lesser extent, prostitution are exposed in gritty detail. Silvey doesn't try to spare the sensibilities of her young readers. She's meticulously mapped the area as well. Vancouverites can easily visualize Raven's bus ride into the city and the streets she walks to some of the city's most infamous spots: the corner of Hastings and Main, the washrooms in front of Carnegie Centre, Pigeon Park.

      Stripping away the anonymity that leads to apathy, Silvey gives face and soul to some memorable characters. Ben, Bertie, Gertrude, Anna and Robert are made real with brief but moving histories. Silvey is less successful with the relative newcomers: Marcie's lengthy self-examinations, and Melissa's detailed explanation of her situation may be necessary for the information they convey, but sound contrived for just that purpose. Regrettably, the cast of street characters overwhelm sensible, normal Raven. She's a little too easy to identify with, when a hero should be larger than life. Nonetheless, all the characters serve Silvey well, drawing compassion from readers who can't possibly know their realities in full.

      Silvey's plot construction is less effective. Marcie, J.L. and Lonnie all use Raven's room without once running into Raven. This entering and exiting is more reminiscent of a comic skit than real life. Raven's search, too, is advanced only through an unimaginative chance meeting with Norm. The subsequent rescue ends too quickly, leaving scant opportunity for tension to build. Marcie's easy discovery of J.L's sister Melissa seems a convenient coincidence, as does Raven's almost incidental bust of the poaching ring, a gratuitous subplot introduced at the start, then abandoned until the end.

      Fittingly, Silvey ends her story by telling us not only what happens to Raven and Marcie but also to the regulars who dominate the book. The happy endings for Ben, Robert and Anna counterbalance both the horrors witnessed and the sobering fates of other, not-so-lucky victims, revealed so effectively in a memorial witnessed by Raven.

      Despite the note of optimism, however, the author never lets us forget why Raven's Flight was written. With her book, Silvey has drawn much-needed attention to the plight of people desperately in need. She's also armed young people with the awareness they need against drugs, alcohol and the promise of an easy answer to problems at home. Finally, hopefully, she has given "those who wanted to write home" both the means and the courage to do so.

Recommended.