Capstone/Thesis Title
Term
Winter 2018
Upload Type
Restricted Access Thesis
Primary Advisor/Thesis Chair
Gary Schmidt
Degree Name
MFA
Abstract
A signal lights the night sky of a dreary gothic city and sets a teenage boy on an investigative quest for truth and justice…
The tragic, senseless murder of Ethan Carmichael’s mother by organized crime leaves him yearning for closure. To this end, he seeks justice at the cost of his other relationships. And while he and his father need each other more than ever, their reaction to the grief only fuels their estrangement. Set against a noir cityscape with a caped vigilante, THE SIGNAL explores themes of grief and justice, friendship and family, and takes a deeper look at the deep emotional and psychological effects of a traumatic loss.
Even young children experience horrible events and tragic loss in their lives. They need stories that show the main character and their families struggling with similar levels grief. It is meant to be an upper middle grade novel (though sometimes accused of being a lower YA novel) that approaches the topic of traumatic loss and grief through a fictional lens that makes the subject matter approachable but still poignant.
Subgenre
Middle grade, Speculative fiction
Recommended Citation
Land, Robert A., "THE SIGNAL" (2018). Creative Writing Programs. 16.
https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/cwp/16
dc_type
text
dc_publisher
DigitalCommons@Hamline
dc_format
application/pdf
dc_source
Creative Writing Program