Wyeth, Sharon Dennis. Orphea Proud.

WYETH, Sharon Dennis. Orphea Proud. Random House, Delacorte, c2004. 208p. 0-385-32497-9. $15.95. S*

Orphea Proud has been raised by a loving mother and a strict father. Now, at 16, she is an orphan, living with her half-brother Rupert and his wife. On the night of a snowstorm sleepover, Orphea and her best friend Lissa explore their sexual identities and share an intimate kiss. When Rupert catches them, he hits Orphea and disgustedly sends Lissa home in the snow. Lissa is killed in a tragic accident and Orphea is thrown into the depths of depression. Rupert then dumps Orphea, along with her journal and her belongings, with her great aunts in Proud Road, Virginia, the rural home of her late mother He leaves her there with the warning that the family is "righteous" and will not be interested in the loss of her gay lover. But living with her Aunt Minnie and Aunt Cleo in the rundown general store Orphea learns more about her mother and her father, about prejudice and tolerance, about family and love. Although she is herself an African American, the blond, blue-eyed boy who lives across the street is a relative. He too has experienced loss and now spends his days painting colorful murals of horses in a root cellar.

Orphea takes her journal to the cellar and returns to writing poetry while planning on someday sharing her work in performance. In fact, the story is itself that performance, a performance that includes the poetry she has written. Interspersed throughout are subtle details and allusions to Orphea's namesake, the Greek hero, Orpheus. Janis Flint-Ferguson, Assoc. Prof. of English, Gordon College, Wenham, MA