by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
In the opening of her just-published novel, 17-year-old Genevieve Noel of Sartell writes an ominous “take” on the famous first sentence of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times . . . “
But Noel paraphrases it to this anxiety-riddled stunner: “It may have been the best of times, but it was about to be the worst of times.”
Noel’s novel, entitled Profugorum (Latin for “Refugees”), is a dystopian story about a young woman (and many others) trapped psychologically and physically in a frightening American society in the year 2060. The plot involves the lead character, 16-year-old Renay, having to overcome virtually every kind of obstacle to save herself and others. Renay can be very weak, almost paralyzed by a fear of death, always running from a frightful future and yet eventually finding strength and courage she did not know she possessed.
Renay lives in a radically rearranged world under control of government officials known as the “Yellow Shirts.” People are required to live in specific sections of each state of the nation, and they are not allowed to come and go as they please. A massive war is building. It is a very chilling, disturbing world that Renay and others have to face.
The book’s opening, vibrating with dread, continues:
“When havoc rocked our nation there was no choice we could make except for the one given to us by our leaders. There were no words that could describe my thoughts when my parents told us the worst news imaginable. We had to move. There was no avoiding that fateful morning; no amount of begging and pleading could change their minds. There was a point where I thought to run away, but then felt childish for letting my desires get the better of me. I mean a 16-year-old girl is too mature for such a stunt. Not that it would be hard, but it would hurt the people I loved. I then had to do the one thing that I am the worst at doing – saying goodbye. Goodbye to the only friend I’ve ever had. Now I know I am stuck. We’ll leave and I’ll be left to put my shattered life slowly back together. I won’t be alone, but I will be on my own.”
Thus, the almost unbearable suspense continues as readers wonder how is Renay and the ones she loves going to face the future and survive such bleak prospects?
Although Profugorum sounds unrelievedly grim, it’s not a depressing book, its author insists.
“No, it’s not a horror story,” Noel said. “It’s actually kind of inspirational. It’s about overcoming things, about getting through things.”
Noel/Ronyak
Genevieve Noel is the nom de plume of Hannah Ronyak, 17, who is enrolled in the Sartell-St. Stephen School District and who is now taking post-secondary classes at St. Cloud State University. She also works as a server at the Perkins Restaurant in Sartell.
She is the daughter of Jody and John Noel and has one brother, Joseph.
It was Joseph who unwittingly inspired sister Hannah’s novel. One day, four years ago, when Joseph was in fourth grade, he was sitting at home, frustrated, pondering what he could come up with for an English assignment – writing his own short story.
Hannah, 13 at the time, gave Joseph some tips and examples about how to open one’s imagination by plucking images and ideas out of thin air. She began to weave a story with characters to show him how easily it’s done. Then it dawned on her, “Hey, I really like this story I’m creating.”
So much so that later that night, she sat down at the desk in her room under her loft bed and began to write down details of what had gone drifting through her mind earlier.
“The first thing was my character, Renay,” she recalled. “I just ‘saw’ her right there in front of me.”
At the time Hannah was in eighth-grade. It took her four years to complete her book, which she wrote with a pen in a notebook and then typed the manuscript into a computer. She then edited her novel and reworked it, structuring it more carefully, more tightly.
She decided to use the website blurb.com as her publishing company, and after four years of intense work, there it was in full reality – her 312-page novel.
Not surprisingly, Ronyak’s favorite school subject is English, although she said she enjoys all of her classes. She plans to major in rhetoric and writing and minor in creative writing and eventually land a job teaching writing.
So far, the ones who’ve read advance passages of Profugorum like it very much, including Ronyak’s father, who helped edit the manuscript.
Prufugorum can be ordered via blurb.com, via amazon.com or at Barnes and Noble.
Hannah Noel of Sartell is the author of a newly published novel, which she started writing four years ago.
This is the cover of Genevieve Noel’s just-published novel, entitled Profugorum. Genevieve is the pen name of Sartell teenager, Hannah Noel.
