The Weight of One Pomegranate by Brynne Rebele-Henry
The Weight of One Pomegranate is the second YA novel, also highly recommended for adult readers, of notable author Brynne Rebele-Henry, Fulbright scholar and graduate student at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. While savoring the precise fine prose, you might linger to re-read certain passages in this bittersweet coming of age drama that ponders the sudden inexplicable death of a vibrant young person.
A Sister’s Death Leaves Unanswered Questions
Protagonist/narrator 17-year-old Isadora Barnes is bereft following the death of her 22-year-old beautiful sister, Eleni, who died peacefully in her sleep of a pulmonary embolism. It made no sense. Eleni was a long-distance runner, tall, thin and never ill. Isadora grapples with the incomprehensible as she attempts to come to terms with this shock while experiencing waves of intense grief coupled with a guilty fear that her endless questions and anxieties may have added stress to Eleni’s undetected health condition. Extroverted, artistic and serious about her college studies and always supportive, Eleni was more than a big sister; she was Isadora’s best friend and a buffer between her and the real world. Their parents are impractical, eccentric academics that are so stunned by their own overwhelming sadness they seem to physically shrink while retreating into their own studies, incapable of communicating their feelings to Isadora and only marginally able to cope with mundane chores such as keeping groceries stocked.
Isadora is an extreme introvert, a loner whose only friend is Ana, a music student passionate about her violin and eager to enroll as a full-time college student at Juilliard. Their friendship is on the boundary of crossing over into intimacy, with both exploring a possible preference for same-sex relationships.
Uncovering the Life Eleni Kept Secret
Desperate to know more about her sister, Isadora sorts through the clothing and other possessions Eleni left in the family’s Washington, DC, area home when she left to study at City College of New York (CCNY). Cultural ethnography, with its primary tools of observation and cataloging, has been a core interest of Isadora since early childhood, so she begins detailing known facts about her sister. An unknown cache of Eleni’s letters, notebook pages, photos and sketches reveals the deeply hidden secret that she had been in a three-year intimate relationship with her college roommate Ćazi, a Bosnian refugee from Sarajevo.
While hurt and puzzled by Eleni’s decision not to confide in her, Isadora accepts Uncle Theo’s invitation to stay with him and his ancient schnauzer Nonno in the room previously reserved for Eleni’s frequent visits and stay overs in his Brooklyn brownstone. She decides to use his home as a base for finding Ćazi who is no longer residing in the Morningside Heights apartment she shared with Eleni. Traversing the city searching for clues to reveal her sister’s true identity as a gifted artist, Isadora discovers she was about to have a breakthrough gallery show and then ultimately locates Ćazi at the Bosnian Cultural Center.
Finding the Courage to Move Forward
Journey with Isadora in her rapid transition from sheltered teenager to inquisitive, resilient adult whose successful quest to know her sister gives her courage to enroll in CCNY as a college freshman and move ahead with her own life.
Eleni Barnes is honored on the brochure from the group exhibition at the Mosaic Gallery with her painting The Weight of One Pomegranate on its cover. Isadora informs us that a single pomegranate is “the weight and size of a human heart.” Profoundly sensitive, moving and resonant, this YA novel provides a window of understanding into the various stages of the universal grief process as experienced by a teenager. This work of Brynne Rebele-Henry may carry the potential to save the lives of teens struggling with their awakening sexuality, feeling ostracized or otherwise impelled towards suicide.
About Brynne Rebele-Henry:
Brynne Rebele-Henry‘s first novel, Orpheus Girl, appeared with Soho Teen in 2019 to critical acclaim. Her debut fiction has been called “painful and beautiful” (NPR), was named “a top 40 best LGBT Book of the Century” (Reedsy), and received the Young Adult Virginia Author Award. The Weight of One Pomegranate is her second novel. She is also the author of three award-winning poetry collections.
