BOOKMONGER
Fantasy exposes
human aberrations
‘Constellations of Scars’
is set in Seaside
A family-owned museum of human
oddities in Seaside is the setting for an
inventive new adult fantasy novel titled
“Constellations of Scars.”
Clatsop County-based author Melissa
Eskue Ousley is fl uent in the tourist-ori-
ented beach town vibe. She writes con-
vincingly of the potential of this off beat
museum endeavor.
But the story begins in Roseburg,
where for years — ever since she turned
12 and began extruding a monthly crop
of beautiful pearls from her back — pro-
tagonist Amelia Weaver has been kept
This week’s book
‘Constellations of Scars’ by Melinda Eskue Ousley
Midnight Tide Publishing — 258 pages — $15.99
NEAR THE CONCLUSION, THE AUTHOR
MAKES A VALUABLE POINT ABOUT GROWING
UP WITH ADVERSITY VERSUS GROWING
UP IN ENTITLEMENT — A BONUS PEARL OF
WISDOM IN A TRULY RIVETING STORY.
housebound by her mother. The pearl-let-
ting process is bloody and deeply painful.
Amelia’s back is deeply scarred.
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Amelia’s mother
originally cloistered
her daughter in order
to protect her from
being kidnapped by for-
tune hunters who might
want to exploit her condition. But over
the years, as she has come to rely on her
daughter’s pearls for income, she has
become the exploiter.
Amelia, now 21 years old, chafes
against being held in captivity. She wants
to get out and experience the world, so
she plots her escape, secreting away a
pearl or two every month when she’s able
to do so without her mother noticing.
When she has collected enough of
a stash, Amelia runs away to Portland
where she hopes to sell the pearls and
begin living life on her own terms.
But Portland’s established jewelers are
a bit skeptical of a pearl broker so young
and naïve. Amelia fi nds herself thrust into
street life, searching for refuge in shel-
ters and cheap motels — until an encoun-
ter one day with a customer in a jewelry
store leads to an enticing off er.
Peter Fortunato is working with his
dad to open a sort of science museum/
tourist attraction in Seaside. While he
has no idea as to how Amelia procures
her pearls, he’d like her to become his
pearl supplier because their museum has
worked up a mermaid-themed game of
chance that off ers pearls as prizes for a
lucky few.
He invites her to come to the coast
to check out their enterprise. When she
gets to Seaside, Amelia fi nds a welcom-
ing tribe among the folks who will be
employed at the museum as exhibits. In
another era they would have been called
freaks — but here, the emphasis will be
on the reality of human genetic abnormal-
ities and, as Peter’s dad puts it, “To show-
case our humanity, in all its wondrous
forms.”
Without revealing her own reality,
Amelia begins to think this is a place
where she can feel truly at home.
But Amelia is not the only one to har-
bor secrets. Some troubling revelations
about other people surface after she has
committed to living there.
“Constellations of Scars” takes a
darker turn, forcing Amelia to draw on
strengths she didn’t know she had.
Near the conclusion, the author makes
a valuable point about growing up with
adversity versus growing up in entitle-
ment — a bonus pearl of wisdom in a
truly riveting story.
The Bookmonger is Barbara Lloyd
McMichael, who writes this weekly col-
umn focusing on the books, authors and
publishers of the Pacifi c Northwest. Con-
tact her at barbaralmcm@gmail.com.