Outside Valentine by Liza Ward- Karly Schultz

Outside Valentine, by Liza Ward, was written in 2004. This novel is based on the true story of the 1957 Starkweather murders committed by 19 year old Charlie Starkweather and his 14 year old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate. Liza Ward, whose grandparents were killed in the spree, based the character of Lowell on her father.

Outside Valentine is told from the perspective of three different people; Caril Ann Fugate, a child Puggy, and Lowell. Caril Ann is a young girl who is taken over and captivated by love. She is so deeply in love with her boyfriend and killer, Charlie Starkweather that she’s just along for the ride during the murders. Puggy lives in the years after the murder. She lives a life of loneliness even as little girl, battling the divorce of her long married parents and not fitting in at school. Puggy is extremely fascinated by her neighbor, Lowell Bowman. The third narrator, told nineteen years after the murders, is Lowell whose parents were two of the many killed by the Starkweathers. Lowell’s regular life is clashing with the horrors of depression, loneliness, alcoholism, and divorce. Lowell’s family is desperately pleading for him to love them again. Ward’s ultimate purpose in Outside Valentine is to portray the horrors and aftermath of the bloody and shocking Starkweather murders of 1957 and to bring to life the effects that senseless violence has on many lives.

1957 is the year in which Caril Ann Fugate’s story is told from. Fugate was an outcast and an underachiever. She was deeply in love with fashion, always strutting in front of her mirror in her pink kimono embroidered with women dancing. She lived in a dysfunctional family where she was sexually and emotionally abused by her stepfather, but Fugate was always determined to stand her own ground and fend for herself. She was a very independent person. At home, Fugate refuses to repeat the eighth grade, but when she fails to listen to her stepfather and is threatened to death, she runs away to her tree house. That day in her tree house, she meets Charlie Starkweather. Love captivates these two and pulls them together. Caril thinks Charlie is the guy anyone would ask for; he drives her around in his fancy Packard and sneaks into her house late at night. But from that day on, everything will change, and people would always remember the name of Caril Ann Fugate. A major symbol in this narrative is Fugate’s pink kimono. It represents being free, and Fugate desperately wanted to flee her harsh family life. The dancing women represent freedom and the idea of decision making. Just as Fugate thought it was time to leave and live life as an independent teenager, her life is taken over by love and the idea that Fugate would do anything to make Charlie love her ever more.

1991 is the year in which Lowell Bowman’s story is told. Lowell is a middle-aged man who sells antiques for a living. Nineteen years ago his parents were murdered by the Starkweathers, and every since the tragic day Lowell dreams of a spot of blood slowly spreading until it takes over his whole life. With little income coming into the family, his marriage slowly falls apart throughout the novel, and day by day Lowell finds himself feeling emptier inside. Lowell’s children have a hard time communicating and understanding their father despite all that has passed through their family. Over the years, Lowell has become more dependent on alcohol, and this is another factor that leads the family to rip apart by the seams. After his parent’s death, Lowell finds a black box deposited in the bank with nothing in it. His wife continues to believe that Lowell knows what’s in the box, but is keeping it a secret. Through many obstacles, Lowell decides to leave his family arguing that internal struggle has taken over his life. A major symbol in this narrative is the empty black box. It symbolizes the idea of loneliness and the toll it takes on a family.

1962 is the year in which Puggy’s story is told from. Puggy is also struggling with the divorce of her parents and ‘blessed’ with the trouble of making friends. Puggy, however, does have one friend, Cora. Cora lives next door to the Bowman’s, and is devastated by the murder that happened so close to her own home. Unlike Cora, Puggy is fascinated with Lowell and with the Starkweathers. She keeps an old newspaper clipping from the Lincoln Journal Star in her dresser, frequently embedding the pictures and articles of the Starkweathers into her brain. Puggy plays detective, and every so often uses Cora as a way to spy on the man down the street, Lowell. One day, after coming home to empty house with no mother, Puggy turns to the newspaper clipping and wonders if anyone will ever love her the way Charlie loved Caril Ann. A major symbol in this narrative the empty house Puggy comes home to. Like Lowell, Puggy is questioning love instead of relying on love to help her through life. She turns to others who have lost someone forever for confidence and support.

Outside Valentine is a powerful story about the impact that violence has across generations as well as a story of people torn apart by tragedy, but ultimately transformed by love. This is a novel definitely worth reading.