Snow Lane

Angelini, Josie. Snow Lane
January 2nd 2018 by Feiwel & Friends
E ARC provided by Netgalley.com

In 1985, Annie is the youngest of nine kids in a Catholic family, which was an unusually big family for the time. Some of her siblings are nice; some are not. Her father works several jobs, and her mother struggles to keep up with the demands of so many children. Life has its good moments, like when Annie gets to work on her aunt and uncle's farm, and it's bad, which mainly include her sister Fay. Mainly, however, life involves the day to day struggle to make it through the day. Since Annie has some health problems (she is prone at various times to vomiting and fainting, due to poor nutrition) and isn't able to keep up with the clothing trends at her school, she's glad to have the quirky Kristin for her friend. She is also pleased when Jordan, a boy in her class, is willing to spend time with her. This makes up for her difficult family life, but when her sister Nora goes missing, family secrets bubble to the surface.
Strengths: Middle grade readers are enthralled with the idea of large families, and the details of the day-to-day existence of the youngest child in such a family will appeal to my readers who like sad stories. Annie's life is a struggle overlaid with enough of a mystery to keep the pages turning. Something is very wrong in Annie's world even though she tries to make her life seem ordinary. Her relationship with Jordan is very sweet. The cover is great-- pretty, but darkly atmospheric.
Weaknesses: The ending is a bit abrupt. It's good to have answers, but they arrive all in a giant clump.
What I really think: Found myself liking this more than I thought I would. Definitely purchasing for my 7th grade girls who want depressing books every February. I'd never heard of this author, who generally does paranormal, YA type books.