E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Elisa has come from El Salvador to live with her mother, whom she hasn't seen since she was four years old. Her mother, who came to New York without documentation, deemed the journey to the US too dangerous, and left Elisa with her abuela. There, she was mistreated by the grandmother and also abused by a scary "chicken man" who haunts her dreams. She is working with a lawyer, Leah, who is interviewing her and working on her case for asylum. Elisa is slowly getting used to being with her mother, who is pregnant, and her mother's boyfriend, Octavio. At school, Elisa is doing fairly well, and befriends Lucia, whose mother is an oncologist and. The family is much better off that Elisa's. They are struggling with their own issues, however; Lucia's grandmother in Mexico has died, and when the book switches to her perspective, we learn that Lucia suspects her father is cheating on her mother. This is a lot to deal with at the age of eleven, but it's not as much as Alice has to deal with. Another classmate, Alice's father is a famous jazz musician who is older. Her mother gave up her musical career to raise Alice, and the free thinking "hippie" lifestyle doesn't go over too well with either Elisa or Lucia's families. Still, the girls befriend Alice, who is struggling with her mother battle with liver cancer. Lucia's mother is her oncologist, and when a new liver becomes available, the girls all hope that Alice's mother will get better, and that Alice's rage will be dealt with.
Weaknesses: The cover of this made me think it would be set in the 1980s, but this was clearly a modern day novel. The characters all seemed younger than 11, and since they faced problems like possible sexual abuse, infidelity, and cancer, this might make it hard for the book to find the right audience, at least at my school. My 6th graders don't like problem novels as much, and my 7th graders want to read about characters who are their own age or older.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who found Glaser's A Duet For Home or Ehren's Matasha interesting.
I liked the cover on the bottom better, but the one on the top is the one currently appearing on Amazon.
March 19, 2024 by Quill Tree Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Piper's life has had some turmoil recently; her mother had a baby about a year ago, her half sister Eloise has a boyfriend and a job and isn't home as much, and her endocrinologist is recommending that she stop taking the puberty blockers that she has been on since her diagnosis of early onset puberty was she was six. Piper is very intelligent, and heavily involved with an Academic Decathalon team with her friend Tallulah. Piper's mother is a professor of math, and teaches things like Advanced Theoretical Calculus, but still is ignored by doctors and called MRS. Frankin instead of Dr. or Ms., which Piper finds infuriating. Piper is determined to stay on the puberty blockers because she does not want to grow up and look like her mother, but she's having a hard time making her mother believe her reasons. Piper has been attending meetings of Healthy Happy Humans, a group for children experiencing problems with puberty, and her best friend, Ivan, is taking similar blockers because he is a trans boy. If they are safe for him, Piper reasons that she can stay on them as well. She hasn't told Tallulah these things, and Tallulah has her own challenges, since she is hyperintelligent but also struggles with ADHD, and is also Black. Since there have been few participants in Academic Decathalon who are Black, Tallulah feels a lot of stress and pressure with the competition, and she and Piper are having trouble deciding how they should divide the specialities. Despite Piper's repeated objections, her mother has her stop taking the puberty blockers. Since this occurs right around the time of the Decathalon competition, Piper is very upset. She eventually talks to people who help her put words to her feelings, and she is able to make her mother and Eloise understand that she doesn't mean to be hurtful when she says she doesn't want to look like them; this is just how she is reacting to the systemic oppression of women. Will Piper and her family be able to come to an agreement about her treatment?
Strengths: There are not very many books about children involved in able and talented programs or academic competitions, and since a lot of my friends took part in things like Quiz Bowl, this was good to see. I also can't think of any middle grade books that address early onset puberty, or any endocrine problems, with the possible exception of Sloan's Short. Since I have known several people who have had to be on growth hormones, hormonal complications seem like underrepresented medical conditions in middle grade literature.
Weaknesses: This is very contemplative and philosophical, as well as very intense. I'm not sure how many eleven year olds have the background knowledge to fully understand the idea of systemic oppression, but perhaps this book will help with that.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked Salazar's The Moon Within or
Weaknesses: This is very contemplative and philosophical, as well as very intense. I'm not sure how many eleven year olds have the background knowledge to fully understand the idea of systemic oppression, but perhaps this book will help with that.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked Salazar's The Moon Within or
Evans's Grow Up, Tahlia Wilkins.
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