May 14, 2024 by Walden Pond Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Morgan, who is twelve, has watched his sister Claire (18), fight with his parents again and again. In the last battle, Claire smashed several of his mother's antique dolls, including one given to her by her father, who has since passed away. Claire storms out of the house, and doesn't come back for several days. Morgan is worried, but the mother seems somewhat relieved. Claire is safe, staying at the home of her girlfriend, Sasha. Morgan understands that Claire is dealing with a lot of change. She's dropped off the cross country team, broken up with long time boyfriend Connor, and is watching all of her friends make plans to go away to college, while she doesn't have any of her own plans. Morgan misses his sister, and all of the time that they spent together. When Claire has Morgan sneak a box out of her room and asks him to run off with her on a little adventure, Morgan is suprised. He's glad to spend time with his sister, and their adventure is similar to one they took years ago, when Morgan was much younger, and Claire set off with him in the early morning hours without their parents knowing. Driving around in Claire's beat up car, Sonic, the two do some mundane tasks, like buying new shoes at Kohls, but also see a local waterfall, learn to drive the car (with less than optimal results), visit the diner where Claire works, and climb to the top of a water tower. They are in limited contact with their mother by phone, so Morgan isn't concerned that his mother is worried, but during the course of their adventure, he realizes that this is Claire's way of saying goodbye to him.
Strengths: Middle school children spend a lot of time with siblings, and we tend to forget, as adults, how important this time is. Having a much older sibling is something I haven't experienced, but I know that it's easy for children to idolize teens, especially if the older sibling is nice and spends time with them. It's also traumatic when the older sibling leaves home. Claire's actions; fighting with the mother, quitting cross country, starting a different romantic relationship; are all typical of the types of things high schoolers do during their liminal senior year. The fighting can be a way of making the transition away from the home easier. It's sweet that she wants to spend a day with Morgan, and she shares a lot of herself and her activities with her younger brother. This had a little bit of the feel of Ms. Bixby's Last Day to it because of the looming end of their time together, but without the violence to cheesecake. (Although there is a really good chocolate dessert.)
Weaknesses: Some people are toxic and best not to have in one's life, and I think Claire would fit into that category, at least from the perspective of the mother. I had no sympathy for her. Her mother was reasonable, and even supportive, and yet Claire was just evil towards her. Perhaps if there were more information about WHY Claire was so combative, it would have changed my feelings.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed more introspective books about family relationships like Schmidt's The Labors of Hercules Beal, Sherwood's The Ice House, or Creech's Saving Winslow.
Morgan, who is twelve, has watched his sister Claire (18), fight with his parents again and again. In the last battle, Claire smashed several of his mother's antique dolls, including one given to her by her father, who has since passed away. Claire storms out of the house, and doesn't come back for several days. Morgan is worried, but the mother seems somewhat relieved. Claire is safe, staying at the home of her girlfriend, Sasha. Morgan understands that Claire is dealing with a lot of change. She's dropped off the cross country team, broken up with long time boyfriend Connor, and is watching all of her friends make plans to go away to college, while she doesn't have any of her own plans. Morgan misses his sister, and all of the time that they spent together. When Claire has Morgan sneak a box out of her room and asks him to run off with her on a little adventure, Morgan is suprised. He's glad to spend time with his sister, and their adventure is similar to one they took years ago, when Morgan was much younger, and Claire set off with him in the early morning hours without their parents knowing. Driving around in Claire's beat up car, Sonic, the two do some mundane tasks, like buying new shoes at Kohls, but also see a local waterfall, learn to drive the car (with less than optimal results), visit the diner where Claire works, and climb to the top of a water tower. They are in limited contact with their mother by phone, so Morgan isn't concerned that his mother is worried, but during the course of their adventure, he realizes that this is Claire's way of saying goodbye to him.
Strengths: Middle school children spend a lot of time with siblings, and we tend to forget, as adults, how important this time is. Having a much older sibling is something I haven't experienced, but I know that it's easy for children to idolize teens, especially if the older sibling is nice and spends time with them. It's also traumatic when the older sibling leaves home. Claire's actions; fighting with the mother, quitting cross country, starting a different romantic relationship; are all typical of the types of things high schoolers do during their liminal senior year. The fighting can be a way of making the transition away from the home easier. It's sweet that she wants to spend a day with Morgan, and she shares a lot of herself and her activities with her younger brother. This had a little bit of the feel of Ms. Bixby's Last Day to it because of the looming end of their time together, but without the violence to cheesecake. (Although there is a really good chocolate dessert.)
Weaknesses: Some people are toxic and best not to have in one's life, and I think Claire would fit into that category, at least from the perspective of the mother. I had no sympathy for her. Her mother was reasonable, and even supportive, and yet Claire was just evil towards her. Perhaps if there were more information about WHY Claire was so combative, it would have changed my feelings.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed more introspective books about family relationships like Schmidt's The Labors of Hercules Beal, Sherwood's The Ice House, or Creech's Saving Winslow.
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