November 12, 2024 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
E ARC provided by Netgalley
Ash Dalton has been in foster care since her mother was arrested and jailed for methamphetamine production when Ash was four. She had a number of placements, including one she hoped was going to be permanent, but which fell through when the parents were expecting twins. She has lived with Gladys, and even moved to a different house so that Gladys' adult son Jordan, his infant son Marcus, and Marcus' mother Renee could live there as well. Renee works at a local grocery store and is kind to Ash, but Jordan is volatile, fighting with Renee, sometimes hitting her, and yelling at Ash. In school, Ash is treated badly by classmates, who don't support her "masculine" style of dress. Some classmates, like Matt and Wiz, Photoshop offensive pictures of her and spread them around to other students. Luckily, she does have a friend in the quirky Gentry, whose mother passed away, leaving his father struggling with making sure Gentry had clean clothes, which led him to dress in things like bowling and old tuxedo shirts. Ash also is treated well by Joss, and isn't quite sure how she feels about her, although Gentry thinks Ash has a crush on the girl. Some of the teachers are more supportive than others; Ms. Moua and Ms. Kim seem to care about Ash, and even the gym teacher is understanding when Ash is late because she doesn't want to change in front of other people. In Mr. Mann's class, there is a family tree assignment, and Ash doesn't know what to do about it. Things continue to worsen at home, with Jordan cutting down trees on the property and making her watch Marcus when she should be doing homework. On a couple of occasions, she goes to Gentry's house, and his father Sam is very understanding, but also lets her know that he will be talking to her case worker. When Jordan becomes angry after Ash stands up to him, Ash calls the police, worried that Jordan will hit Renee or Marcus. After that, Gladys tells her to spend the night at Gentry's to let Jordan cool down, and Ash knows that she has to get help with her situation. She lets both Ms. Kim and her gym teacher know, and finds help from Joss, who is dealing with the fact that her "friends" are homophobic and say mean things about the fact that she has two fathers. One of Joss' fathers was in foster care as a teen, and with several adults reporting Ash's situation to social services, she finally gets the help she needs.
E ARC provided by Netgalley
Ash Dalton has been in foster care since her mother was arrested and jailed for methamphetamine production when Ash was four. She had a number of placements, including one she hoped was going to be permanent, but which fell through when the parents were expecting twins. She has lived with Gladys, and even moved to a different house so that Gladys' adult son Jordan, his infant son Marcus, and Marcus' mother Renee could live there as well. Renee works at a local grocery store and is kind to Ash, but Jordan is volatile, fighting with Renee, sometimes hitting her, and yelling at Ash. In school, Ash is treated badly by classmates, who don't support her "masculine" style of dress. Some classmates, like Matt and Wiz, Photoshop offensive pictures of her and spread them around to other students. Luckily, she does have a friend in the quirky Gentry, whose mother passed away, leaving his father struggling with making sure Gentry had clean clothes, which led him to dress in things like bowling and old tuxedo shirts. Ash also is treated well by Joss, and isn't quite sure how she feels about her, although Gentry thinks Ash has a crush on the girl. Some of the teachers are more supportive than others; Ms. Moua and Ms. Kim seem to care about Ash, and even the gym teacher is understanding when Ash is late because she doesn't want to change in front of other people. In Mr. Mann's class, there is a family tree assignment, and Ash doesn't know what to do about it. Things continue to worsen at home, with Jordan cutting down trees on the property and making her watch Marcus when she should be doing homework. On a couple of occasions, she goes to Gentry's house, and his father Sam is very understanding, but also lets her know that he will be talking to her case worker. When Jordan becomes angry after Ash stands up to him, Ash calls the police, worried that Jordan will hit Renee or Marcus. After that, Gladys tells her to spend the night at Gentry's to let Jordan cool down, and Ash knows that she has to get help with her situation. She lets both Ms. Kim and her gym teacher know, and finds help from Joss, who is dealing with the fact that her "friends" are homophobic and say mean things about the fact that she has two fathers. One of Joss' fathers was in foster care as a teen, and with several adults reporting Ash's situation to social services, she finally gets the help she needs.
Strengths: While there are a number of middle grade novels about tweens in foster care, they usually are depicted as having come from difficult situations, but having a much better experience when they arrive at their current placement. It's good to have a wide variety of experiences of foster care depicted, so that young readers don't see the experience as monolithic. Ash, who tries to wear very androgynous clothes, is not described as transgender, and again, this is a portrayal that I have not seen in books, although there have been a number of girls in my years of teaching who dress in more traditionally "masculine" ways. I loved that the teachers were keeping an eye on Ash, and that she had so many adults helping her out in the end. The friendship with Joss and Gentry were very sweet, and there was even some explanation of why some of the bullies were so particularly mean.
Weaknesses: It always seems odd to me that teachers wouldn't be aware of bullying; Ash is treated very badly pretty openly. Also, eating lunch in the library does not solve problems. The teachers at my school long ago gave up family tree projects, and best practice for assigning projects is to give students a choice, which is especially important in the case of a project like this.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who found Moranville's Forget-Me-Not Blue or Carter's Forever, or a Long, Long Time interesting. It also reminded me a bit of Toalsen's Something Maybe Magnificent in that the home environment was problematic.
Weaknesses: It always seems odd to me that teachers wouldn't be aware of bullying; Ash is treated very badly pretty openly. Also, eating lunch in the library does not solve problems. The teachers at my school long ago gave up family tree projects, and best practice for assigning projects is to give students a choice, which is especially important in the case of a project like this.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who found Moranville's Forget-Me-Not Blue or Carter's Forever, or a Long, Long Time interesting. It also reminded me a bit of Toalsen's Something Maybe Magnificent in that the home environment was problematic.
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