February 11, 2025 by Dutton Books for Young Readers
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Alex lives in Failin, Oregon with her grandmother. Her mother died when she was young, and while her father and his new wife were glad to have custody, her grandmother, a retired technical services librarian, is raising her. Alex's best friend is PJ, and she's had a crush on her for a long time. The book opens with them deciding to date and "kissing in a tree". PJ is an avid swimmer, and she's been tense and unreachable lately. Her mothers, who both teach at the local community college, also seem stressed. The two girls enjoy hanging out at the public library, where they are both on the Youth Council, and help with things like cleaning toys in the children's room and helping with events. Alonso is the librarian who helps with the group. They like him, but aren't wild about the security guard, whom they refer to as "the Creeper". Alonso is also tense, since local politics are heating up, and there is concern that if new city council members get elected, library funding might be affected. Alex has another friend at school, Yesenia, who is into dance. Things have been slightly odd at home; Grandma sometimes forgets things, and when Alex looks through her keepsake chest for a Halloween costume, she finds a picture of her mother as a child with a young boy she's never seen. After PJ moves to Portland, she invites Alex to a swim competition, and Alex manages to scrape up money for a ticket and talk a young person she meets at the bus station to say Alex is traveling with them. It's good to see PJ, but her mom's aren't super happy that Alex came alone. Not only that, but Alex gets a call from Alonso; Grandma has shown up at the library, thinking that she still works there, even though she's been retired for three years. PJ's moms drive Alex back to Failin, and she talks to Alonso. It turns out that the boy in the picture is her uncle, otherwise known to her as the Creeper. Her uncle Dean is also Alonso's partner, and while there is clearly some family quarrel, Dean steps up to help care for his mother and Alex. At Thanksgiving, Alex and Grandma go to visit her father, his wife Laura, and their two kids, Liam and Logan. Laura has redecorated a room just for Alex, and approaches her gently about the grandmother's need for a place in assisted living, even driving her to look at a facility. The grandmother also goes on a tour but won't have it. Alex calls Dean and asks him to come get the two of them, which leads to some awkward moments. Back home, Alex hangs out with the Youth Council, working on weeding the teen section of damaged items, but when she gets home, her grandmother isn't there. She calls Dean, worried, and they eventually hear that the grandmother has crashed her car. No one else is hurt, but the car is totalled. Soon after, the local election results are in, and the decision is made to close the library completely, which means that Alonso and Dean are both out of jobs. They move out of their apartment and in with Alex and her grandmother, and the four must find a way forward.
Strengths: There aren't as many books that involve public libraries as you might think, and it was fantastic that Grandma had worked at Alex's spot. There are plenty of grandparents serving as caregivers, but it was reassuring to see that Alex had a father and stepmother who would care for her if it was necessary. PJ and Alex had a good friendship and romance, and there is a bit of age appropriate kissing and handholding, which middle schoolers really like to read. The family problems didn't overwhelm the rest of the book. I was glad to see that PJ swam, Yesenia danced, and Alex was involved in the Youth Council; activities are very integral to tween identities. This had a very unique voice; I'm half tempted to read Ryan's other adult books to see if this voice was just Alex's, or Ryan's style. It seemed almost like talking to a 7th grader; a bit chaotic and focused on a variety of things that weren't necessarily the most important things at the moment.
Weaknesses: This had a lot of very serious issues that weren't explained or discussed as much as I would have liked. Also, I wish that middle grade literature would portray senior facilities in a more positive fashion; Grandma would certainly have been safer and happier in one. When it was clear that my father couldn't care for my mother, my brother and I insisted that they sell their house and get the care they needed, and it made their last years a whole lot more pleasant.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoy problem novels that showcase libraries as the setting, like Bishop's 2020 Things You Can't Say and Tan's 2019 A Kind of Paradise.
Weaknesses: This had a lot of very serious issues that weren't explained or discussed as much as I would have liked. Also, I wish that middle grade literature would portray senior facilities in a more positive fashion; Grandma would certainly have been safer and happier in one. When it was clear that my father couldn't care for my mother, my brother and I insisted that they sell their house and get the care they needed, and it made their last years a whole lot more pleasant.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoy problem novels that showcase libraries as the setting, like Bishop's 2020 Things You Can't Say and Tan's 2019 A Kind of Paradise.
No comments:
Post a Comment