Content: Language: PG-13 (8 swears); Mature Content; PG; Violence: PG-13.
BUYING ADVISORY: MS – ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
12yo Ellen had to call her grumpy Aunt Pearl to come and help Ellen’s mother who is suffering from depression ever since Ellen’s father left for World War II. Pearl quickly whisks Ellen and her mom to Snowden Mountain, where Pearl lives a simple life in the mountains. Ellen is disappointed in the sub-par school and feels lonely while her mom isn’t talking. While out exploring in the woods, Ellen meets Russell, a brash boy who knows the wildlife but doesn’t know how to read. They develop a quirky, but endearing friendship and Ellen starts to see that everyone struggles in their own way.
In this coming-of-age story, Ellen has hard obstacles, but they feel real and she is easy to empathize with. I loved the peaceful setting of Snowden Mountain, and at times the setting felt like Lauren Wolk’s Wolf Hollow or Echo Mountain. The cover looks young, but the content includes child and domestic abuse as well as alcoholism.
Reviewer, C. Peterson
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