Content: Language: G (0 swears 0 ‘f’) Mature Content: PG (adult alcohol issues); Violence: PG (adult flashes gun.)
BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
5th grader Sofie and her older brother 13yo Con are used to taking care of themselves. Their beautiful mother is also unreliable and easily distracted. Tommy, Mom’s boss tries to keep an eye on them and bring them food. And one day Mom’s grandfather shows up - he’s newly out of prison and working to keep himself clean. One day Mom stays away longer than she ever has before and the kids are sure something is very wrong. And even when she does return - will she manage to stay with them or has she committed crimes for which she needs to atone?
From the cover of this book, you would assume that it is about a girl with some social anxiety who spends a lot of time in a swimming pool. Nope - has to be one of the worst cover choices I’ve seen since The View From Saturday. This book deserves a bigger audience - it will stay with me for a while. But almost no student will pick this up voluntarily. The ending for Sofie is a bit deus ex machina. I will buy this for my library because of the important issues it covers - plus I sometimes get requests from our counseling center for novels that touch on certain issues - such as alcohol addiction and parents in prison.
Cindy Mitchell, Library Teacher, MLS
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