[I received a physical review copy of this book from Holiday House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
A novel in verse starring Abbey, a seventh grader in a new school in 2001. She’s trying to make friends, avoid the mean kids, and deal with her first period.
Abbey’s mom isn’t around to help her with her period. Planes flew into the twin towers in New York City and now her mom’s sister, Rose, is missing. Abbey’s mom has gone to help her brother-in-law with their kids while they wait for word on Rose.
Abbey’s dad is career-military. As the country tries to recover from the unthinkable, he’s preparing for deployment.
When the world seems changed forever, Abbey is trying to negotiate middle school while her family deals with the unimaginable changes in their day to day lives.
Review
This is a new-kid-in-school story, told in verse, and set with 9/11 as the backdrop. September 11th is an inciting incident. It changes the dynamics in Abbey’s home and in the world around her. It pulls her mom away and pushes Abbey to deal with her first period on her own. And it is why her father later gets deployed. There are threads on grief and war protests and racism against Muslims. But those aren’t the main focus of the story.
The focus is Abbey. It’s on her adjustment to a new school and to puberty. She considers questions of identity when it comes to her art. And she grows in her confidence to stand up when others are teased or harassed.
I have read other novels in verse – The Crossover (♥♥♥♥), Garvey’s Choice, Inside Out and Back Again (♥♥♥♥♥), Long Way Down (♥♥♥♥), Solo – and my reaction has been mixed. Some I love and others haven’t clicked. For me, I think it’s about how much I connect with the story being told and how the format enhances that story. And this one was fine, but didn’t grab me. I liked Abbey, and I cared about what happened with her family. But I wanted more. I think I wanted to go deeper on the emotions of Abbey’s story with 9/11. That just wasn’t the story the author chose to tell.
If you are building a collection of novels in verse, or you are looking for middle grade coming-of-age stories, be sure to check this one out. Abbey is a lovely character, and I think kids will like her. If you are looking for more stories that talk honestly with readers about menstruation, this could be a good choice. Abbey’s period really weaves through the whole book rather than just being a one-off incident. (Content Warning: 9/11, grief, deployment)
Rating: ♥♥♥*
*♥♥♥=Good/fine/solid
Thanks for your review! Cheers!
-Caroline DuBois