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tommydelk's review
5.0
I received an ARC from NetGalley
This book, it propelled me through all the way to the end. Sabrina Kleckner has an immense talent for embuing even the smallest of moments with so much depth and emotion. Maisie is such a relatable character, and her voice is pitch-perfect. I can't remember the last Middle Grade I read that so effortlessly nails the voice. It's hard, man, but Maisie never sounds like an adult pretending to be a child. Her doubts, fears, anxieties, they felt real, and it only made her more endearing. The parents are real people, not caricatures, and they guide Maisie's story even in their absence, as our parents always do at that age. If you're looking for a middle grade book about seeking out answers to your family and maybe even who you are, with tons of heart, a few moments that might make you cry (curse you, Sabrina Kleckner!) and an ending that is absolutely perfect, then you should read this ASAP.
This book, it propelled me through all the way to the end. Sabrina Kleckner has an immense talent for embuing even the smallest of moments with so much depth and emotion. Maisie is such a relatable character, and her voice is pitch-perfect. I can't remember the last Middle Grade I read that so effortlessly nails the voice. It's hard, man, but Maisie never sounds like an adult pretending to be a child. Her doubts, fears, anxieties, they felt real, and it only made her more endearing. The parents are real people, not caricatures, and they guide Maisie's story even in their absence, as our parents always do at that age. If you're looking for a middle grade book about seeking out answers to your family and maybe even who you are, with tons of heart, a few moments that might make you cry (curse you, Sabrina Kleckner!) and an ending that is absolutely perfect, then you should read this ASAP.
gschwabauer's review
3.5
I wavered between 3 and 4 stars for this one. Ultimately, I am a sucker for sibling relationships.
This book had a lot going for it. A nuanced exploration of what it means to provide support for a painful situation when you're affected by that situation but not the direct victim. What it means to be an ally without overstepping or subconsciously prioritizing your own feelings over those of people harmed. A really interesting exploration of the relationship between a college-aged older brother and a 12-year-old sister who haven't seen each other in six years. Their dynamic worked wonderfully--I was totally willing to believe that they'd be able to connect pretty quickly with their shared history and the sort of empty-space-where-a-sibling-should-be that they'd both experienced, but they also had to pass through layers of awkwardness, hurt, discomfort, and frustration with each other. Both were full characters with agency; both were keeping secrets and had personal grievances to grapple with in order to connect. Calum's boyfriend and roommate were genuinely fun and very sweet to Maise. The various art styles described in the book made the whole art subplot more believable and more interesting to read; I don't draw, but I could still engage with her artistic journey. And I love that anger towards parental mistakes is validated as an okay response to mistreatment.
Less great things: Maise's parents seemed really erratic and weird? Which I guess is the book's deeper problem for me: the plot also feels erratic and weird. I mean, I liked the characters. I appreciated their emotional journeys. All the scenes made sense. But viewed as a whole, it was a bit choppy, like a collage of a book. I felt as though the author really wanted certain things to happen to set the stage for character development, so characters would change their minds too quickly, make big decisions too quickly, say or do things that felt really extreme (or, on the flip side, react very dramatically to situations of moderate emotional weight) so that they'd be pushed toward the next big action. I was often left saying "wait, what?"
We get a lot of talk about how badly Maise's parents treated Calum, which, good! That part was very well handled. And the concept of a book where the much younger sibling has to wrestle with her parents prior shortcomings with a previous sibling, while also living with parents who have learned and changed and don't repeat those mistakes anymore, was fantastic. As an idea, that is. Maise kept being like "my parents aren't at all like they were with Calum! Hearing how they treated him is a huge shock!" or, and this was an actual line "my parents are controlling, but not about things that matter." (????) But the whole time I just kept feeling that Maise was trapped in some (very understandable) deep denial about how her parents treated HER. I mean, the book starts and they're like "we're mailing you to relatives you've never met for an entire summer, you leave tomorrow morning, you get no say in this, it's for your own personal enrichment, case closed." That's Disney-villain level nasty parent behavior. No conversation like "we are worried about your art fixation that we both share and deliberately instilled in you on purpose so you could provide free labor for our business, can we agree on something else you could try out close to home that would be low-stakes? A single sport season? Volunteering at a rodent shelter? Other art forms like photography or short stories?" Nope, just a weirdo banishment that they then try to gaslight her into seeing as a free vacation. Sometimes they're like "okay, you can make major plan changes without telling us just this once, never do it again!" and sometimes Maise is like "oh yeah, remember that time I made a mistake and my mom ripped out and threw away three days of my personal artwork? That sucked." Like, Maise! Your parents are still scary, weird, and unpredictable! They lie to you throughout the book to protect their own egos and make you more convenient for their struggles! Her dad is apparently this person she's super close to, but he basically bails emotionally whenever it matters, and she recognizes that as wrong, which is great, but it sure doesn't endear him to me! In Maise's initial anger at being sent away for like six weeks against her will to live with a stranger in another country with under 24 hours notice, she tells her dad that he needs to stop conveniently saying and doing nothing whenever her mom is being unkind to her, and that maybe if he'd stuck up for his kids better, Calum wouldn't have run away from home. Hurtful, sure, but also true! And then she ends up feeling super guilty about it, like SHE is the one who harmed their relationship, when she was SORELY PROVOKED and also CORRECT. Which pretty much sums up their entire dynamic.
This is not at all a story of How To Deal With Your Parents Past Mistakes, it's a story of Parents Who Realized Shaming Their Gay Son Was a Bad Look But Never Learned the Underlying Lessons About Control And Domination. And I really wish this book had acknowledged that.
This book had a lot going for it. A nuanced exploration of what it means to provide support for a painful situation when you're affected by that situation but not the direct victim. What it means to be an ally without overstepping or subconsciously prioritizing your own feelings over those of people harmed. A really interesting exploration of the relationship between a college-aged older brother and a 12-year-old sister who haven't seen each other in six years. Their dynamic worked wonderfully--I was totally willing to believe that they'd be able to connect pretty quickly with their shared history and the sort of empty-space-where-a-sibling-should-be that they'd both experienced, but they also had to pass through layers of awkwardness, hurt, discomfort, and frustration with each other. Both were full characters with agency; both were keeping secrets and had personal grievances to grapple with in order to connect. Calum's boyfriend and roommate were genuinely fun and very sweet to Maise. The various art styles described in the book made the whole art subplot more believable and more interesting to read; I don't draw, but I could still engage with her artistic journey. And I love that anger towards parental mistakes is validated as an okay response to mistreatment.
Less great things: Maise's parents seemed really erratic and weird? Which I guess is the book's deeper problem for me: the plot also feels erratic and weird. I mean, I liked the characters. I appreciated their emotional journeys. All the scenes made sense. But viewed as a whole, it was a bit choppy, like a collage of a book. I felt as though the author really wanted certain things to happen to set the stage for character development, so characters would change their minds too quickly, make big decisions too quickly, say or do things that felt really extreme (or, on the flip side, react very dramatically to situations of moderate emotional weight) so that they'd be pushed toward the next big action. I was often left saying "wait, what?"
We get a lot of talk about how badly Maise's parents treated Calum, which, good! That part was very well handled. And the concept of a book where the much younger sibling has to wrestle with her parents prior shortcomings with a previous sibling, while also living with parents who have learned and changed and don't repeat those mistakes anymore, was fantastic. As an idea, that is. Maise kept being like "my parents aren't at all like they were with Calum! Hearing how they treated him is a huge shock!" or, and this was an actual line "my parents are controlling, but not about things that matter." (????) But the whole time I just kept feeling that Maise was trapped in some (very understandable) deep denial about how her parents treated HER. I mean, the book starts and they're like "we're mailing you to relatives you've never met for an entire summer, you leave tomorrow morning, you get no say in this, it's for your own personal enrichment, case closed." That's Disney-villain level nasty parent behavior. No conversation like "we are worried about your art fixation that we both share and deliberately instilled in you on purpose so you could provide free labor for our business, can we agree on something else you could try out close to home that would be low-stakes? A single sport season? Volunteering at a rodent shelter? Other art forms like photography or short stories?" Nope, just a weirdo banishment that they then try to gaslight her into seeing as a free vacation. Sometimes they're like "okay, you can make major plan changes without telling us just this once, never do it again!" and sometimes Maise is like "oh yeah, remember that time I made a mistake and my mom ripped out and threw away three days of my personal artwork? That sucked." Like, Maise! Your parents are still scary, weird, and unpredictable! They lie to you throughout the book to protect their own egos and make you more convenient for their struggles! Her dad is apparently this person she's super close to, but he basically bails emotionally whenever it matters, and she recognizes that as wrong, which is great, but it sure doesn't endear him to me! In Maise's initial anger at being sent away for like six weeks against her will to live with a stranger in another country with under 24 hours notice, she tells her dad that he needs to stop conveniently saying and doing nothing whenever her mom is being unkind to her, and that maybe if he'd stuck up for his kids better, Calum wouldn't have run away from home. Hurtful, sure, but also true! And then she ends up feeling super guilty about it, like SHE is the one who harmed their relationship, when she was SORELY PROVOKED and also CORRECT. Which pretty much sums up their entire dynamic.
This is not at all a story of How To Deal With Your Parents Past Mistakes, it's a story of Parents Who Realized Shaming Their Gay Son Was a Bad Look But Never Learned the Underlying Lessons About Control And Domination. And I really wish this book had acknowledged that.
saranna's review
4.0
☆ Thank you to Netgalley and Flux for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review ☆
This book initially caught my interest because of the art side of the story and me being an artist myself got interested in it.
We follow a young girl named Maisie who 'works' at her family business, Glenna's portraits. She loves working here but her parents think she should 'broaden her horizons'. They decide on sending her away to her aunt Lisa in another country. However when she comes there she chooses to run away with her brother Calum who ran away himself six years ago. Whilst being with her brother in London she learns that Glenna's portraits is going through hard times and she has to find a way to save the shop.
I really enjoyed reading this book, it was honestly such a fast and comforting read. It explores a lot of different relationships e.g between Maisie and her parents and her brother Calum.
We got to see how Calum and Maisie got from not knowing each other at all to being like my favorite brother and sister relation (I mean this is how I want to be with my sister).
The writing was also really good, there was a lot of humor from every characters side (especially Maisie, she was really funny). But there were also some more serious and 'havier' topics e.g some light homophobia understandable for middle graders.
I think Sabrina did a great job with her debut novel and can't wait until this officially comes out and everyone can read it.
I recommend this book to anyone despite this being marked as a middle grade book.
This book initially caught my interest because of the art side of the story and me being an artist myself got interested in it.
We follow a young girl named Maisie who 'works' at her family business, Glenna's portraits. She loves working here but her parents think she should 'broaden her horizons'. They decide on sending her away to her aunt Lisa in another country. However when she comes there she chooses to run away with her brother Calum who ran away himself six years ago. Whilst being with her brother in London she learns that Glenna's portraits is going through hard times and she has to find a way to save the shop.
I really enjoyed reading this book, it was honestly such a fast and comforting read. It explores a lot of different relationships e.g between Maisie and her parents and her brother Calum.
We got to see how Calum and Maisie got from not knowing each other at all to being like my favorite brother and sister relation (I mean this is how I want to be with my sister).
The writing was also really good, there was a lot of humor from every characters side (especially Maisie, she was really funny). But there were also some more serious and 'havier' topics e.g some light homophobia understandable for middle graders.
I think Sabrina did a great job with her debut novel and can't wait until this officially comes out and everyone can read it.
I recommend this book to anyone despite this being marked as a middle grade book.
kats_bookish_opinions's review
5.0
This was genuinely one of the most endearing and heartwarming books that I have had the pleasure the read. It’s a book that despite being for younger readers, disproves the notion that middle grade books cannot explore difficult topic and do it well.
I especially adored the conversations and discussion around true allyship, family, and what it means to create, especially when art comes as a tradition. While Maisie did not feel 12 many-a-times she is still a lovely character, who I feel as if many middle grade readers can relate to and who is able to learn throughout the story.
Her brother, Callum, and the exploration of their relationship is the key to this book, and it is what makes it genuinely so special, especially when more difficult topics are brought up between the two. Their bond is adorable, and I wish I could have a sibling like that.
I laughed out loud and also cried while reading this book. The book is a small story that I think speaks to a broader commentary and narrative about the world we live in. also it was foreign! Which I loved, considering so many middle grade books seem to be geared towards American readers. I think this book is perfect for it’s demographic, but also for older readers as there are several lessons and ideas in it which I think some people still struggle with, including myself.
~
Thank you to NetGalley and to Flux Books for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I especially adored the conversations and discussion around true allyship, family, and what it means to create, especially when art comes as a tradition. While Maisie did not feel 12 many-a-times she is still a lovely character, who I feel as if many middle grade readers can relate to and who is able to learn throughout the story.
Her brother, Callum, and the exploration of their relationship is the key to this book, and it is what makes it genuinely so special, especially when more difficult topics are brought up between the two. Their bond is adorable, and I wish I could have a sibling like that.
I laughed out loud and also cried while reading this book. The book is a small story that I think speaks to a broader commentary and narrative about the world we live in. also it was foreign! Which I loved, considering so many middle grade books seem to be geared towards American readers. I think this book is perfect for it’s demographic, but also for older readers as there are several lessons and ideas in it which I think some people still struggle with, including myself.
~
Thank you to NetGalley and to Flux Books for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
aecatec's review
4.5
(Also posted on Goodreads!)
What a lovely read! Fairly light, but it was still a thoughtful exploration of a child's realization that her parents are flawed, and her worldview has been, too. Maisie discovers more about herself, her family and friendships and art!
The best part of the book for me was easily Calum and Maisie's relationship with each other. They stumble around each other, but they care and show it however they can, sometimes stumbling more over that than their anger or issues. I found the conversation about allyship clunky, but I really enjoyed the other ways the book approached Callum's issues with his parents; it held understanding for the parents' viewpoints (or at least where they were coming from), but the narrative itself gave Calum room to be hurt and angry, never demanding forgiveness from him.
I loved the art descriptions as well! Enough detail to conjure an image, but not too much description, so I could fill in the blanks myself.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC!
What a lovely read! Fairly light, but it was still a thoughtful exploration of a child's realization that her parents are flawed, and her worldview has been, too. Maisie discovers more about herself, her family and friendships and art!
The best part of the book for me was easily Calum and Maisie's relationship with each other. They stumble around each other, but they care and show it however they can, sometimes stumbling more over that than their anger or issues. I found the conversation about allyship clunky, but I really enjoyed the other ways the book approached Callum's issues with his parents; it held understanding for the parents' viewpoints (or at least where they were coming from), but the narrative itself gave Calum room to be hurt and angry, never demanding forgiveness from him.
I loved the art descriptions as well! Enough detail to conjure an image, but not too much description, so I could fill in the blanks myself.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC!
alli_the_bookaholic13's review
4.0
Thank you Jolly Fish Press for sending me an eARC for an honest review.
4/5 stars
This was a fun middle-grade contemporary, and I liked the way it handled its themes and topics. The conversations about being an ally, and about forgiveness and who can forgive for certain situations were really good, and I felt like they were done in a really easy to understand way.
Maisie was a good character, and I liked her growth throughout the story. At some times she was a bit annoying, but she would later recognize her not great attitude or behaviour and try to make things better. I thought the author gave Maisie a good and relatable voice, and the story flowed well.
Maisie’s relationship with her brother was fun. I liked their teasing, and I liked that Calum set firm boundaries about what he was willing to talk about. Maisie struggled with this, but it felt realistic. I also felt that the author portrayed the awkwardness of Calum and Maisie’s relationship really well. I also liked how learning more about her brother forced Maisie to struggled with feelings about her parents and what had happened.
I also liked the plot that followed Maisie trying to save Glenna’s (her family’s portrait shop), but it took a backseat a lot to Maisie’s feelings as she sorted them out.
Overall I thought this was a good YA contemporary that handled complicated family dynamics and relationships really well.
4/5 stars
This was a fun middle-grade contemporary, and I liked the way it handled its themes and topics. The conversations about being an ally, and about forgiveness and who can forgive for certain situations were really good, and I felt like they were done in a really easy to understand way.
Maisie was a good character, and I liked her growth throughout the story. At some times she was a bit annoying, but she would later recognize her not great attitude or behaviour and try to make things better. I thought the author gave Maisie a good and relatable voice, and the story flowed well.
Maisie’s relationship with her brother was fun. I liked their teasing, and I liked that Calum set firm boundaries about what he was willing to talk about. Maisie struggled with this, but it felt realistic. I also felt that the author portrayed the awkwardness of Calum and Maisie’s relationship really well. I also liked how learning more about her brother forced Maisie to struggled with feelings about her parents and what had happened.
I also liked the plot that followed Maisie trying to save Glenna’s (her family’s portrait shop), but it took a backseat a lot to Maisie’s feelings as she sorted them out.
Overall I thought this was a good YA contemporary that handled complicated family dynamics and relationships really well.
caitlinsgarden's review
5.0
i just finished this book and i have literal (happy) tears in my eyes cause it was so beautiful. it's such a tender, raw, heartwarming story, it's unapologetically and casually queer, and centers around a sister-brother relationship, family and identity. absolutely recommend!
aanya12's review
5.0
Oh wow, just wow, words aren't enough to describe this book!!!
This was such a beautiful book, it was heart wrenching the way Masie bonds with her long lost brother and how she made an emotionless person cry.
The emotion and the humor were in perfect proportion, the parrot incident was quite funny xD.
This book throws light on LGBTQIA community and the problems they face and is a perfect read in pride month! Glad that Glenna's was saved!! I really hope this book has a sequel and congratulations to the author for writing such a touching book!! This book is now one of my favorites!!
My rating 5 out 5 (really wanna give it more)
Full review on my blog
This was such a beautiful book, it was heart wrenching the way Masie bonds with her long lost brother and how she made an emotionless person cry.
The emotion and the humor were in perfect proportion, the parrot incident was quite funny xD.
This book throws light on LGBTQIA community and the problems they face and is a perfect read in pride month! Glad that Glenna's was saved!! I really hope this book has a sequel and congratulations to the author for writing such a touching book!! This book is now one of my favorites!!
My rating 5 out 5 (really wanna give it more)
Full review on my blog
mkemp's review
4.0
I love that queer middle grade books are a thing! This book did such a great job at touching on some really tough topics in a way that kids can understand!
My favourite part about reading a middle grade as an adult is when the characters say “I’m almost thirteen I’m not a child anymore” because at 12 or 13 I would have said the same thing and now I look back at the small child and laugh
My favourite part about reading a middle grade as an adult is when the characters say “I’m almost thirteen I’m not a child anymore” because at 12 or 13 I would have said the same thing and now I look back at the small child and laugh