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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
Andre Norton finalist Jenn Reese, a children's fantasy author, steps into a contemporary children's lit story with elements of magical realism. Samantha and her sister Caitlyn have been removed from their parents' custody because of physical and psychological abuse. They've been sent to live with their Aunt Vicky and her wife Hannah. While Caitlyn seems to decompress in their home, Sam struggles to adjust to her new reality. She's sure she'd going to be allowed to return to her familiar life any day now. She's reluctant to make a new friend in Lucas, the son of her aunt's work partner. She doesn't see why she needs to be registered for school in Oregon when she lives in California and her best friend BriAnn is probably wondering what is going on with her and where she is. Aunt Vicky introduces Sam to the Game of Fox and Squirrels, a fantasy card game with a slick fox named Ashander and a group of squirrels including Maple, Birch, and Cedar. When a very real Ashander shows up in Sam's room, he offers her the chance to find a golden acorn, which can fulfill any wish Sam might have, like say, going home to her parents. While she pursues the acorn, Sam slowly, almost unwillingly, begins to see the reality of the life she had been living with her parents, and what sacrifices Caitlyn made to protect her younger sister. She also learns, with the help of Vicky and Hannah, what a healthy family can look like.
Limning a brutal family reality and the fantasy world that helps Sam come to terms with her father's abuse and mother's complicity, Reese has done a simply amazing job creating a novel that children and adults will both relate to. This is a novel that slides the knife to the heart in so smoothly and softly at times, in all the little ways that you see Sam justifying the life she and Cait were living, making excuses for her father.
The audiobook, narrated by Sarah Franco, is lovely.
I received a digital review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Limning a brutal family reality and the fantasy world that helps Sam come to terms with her father's abuse and mother's complicity, Reese has done a simply amazing job creating a novel that children and adults will both relate to. This is a novel that slides the knife to the heart in so smoothly and softly at times, in all the little ways that you see Sam justifying the life she and Cait were living, making excuses for her father.
The audiobook, narrated by Sarah Franco, is lovely.
I received a digital review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Find my full review here: https://bookedwithgrace.wordpress.com/2021/02/11/surviving-and-thriving-in-a-game-of-fox-and-squirrels/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse
A great story that will be loved by children and adults.
A dark, witty and well crafted plot with a cast of fleshed out characters and an amazing building made me love this story.
It's the first I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
A dark, witty and well crafted plot with a cast of fleshed out characters and an amazing building made me love this story.
It's the first I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
Sam has moved with her older sister Caitlin to stay with her Aunt Vicky, a person they had never met before. They arrive in rural Oregon to a small house with a chicken coop and a large woods nearby. Aunt Vicky welcomes them warmly along with her wife. Sam knows how to stay invisible most of the time, hiding behind her sister’s ability to speak with grown ups. When her aunt gives her a card game, Sam loves the characters on the cards and starts to see a talking fox and squirrels nearby. The fox sends her on a quest for the Golden Acorn, a prize that will allow Sam and her sister to go back home. As Sam starts the quests, she soon learns that showing the fox trust means starting a cycle of abuse once more.
Reese entwines fantasy elements into this book that shows the deep consequences of abuse on a young person. Sam is desperate to get back in touch with her mother and father, though they were abusive parents. The abuse is shown in pieces of comments that Sam remembers, and it does not play out in front of the reader. This results in a haunting echo of abuse that carries through the entire book and all of the characters.
Against that, the game is afoot with a sly fox who manipulates Sam, much as her own father did when she lived with him. The squirrels add a needed merriment to the book with their antics and also show a lot of concern and support for Sam. Yet they are clearly trapped in their own abusive situation with the fox too.
Rich and layered, this mix of fantasy and stark reality is powerful. Appropriate for ages 9-12.
Reese entwines fantasy elements into this book that shows the deep consequences of abuse on a young person. Sam is desperate to get back in touch with her mother and father, though they were abusive parents. The abuse is shown in pieces of comments that Sam remembers, and it does not play out in front of the reader. This results in a haunting echo of abuse that carries through the entire book and all of the characters.
Against that, the game is afoot with a sly fox who manipulates Sam, much as her own father did when she lived with him. The squirrels add a needed merriment to the book with their antics and also show a lot of concern and support for Sam. Yet they are clearly trapped in their own abusive situation with the fox too.
Rich and layered, this mix of fantasy and stark reality is powerful. Appropriate for ages 9-12.