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4.68 AVERAGE


Very moving story with a strong protag0nist. This book definitely is not a lighthearted one, but illuminates some struggles that, unfortunately, many kids go through.

przeczytajcie to
challenging emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Incredible book. Believable and heartbreaking.

A heartbreakingly beautiful book.

2021 YMA John Newbery honor and Odyssey honor
adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
challenging hopeful reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is one of my new favorite authors. I will read anything she writes. The War That Saved My Life and its sequel were two of my very favorite books last year. And this one, though different, is equally as good. I knew that Ms. Bradley must’ve suffered some sort of trauma in order to be able to understand abuse and portray it so well. In the note after this book, I found out this was true. I am so sad for her, but her pain has made her a deeply empathetic writer.

In this book, the young protagonist faces homelessness, an incarcerated mother who suffered from addiction and a severe lack of parenting skills, foster care, sexual abuse, an attempted suicide by her beloved sister, and bullying and abuse at school. Those are some pretty weighty topics. They are handled deftly and with care. I think students who read this book will come away with a better understanding of other’s lives, and they will also have tools that they could use so that they are never taken advantage of. My favorite scene was when all the girls in the class stand up against a boy who has been sexually harassing them. It was very powerful.

As difficult as this book was at times, it was beautifully written and I loved this funky protagonist. This book will be one of my favorites this year. And I hope for more books by this author soon.

This book is an excellent read on the tough subject of child sexual abuse. The author does a great job of exploring and sharing all that kids go through physically, mentally and emotionally when dealing with this type of abuse.