A review by alinaborger
Catching a Storyfish by Janice N. Harrington

5.0

This is a book that, as far as I can tell, got almost no fanfare whatsoever, but is worth a Newbery medal a dozen times over. The story is a classic a coming-of-age, but with the distinct flavor of a girl who moved from the South to the North and finds it more uncomfortable than expected. Keet's tenuously middle-class, African-American family is tight knit and warm, and Keet herself is as winsome as Anne of Green Gables with charm to spare. While her relationship with her grandfather is the central one of the novel, her relationships with her brother, her mom, and her new friend all get due attention in Harrington's compressed and gorgeous language. And it *is* gorgeous! The poetry is by turns playful and poignant. 

Basically, this slim volume is about as perfect a middle grade novel as I can imagine. 

In high school, we used to toss around a line from the old SNL hypnotist sketch, "I laughed, I cried, it was better than CATS!" But seriously? I laughed, I cried, and I'm buying this book for every kid I know come Christmas. Thank you Janice Harrington.