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A review by porshea
A Soft Place to Land by Janae Marks
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.25
Do you ever feel like a plastic bag/ Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again? What a universal lyric, right? A Soft Place to Land by Janae Marks, a middle grade book about twelve-year-old Joy Taylor going through a tumultuous life transition, brings similar energy in the mysterious verse that intrigues Joy through much of the book: “I’m tired of smiling when actually I’m falling apart/ I’m tired of hiding the pain that’s inside my heart.”
Most of the story moves with Joy drifting like an untethered plastic bag. With her family having to downsize from a nice house in the suburbs with plenty of space that kept her family of four from bumping into each other, Joy is dismayed by the cramped apartment lifestyle her family is forced to adapt to after her father loses his job. Emphasizing the issues in being stuck in a smaller space together, her parents are locked into constant bickering that she can only drown out with her headphones on the top bunk the small room she now shares with her younger sister, Malia. Just when her frustrations with this arrangement reach the point where the earbuds and bit of comfort she can provide to Malia feels more draining than helpful, she makes friends with a longtime resident of the building and new schoolmate, Nora. Nora picks up on Joy’s need for privacy and shows her the secret hangout passed down from building kid to building kid over time.
Read more here: https://blackgirlscreate.org/2021/08/the-plot-thickens-a-soft-place-to-land/
Most of the story moves with Joy drifting like an untethered plastic bag. With her family having to downsize from a nice house in the suburbs with plenty of space that kept her family of four from bumping into each other, Joy is dismayed by the cramped apartment lifestyle her family is forced to adapt to after her father loses his job. Emphasizing the issues in being stuck in a smaller space together, her parents are locked into constant bickering that she can only drown out with her headphones on the top bunk the small room she now shares with her younger sister, Malia. Just when her frustrations with this arrangement reach the point where the earbuds and bit of comfort she can provide to Malia feels more draining than helpful, she makes friends with a longtime resident of the building and new schoolmate, Nora. Nora picks up on Joy’s need for privacy and shows her the secret hangout passed down from building kid to building kid over time.
Read more here: https://blackgirlscreate.org/2021/08/the-plot-thickens-a-soft-place-to-land/