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A review by gggina13
As Long As We're Together by Brianna Peppins
5.0
4.5 stars! This book really came out swinging to only be about 250 pages long!
Novah has a huge family - her parents and 6 siblings. She loves them all, a ton, but she also feels burdened by her role as one of the oldest children, responsible for not only parenting the younger kids but also picking up lots of shifts at her parents' dog grooming business.
When tragedy strikes and the kids' parents die, Ariana, the oldest, is the sole guardian of the whole brood. Part of the issue is that she, as young as she is, was only granted temporary custody until they can have a hearing to determine whether she's fit to take care of all the kids.
This book follows the kids over a few months and basically is just about the trials and tribulations of being a sibling, adding in the grief of losing parents, the stress of keeping a business running, and the looming threat of being put into foster care. There's tender moments, funny moments, even romantic moments as Novah gets to know a girl she's interested in. There is a really evident power struggle between Novah and Ariana. Novah both resents Ariana for trying to be in charge while also respecting her for giving up her life to keep the family together. Ariana resents Novah for still getting to have a life, somewhat, and respects her for everything she does do for the family.
There's the lesbian representation, and there's also autism representation - the youngest sister in the family has autism and is virtually mute, by choice, and communicates with sign language and a dry erase board. It seemed well handled enough, but I'm not the authority on this rep by any means, so let me know.
It's just a sweet book about a family and family struggles and the high points of being a family. Definitely worth reading!
Novah has a huge family - her parents and 6 siblings. She loves them all, a ton, but she also feels burdened by her role as one of the oldest children, responsible for not only parenting the younger kids but also picking up lots of shifts at her parents' dog grooming business.
When tragedy strikes and the kids' parents die, Ariana, the oldest, is the sole guardian of the whole brood. Part of the issue is that she, as young as she is, was only granted temporary custody until they can have a hearing to determine whether she's fit to take care of all the kids.
This book follows the kids over a few months and basically is just about the trials and tribulations of being a sibling, adding in the grief of losing parents, the stress of keeping a business running, and the looming threat of being put into foster care. There's tender moments, funny moments, even romantic moments as Novah gets to know a girl she's interested in. There is a really evident power struggle between Novah and Ariana. Novah both resents Ariana for trying to be in charge while also respecting her for giving up her life to keep the family together. Ariana resents Novah for still getting to have a life, somewhat, and respects her for everything she does do for the family.
There's the lesbian representation, and there's also autism representation - the youngest sister in the family has autism and is virtually mute, by choice, and communicates with sign language and a dry erase board. It seemed well handled enough, but I'm not the authority on this rep by any means, so let me know.
It's just a sweet book about a family and family struggles and the high points of being a family. Definitely worth reading!