children's middlegrade fiction (13-year-old girl deals with parents' financial trouble and pending foreclosure, having a fight with male best friend, and romantic feelings towards another girl - LGBTQA interest)

a sweet story about a girl who mostly thinks of others but also has worries (and occasional anxiety attacks) of her own when it comes to whom she might develop romantic feelings for (which she is still figuring out at this age and understandably doesn't want to label yet). She is surrounded by a supportive family and friendly peers.

parental notes (PG): mild language ("sucks," which the 8-y.o. sibling always gets reprimanded for, and "hell" as in "love the hell out of that pig." 1 boy/girl kiss and some holding hands. ( )

From the author of See you at Harry's another book that deals with learning about Idenity in the middle of life crisis ( )

Rachel turns 13 on the first day of summer and is hoping for a great season ahead. Instead, she gets into a fight with her best friend when he wants to be more than friends, she questions her sexual orientation, she gets a dirty job cleaning up after farm animals for her new wealthy neighbors, and she overhears her parents arguing over money all the time, leading to panic attacks as she wonders if they'll be able to keep a roof over their heads...

This book felt like it was trying to do a lot at once. Some of that turns out being better than other parts. The subplot about Rachel trying to figure out her sexuality is actually done well, but it's a much smaller plot point than the jacket cover and the opening of the book would lead you to believe. I also liked how this story ended with the promise of a budding romance but not trying to make a relationship between two 13-year-olds seem like true and lasting love. However, the subplot about Rachel's suddenly have panic attacks -- granted, the situation is extreme -- felt a little tacked on and could have been handled better in my opinion.

The family's financial problems really do end up being the crux of the story. However, I think Knowles started this off in a bad way. Initially, I actually had very little sympathy for Rachel -- who has her very own pony -- complaining about her family not being well off, especially when seeing the neighbors' brand-new house. I just had trouble reconciling owning a horse (even if it's just an elderly pony) with having no money. Rachel also seemed to make a big fuss over having hand-me-downs and thrift store purchases -- when so many people I know (including myself!) grew up with that as the norm. It just felt like Rachel's attitude was almost entitled about what she *should* have and certainly bitter towards any of her friends/classmates who happened to be slightly better off. (It didn't seem like anyone in this book was a millionaire; there were just folks who were on the opposite extremes of middle-income.) However, when the groceries become slimmer and the family home is threatened with foreclosure, it was apparent that the money troubles were quite real. Here I found myself getting annoyed with the parents alongside Rachel -- they can afford to buy wine for themselves but barely have any food in the house for their kids?

The book does go through quite the emotional rollercoaster, although it certainly leans toward the sad a lot. It ended somewhat vaguely, with a bit of optimistic thinking but not much that actually points in the direction of a positive turn for the family. It's mostly well written and the characters are generally realistic feeling but the only one who I really wholeheartedly enjoyed as a character was Ivy. Micah was okay and Cybil seemed promising although she wasn't in much of the book. Rachel herself, as I noted above, was not a particularly endearing character, which is perhaps why I couldn't really get into this book as much as I'd have liked to do. ( )

Rachel is 13, and her friend Micah wants them to be more than friends. Rachel isn't sure he wants that. She just wants things to stay the same. She starts taking care of the neighbor's farm animals and keeping her sister away from her parent's arguments.

This book is good at capturing being 13 and human. The family's situation is believable and well-written. It can be depressing at times for a children's book. It can also be a little boring at times, but it ends well, and the characters are believable and interesting.

In this middle-grade novel, the summer holidays have begun and Rachel, who’s just turned thirteen, finds her life to be in unsettling flux. Due to the town’s budgetary constraints, her mother has recently lost her job as the local high school’s librarian, and the family is suffering as a result. Even before this, finances were tight. Rachel’s and her younger sister Ivy’s clothes (to the girls’ shame) have always come from thrift stores; the two ride junky, rattling old bikes; and gifts have often been handmade. Now, however, the sisters regularly hear their parents arguing over money, and they’re worried. A rich elderly couple, the Townsends, move into a newly built designer home and hobby farm across the way, and Rachel is hired to care for the animals during the week. She has taken the job thinking she can help with her family’s money problems, but she’s troubled that at least one of the animals she’s caring for—a pig named Lucy—is being raised for meat. Rachel hopes that she might somehow intervene to save the animal’s life. Another troubling thing for Rachel this summer is that things are changing between her and her best friend, Micah. When the two were six, everyone thought their becoming “engaged’ was darling, but Rachel knows that she doesn’t have the right feelings for Micah. She’s not sure she has them for any boy. She’s “different”. Even so, she fears Micah will get a girlfriend and the long friendship between the two will end.

This kids’ novel is well written enough, but, boy, is it dreary. Frankly, I cannot recall the last time I read such a depressing children’s book. It tackles some fairly heavy issues: coming to grips with one’s sexual orientation; the use of animals—sentient beings—for food; and the extreme disruption of insolvency. (The family is in so much debt, they ultimately lose their house and their little pet pony, Rainbow.) I’m always worried when animals appear in stories. So often authors can’t resist killing them off. I can’t handle it. (An aside: Canadian-American children’s author Gordon Korman is so well aware of this phenomenon in kids’ lit that he titled one of his novels No More Dead Dogs.)

Knowles’s protagonist, Rachel, is not a particularly appealing or sympathetic character. Fairly or not, I quickly grew exasperated with her concern about how others looked upon her hand-me-down and thrift-store clothes. I know this character is of an entirely different generation from mine; nevertheless, Rachel’s complaining just rubbed me the wrong way. I also found the melancholy tone and the girl’s preoccupation with the past surprising and unsettling. (It’s more what you’d expect from someone nearing death, not a child.)

Knowles deserves some credit for addressing issues that are of genuine concern to middle-grade kids, and there may be indeed be an audience for this book. Having said that, I really cannot recommend it. I was actually relieved to turn the final page.

Thanks to the Goodreads Giveaway Program and the publisher for providing me with a free copy. ( )