Author: Marcy Campbell
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Steering Toward Normal by Rebecca Petruck
Kinda Like Brothers by Coe Booth
Rating:
Summary (provided by publisher): How do you share a parent with a stranger?
Maggie’s accustomed to leading her life perfectly according to her own well-designed plans.
But when Maggie learns that she has a half-brother her own age who needs a place to stay, any semblance of a plan is shattered. Tony’s mom struggles with an addiction to opioids, and now she’s called upon Maggie’s dad—who’s also Tony’s dad—to take him in.
As Maggie struggles to reconcile her mom and dad’s almost-divorce, accept the Alzheimer’s afflicting her grandmother, and understand Tony’s own issues—ignorance is no longer an option. While Maggie can strive for—and even succeed in—a perfect design, when it comes to family, nothing is perfect, and tackling its complexities is only possible with an open heart.
My opinion: Discovering previously unknown family makes for an emotionally complex plot already. A half-sibling your own age is a truly stark betrayal. Maggie's life is in total disarray as she must redefine her family, deal with her grandmother's decline, and address the change in her friendships that comes with the middle grade years. Three issues, any of which can support a plot all on their own. It is, perhaps, too much for a middle grade book. No one issue is explored in any real depth. The characters are pretty idealized, naturally inclined towards kindness and consideration, very little of the general self-centeredness that typifies most preteens. It's not a subtle plot but might serve as a stepping stone for kids making the transition from the obvious plots of grade school fiction to more subtle and literary books.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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