Author: Janet Fox
Genre: realistic fiction
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Wrong Way Summer by Heidi Lang
Rating:
Summary (provided by publisher): Twelve-year-old Lulu and her younger sister, Serena, have a secret. As Daddy always says, “it’s best if we keep it to ourselves,” and so they have. But hiding your past is one thing. Hiding where you live—and that your Daddy has gone missing—is harder.
At first Lulu isn’t worried. Daddy has gone away once before and he came back. But as the days add up, with no sign of Daddy, Lulu struggles to take care of all the responsibilities they used to manage as a family.
Lulu knows that all it takes is one slip-up for their secret to come spilling out, for Lulu and Serena to be separated, and for all the good things that have been happening in school to be lost.
But family is all around us, and Lulu must learn to trust her new friends and community to save those she loves and to finally find her true home
My opinion: I appreciate seeing stories about the affects of homelessness on children. These characters make do and conceal truths when their existence is boiled down to just a few necessities. Books like this one show us how a "normal" low income family cam be thrown completely off balance and lose absolutely everything when there is no safety net. Lulu does a solid job keeping her family together projecting normalcy and protecting herself and her sister. This book carries a message of knowing your strength but also how it is okay to ask for help, to turn to even strangers who largely turn out to be good and kind. The plot is ultimately a bit overly optimistic but largely affirming.
More information: Carry Me Home releases October 1
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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