Author: Janae Marks
Genre: realistic fiction
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Rating:
Summary (provided by publisher): Joy Taylor has always believed home is the house she lived in her entire life. But then her dad lost his job, and suddenly, home becomes a tiny apartment with thin walls, shared bedrooms, and a place for tense arguments between Mom and Dad. Hardest of all, Joy doesn’t have her music to escape through anymore. Without enough funds, her dreams of becoming a great pianist—and one day, a film score composer—have been put on hold.
A friendly new neighbor her age lets Joy in on the complex’s best-kept secret: the Hideout, a cozy refuge that only the kids know about. And it’s in this little hideaway that Joy starts exchanging secret messages with another kid in the building who also seems to be struggling, until—abruptly, they stop writing back. What if they’re in trouble?
Joy is determined to find out who this mystery writer is, fast, but between trying to raise funds for her music lessons, keeping on a brave face for her little sister, and worrying about her parents’ marriage, Joy isn’t sure how to keep her own head above water.
My opinion: The large elements of a "new kid" story tend to be fairly similar. A kid has to find their place among their peers. Often, this means a sudden group of fast friends. We can see this coming when Joy meets the kids in her building. While she forms friendships very quickly, those same friendships are broken just as easily by her own actions. And I like the messaging here: both Joy and her new friend learn lessons about what it means to be friends, the things we share and our right to keep secrets. While I feel like some of the issues are too easily resolved and the characters are underdeveloped, this is a solid read for a kid just beginning to search for meaning in their reading.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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