Della is just ten, but
she’s experienced more than any child should in a lifetime. She and her teenage sister, Suki, have been living
with her mom’s boyfriend, Clifton, ever since her mom was sent to prison for
cooking meth. Their living situation went
from bad to worse when a drunk Clifton tried to abuse Della before Suki got
home and used her phone to document the situation. Then they ran! That’s where this story begins. Della is back in school, where she’s always
in trouble because she has a limited vocabulary of curse words, but those are
the ones she likes to use. Suki is still
trying to protect Della from harm and the foster care system, but she’s also
trying to hold down a job and go to school.
The sisters don’t trust anyone, especially Francine, their by-the-book foster
parent, who will turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to them. As Della makes progress navigating the
classroom and school routines, Suki is beginning to crumble emotionally and attempts
suicide. Della begins to realize what kind
of sacrifices Suki made to keep her safe from Clifton. Will they be able to trust Francine enough to
get the help they both need to recover from unspeakable trauma? Although the author tackles the issues of
sexual abuse and suicide, the story ends in a place of hope and is appropriate
for middle school readers.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI
No comments:
Post a Comment