“This deceptively simple novel-in-verse is a beautifully emotional, poetic treasure. Shari Green’s writing is captivating and she has created, in Macy McMillan, a complex, true-to-life, sensitive preteen girl….
This is the type of book readers will find themselves reading cover to cover in a single sitting, and since it is written in verse, that is entirely possible. Green’s writing is superbly lyrical, touching, and likely to stick with readers for a long time….
More than once, I found myself thinking of Eleanor Estes’ classic The Hundred Dresses. While the gut-wrenchingly sad undertones of that novel are quite different from this one, both invoked strong emotions in me, and both feature similar themes of a young girl coping with extreme challenges – Macy with her disability, and the other novel’s protagonist with unbearable poverty. This novel, however, is emotionally powerful without being morose. It is simply real, and its message of accepting true happiness and living life to the fullest is beautiful and inspiring.
Highly recommended for all children’s libraries.”
Thematic Links: Deaf Children; Stepfamilies; Friendship; Elderly People; Novels in Verse; Realistic Fiction; Grief; Fitting In
—Nicole Rowlinson
Read the full review on page 12 of the June 2017 issue of Resource Links