With You All the Way

January 1, 2021

Gr 9 Up-Sixteen-year-old Ada is on a quest to lose her virginity. She was on the cusp with her boyfriend Leo, but then caught him cheating on her. When her family travels to Hawaii the next day to attend her mother's annual work conference, Ada-full of anger and self-pity-decides to make a (consensual) conquest of family acquaintance Nick, an awkward 16-year-old boy she's known for years, as they always meet up at this yearly event. As Ada navigates this tricky landscape, she also makes some unpleasant discoveries about her parents and older sister, Afton. Like many protagonists in coming-of-age stories, Ada is unsure about who she is and wavers between being bold and insecure. With genuine dialogue, believable inner monologues, and a good dose of cringe-worthy moments, Hand realistically portrays the confused Ada, as well as the other multi-dimensional supporting characters. Overall the narrative is smooth and the descriptions of a lush Hawaii, including some historical and cultural background information on the locale, make for an engaging read. Ada, Afton, and their mother are white; Ada's stepfather is Black; and Ada's younger half-sister is biracial. VERDICT A breezy read about a serious topic, recommended for mature readers.-Melissa Kazan, Horace Mann Sch., NY

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 18, 2021
Things start going wrong for “quiet, nerdy” Ada, 16, just as her family prepares to travel from Silicon Valley to Hawaii for a conference that her surgeon mother attends annually. The decision of whether to have sex comes between Ada and her popular swimmer boyfriend; Ada and her older sister fight about whether Ada’s ready for intimacy; and then her beloved stepfather, an ER nurse, decides not to accompany the family to Hawaii. In so-called paradise, she gets stuck babysitting her five-year-old sister and worrying about her parents’ marriage—and that’s before she glimpses something she shouldn’t in her mother’s room. Together, the incidents make Ada wonder why sex is such a big deal, and if and when she’ll ever have it. To answer the second question, Ada asks sensitive, smart Nick, another conference kid, if he’d like to join her in bed. Though readers will understand what Ada saw before she does, and some may be uncomfortable with how often Ada and her sister blame their successful mother for being absent, Hand (The How & the Why) effectively depicts Ada’s thought process—confusions, assumptions, hopes, and fears. Even better, the book is a thoughtful ode to consent and to taking sex, and its power to bring people closer and push them apart, seriously. Ages 13–up. Agent: Katherine Fausset, Curtis Brown.

January 15, 2021
Ada, a gifted teen artist, draws in order to help see the world around her. But art won't help her answer the questions she is struggling with the most: Does she love her boyfriend? Is she ready to have sex? How will she know, and who can she talk to about how she really feels? Ada feels stuck between pressure from her popular boyfriend, Leo, and warnings from her older and more experienced sister, Afton. To make matters worse, Ada senses growing tensions between her mother, a successful, and increasingly unavailable thoracic surgeon, and her stepfather, Pop, an emergency room nurse. When her mother whisks Ada and her two sisters off with her to a medical conference in Hawaii, leaving Pop behind, Ada begins to worry her family is falling apart. During the week away, Ada realizes that sex can change everything: your family, your relationships, and your sense of self. The novel centers a multiracial blended family--Ada, Afton, and their mom are White; Pop is Black; and the girls' younger sister is biracial--with an ambitious, often absent mother and a father who acts as the central caretaker. These identities are named but not explored in the story. The emotionally well-developed central characters, smooth pacing, and frank and open discussions of sex, love, and relationships make this a satisfying read for teens and adults alike. A tear-jerker about love, family, and learning to trust yourself. (Fiction. 13-18)

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