Snow Lane

January 1, 2018

Gr 5-7-"Worldwalker" series author Angelini channels her own experience growing up with seven siblings into 10-year-old Annie Bianchi's spunky but poignant fictional narrative. Set in Massachusetts in 1985, Annie is the youngest, the smallest, the peacemaker, and the observer in a chaotic household of nine siblings. Her father's frequent absences and her mother's undiagnosed mental illness create an unsupervised, survivalist home front where rivalries, insecurities, and meanness flourish. Annie's refuge is school, her Academically Creative and Talented Class, and her friendship with fellow fifth grader, Jordan. He shares Annie's love of science, discreetly asks few questions about her home life, and sensitively acknowledges her dyslexia. Annie's engaging narrative reveals her resilience, hope, and sense of humor while understating her mother's negligence, volatility, and violent outbursts. With occasional mild expletives, Annie reflects on her hand-me-down clothes, her Catholic guilt, her social naivete, her calming counting ritual, and her siblings' struggles for attention and escape. When her 12-year-old sister Nora runs away, the parents are oblivious, but Annie searches frantically. The police bring Nora home and the parental dysfunction, disorder, neglect, and abuse are exposed. Social worker intervention and group therapy follow, never diminishing Annie's fierce loyalty and optimism for the family she loves. VERDICT Candid, self-deprecating, and forgiving, Annie is a likable and upbeat heroine. Her compelling story sheds light on the pervasive impact of child abuse, the varying responses of children, and the complex ties that bind families in turmoil.-Gerry Larson, formerly at Durham School of the Arts, NC

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2017
Grades 4-7 The best-selling author of the Starcrossed series forays into a younger territory with a compassionate if quiet story set in 1985 about a girl in need. The youngest of nine in an Irish-Italian Catholic family in Massachusetts, Annie succeeds in school despite her dyslexia and maintains close ties with her classmates. But she would never dare bring them home. In small yet pervasive moments, readers bear witness to the deep dysfunction and undercurrents of abuse in Annie's home. Annie's narrative is engaging and believable; her frequent cursing (and resulting Hail Marys) suit her situation. Angelini brings the 1980s to life, particularly as Annie and her classmates watch the launch of Challenger. Still, many readers may wish for a more active plotline to carry them through the more somber story and add levity, as in Mary E. Lambert's Family Game Night and Other Catastrophes (2017). Though this title isn't likely to fly off the shelf with its intended readership, given Angelini's devoted YA fanbase, there might be readers searching for her middle-grade debut.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)