Falling Over Sideways

Starred review from July 4, 2016
After the trauma of witnessing her father have a stroke, 13-year-old Claire Goldsmith and her family struggle with their new reality. Claire must simultaneously navigate dance-class drama, getting braces (which still manages to feel like the worst day of her life even after her father’s affliction), and boys, including former friends and her frustratingly perfect older brother. Told from Claire’s perspective, Sonnenblick’s story delivers an achingly vivid portrayal of her wide range of emotions as her father returns home still recovering, suffering from aphasia and having trouble with simple tasks like eating with a fork. Claire is a bluntly honest narrator, never holding back even when anger turns to depression and her father starts to waste away (“If I were being a hundred percent honest, I couldn’t really say I was thankful he was alive in this condition”). But Sonnenblick (After Ever After) incorporates a message of hope, too: Claire’s ordeal gives her new appreciation for the power of music and a more empathic view of those around her. It’s a powerful and profound look at a family coping with unexpected change. Ages 12–up.

When Claire started eighth grade, she expected the challenges of homework and social pressures and braced herself for changes in her extracurricular activities. But she was totally unprepared to be the only one at home when her father suffered a life-altering stroke. With impeccable timing and a varied delivery, narrator Miriam Volle turns the spotlight on the young teen's primary coping mechanisms: her spunky personality and quick wit. Volle's informal style reflects Claire's internal dialogue as she struggles to understand her beloved father's prognosis and her own coming-of-age. Because Volle's voice comes across as quite young, listeners may have to remind themselves that Claire is nearer young adult than child. But they'll have no trouble rooting for a happy ending to this engaging audiobook. C.B.L. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine