This Is the Story of You

January 18, 2016
Having a younger brother with Hunter syndrome is hard on Mira Banul and her mother, Mickey, who works multiple jobs to pay for Jasper Lee’s treatments and necessities for the cottage they inherited from Mira’s aunt on the barrier island of Haven. Though 17-year-old Mira loves her family, she wishes life were simpler for them—a wish she regrets when a hurricane pummels the island while her mother and brother are on the mainland. Using her forward thinking and bravery, Mira survives the storm and joins the trash-strewn beach with its collection of islanders reeling after half the town is washed away. Days from rescue, Mira and friend Deni search for survivors while the rest of the town gathers resources. Though the novel feels uneven in places, with a prolonged beginning and abrupt plot developments toward the end involving Mira discovering heretofore unknown family members, Kephart (One Stolen Thing) establishes relatable characters and a poetic style that artfully blend the island days before and after the storm. Ages 12–up. Agent: Amy Rennert, Amy Rennert Literary Agency.

Starred review from February 1, 2016
The devastating superstorm arrives without warning at night, destroying the bridge connecting Haven, a New Jersey barrier island, to the mainland and isolating residents from one another; with her mother and fragile little brother on the other side, Mira Banul, 17, must cope alone. Haven's small, close-knit community is a world unto itself after summer vacationers leave. Mira attends a small alternative school with her friends Deni and Eva. The supportive island culture tolerates eccentrics like Old Carmen, a fisher and resident vagrant. The care and affection of neighbors and friends mitigate the effects of the rare disease crippling Mira's brother. Now, without power or phone service, Mira's alone in a cottage on stilts. Worse, someone's been prowling around it. As wind and water invade her refuge, Mira forces herself to act, described deliberately in Kephart's characteristically precise prose. She finds strength protecting what's precious to her absent family: her brother's collection of sands, her mother's jewelry and art. She remembers to turn off the gas at the source. Caring for her rescued kitten comforts her through the long night. In the morning, she discovers the storm's carried away the first floor of the cottage. Some islanders fare worse. She finds Deni, but Eva is missing. Then the prowler returns. Mira's voice--lyrical yet gripping, specific yet universal--draws readers close to experience the storm and share her epiphanies. A masterful exploration of nature's power to shake human foundations, literal and figurative. (Fiction. 12-18)

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Starred review from February 1, 2016

Gr 7 Up-For Mira and her friends, living on a small island off the New Jersey coast means tourists all summer, a small school and close friends, and wild weather as a way of life. When the forecasters warn of a storm, no one is overly concerned and life continues, albeit with an eye on the weather. Mira, worried about her younger brother, who has a serious congenital disease and is hospitalized on the mainland, goes about the normal storm preparations while she waits to hear from her mother with an update on Jasper Lee's condition. She visits with her best friends as they wonder about the new boy who has just started attending their small school and is secretive about his past. Mira, alone when the superstorm hits, sustains several injuries, but with the help of a reclusive beach dweller, escapes her damaged house and begins the struggle to find friends and survive without her mother and brother. When returning to her home to salvage what she can, she finds a strange girl who is sleeping in her bed, has gone through all of her things, and has secrets she does not want to share. Kephart's nuanced novel is mutlilayered, poetic, and poignant. The bonds of love, friendship, family, and community in the face of adversity blend seamlessly with the emotional journey of Mira and her friends. Loosely based on Sandy and its aftermath, the book goes beyond the disaster novel genre and becomes a story of despair, hope, and triumph. VERDICT This beautifully written book works on many levels and is rich in its characterization, emotion, language, and hint of mystery.-Janet Hilbun, University of North Texas, Denton

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2016
Grades 8-11 Six miles long and a half-mile wide. That's the size of the barrier island of Haven, home to year-rounder Mira, which comes under siege during a powerful hurricane that's supposed to bypass the Jersey Shore. With her little brother, Jasper Lee, afflicted by the rare Hunter syndrome and her mother far away at the hospital, Mira's responsible for defending her home. The storm changes everything, fracturing contact with the outside world and leaving Mira alone to grapple with the fallout: her best friend Ava gone missing, their belongings swept out to sea, and a stranger breaking into her home. Kephart's beautiful, poetic prose will sweep readers into this worthy addition to disaster literature. With sharply painted details, she offers a keenly sympathetic portrayal of a small community coming together in the wake of a terrible disaster. Revelations at the book's end may feel rushed, frustrating readers longing for a bit more resolution. At once an exploration of the unrelenting power of nature and a reminder of the one thing in the world that is irreplaceable: family.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)