The Other F-Word

Starred review from January 9, 2017
This wonderfully quirky novel about family—the “other f word” referred to in the title—stars Hollis and Milo, two oddball high school students. Milo lives in Brooklyn, Hollis is in Minnesota, both have lesbian parents, and their only tie to each other is a shared sperm donor. Milo’s severe allergies propel his decision to find his biological father for genetic testing, and he enlists the reluctant Hollis to help. (They’ve only met once, at the request of Hollis’s late mother Pam, whose presence still hangs over the family seven years after her death.) In the process, they discover additional half-siblings, and four of them (plus “honorary” half-sibling J.J., Hollis’s romantic interest) join forces to find Donor #9677. Writing in third-person, Friend (Where You’ll Find Me) shifts focus between Hollis and Milo, keeping the mood light and heartfelt as she celebrates the bonds that emerge between newfound siblings and turns their paternal search into an engrossing adventure. This is a joyful, emotional story full of love, humor, and the messiness of family, no matter the shape it takes. Ages 12–up. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House.

December 15, 2016
Two teens that share a sperm donor go on a quest to find their father. Hollis Darby-Barnes and Milo Robinson-Clark, both white teens and 14 and 15 respectively, are children of lesbian couples that used the same sperm donor. Milo lives in Brooklyn and suffers a host of allergies that lead his nonbiological mother, Frankie, to smother him. He contacts Hollis on a whim; they haven't spoken since they were 7, but Milo wants to find their father--both to scour his medical records and because he's angry at Frankie--and he doesn't want to do it alone. Hollis lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with her mom, Leigh, who still mourns the loss of her partner, Pam, who died years ago. Impatient with her mother's grief, Hollis isn't interested in the past. However, Leigh sees this family reconnection as orchestrated by Pam and jets them off to Brooklyn. It's not long before Milo and Hollis discover they have more family out there than they imagined. The close third-person narration shifts perspective between Hollis and Milo, the protagonists reading as older than their chronological ages. Both meet conflicts with requisite angst--but although the characters are fully developed, there's little tension to keep readers hooked. The story ends up feeling light despite the characters' emotional journeys. Those facing similar quests to find birth parents will find this story comforting. (Fiction. 12-18)

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December 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-Hollis Darby-Barnes is furious about a lot of things, including the death of one of her moms. It doesn't help that she's getting nasty texts from the girlfriend of the guy with whom Hollis is hooking up. The last thing she needs is an email from her half brother, Milo, asking for her assistance in tracking down the sperm donor who fathered them both. Milo has life-threatening allergies, and his doctors think his donor's medical history might give him important clues. He's also curious about what it would be like to have a father. After forming a reluctant partnership, the teens find more half siblings as well as information that leads them to their donor. Hollis and Milo are authentically young adult, both in their voices and in their mixed feelings about their perfectly imperfect families. However, most of the supporting characters would benefit from more depth. Typical teen use of text, email, and video chatting is well integrated into the story and enhances Hollis and Milo's dual narrative. The plot moves along smoothly with well-timed revelations about the mysterious donor and Hollis's anger and grief, and many teens will connect with the questions about identity and the true meaning of family. VERDICT In a world where many teens' families include diverse and complicated parent and sibling situations, Friend's tale fills a void in YA literature and does it with style.-Elizabeth Saxton, Tiffin, OH

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2017
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Hollis knows that she was conceived through artificial insemination. In fact, when Hollis was six, her moms set up a meeting with Milo, a half sibling via the same sperm donor, and his two moms. But that was seven years ago, before one of Hollis' mothers, Pam, died of cancer. When Milo reappears, asking for her help tracking down sperm donor #9677 to explain his life-threatening allergies, Hollis' initial hell-no reaction changes to intrigue when she finds out she and Milo have three other half siblings. As the half siblings get to know one another, the reality of their biological connections becomes clear. The untamable hair. The love of reading. Even a sick sense of humor. The story unfolds through the alternating viewpoints of Hollis and Milo, sweeping in a wide range of dynamic elements, such as Hollis' unresolved anger over Pam's death and Milo's complicated relationship with an overprotective mother. Friend offers lots of insight into families like Milo's and Hollis' and raises provocative questions about inheritance, biological and otherwise, not only in the context of sperm-donor half siblings but also from the perspective of Milo's best friend J.J., who is adopted and bitterly wonders why his biological mother gave him away. With convincing dialogue, multidimensional characters (including the adults), and a timely topic, this compelling story movingly proves that there are no stereotypes when it comes to family.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)