The Opposite of Hallelujah

September 15, 2012
A teenage girl comes to terms with her sister's secret past and her own spirituality in this sophomore title by the author of All Unquiet Things (2010). Eight years ago, 16-year-old Caro's older sister Hannah left home to join a convent, and Caro hasn't had much of a relationship with her or God since. "[After] Hannah left, God stayed up in the attic, like the toys and old clothes I'd outgrown that my mother couldn't bring herself to part with." But now, Hannah is coming home after telling the Sisters of Grace that she is renouncing her vows, and Caro couldn't be more angry and confused. She lies to her friends and new boyfriend about Hannah's prolonged absence and fights with her parents constantly. It is only after she understands the tragic reason why Hannah is so sad and withdrawn that she begins to open up to the idea of making a new connection with her sister. Though the author takes many, many pages to reveal Hannah's secret, it is time well-spent, providing nuanced characterizations of not only conflicted Caro, but of her troubled parents and her kindly, philosophical priest, Father Bob. It's a rare teen novel that both tackles religion and creates fully realized adult characters, and Jarzab handles it all gracefully. A layered meditation on family and belief that will ring true for faith-questing teens. (Fiction. 12 & up)

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Starred review from October 1, 2012
Grades 8-12 *Starred Review* Big sister Hannah joined the Sisters of Grace convent when Caro was eight, so it seemed simpler to tell everyone at school that her sister was dead. That was Caroliar's first lie. Eight years later, Hannah is home, depressed, and anorexic, having left the convent in self-imposed disgrace. This time it is easier for Caro to announce Hannah's return from the Peace Corps, but as the lies pile up, so does Caro's own confusion and disgrace. Jarzab packs a lot into this storyquestions of faith and forgiveness, science and religion, mental illness, guilt, and possible redemption, as well as simple high-school drama. But at its heart, this is a story about sisters, and it's as complex and convoluted as the relationship itself. Caro must reinvent her only-child status, learning to accept her parents' worried focus on an older sister who was for years essentially nonexistent. Hannah, on the other hand, is overwhelmed with guilt over a friend's death and is resentful and envious of Caro's normal teenage angst. Couched among the issues are truly likable people: intelligent teenagers supporting each other through good times and bad; loving, very human parents struggling with how to intervene in the life of a seriously ill adult child while nurturing their teenage daughter; and a science-nerd priest who is honest enough to admit that he doesn't have all the answers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)