Hummingbird Heart

May 1, 2012

Gr 9 Up-Dylan, 16, has tried to reach out to the father she never met for eight years-or so she thought. When he reaches out to her for a serious favor, her life as she knew it falls into a tailspin. She discovers that her mother never sent annual photos to him as she believed, causing Dylan to question what else her mother has lied about, and her father reveals she has a four-year-old half sister who is dying of cancer. At the same time, Dylan is forced to reevaluate her relationship with her best friend, Toni, who may be pregnant, and decide how far she'll go with Jax, an attractive boy with a shady reputation. The drama in environmentally conscious Dylan's life is paralleled to global disaster. Vividly descriptive language enriches the story-air "full of the thick sour smell of unsaid things" and "corrosive fear." A raw and honest tone runs through the novel; when deciding whether or not to get tested as a bone-marrow match for her ailing half sister, Dylan pauses to wonder if she'd get to see her father more if Casey did die. The book can be described as a blending of Leslie Connor's Waiting for Normal (HarperCollins, 2008) and Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper (Atria, 2004). Teens will relate to the themes of family, love, trust, and moral obligation. Discussion of abortion, sex, teen pregnancy, alcoholism, underage drinking, and smoking marijuana are included, and under the surface this page-turner invites readers to reflect on decision-making and appreciate the fact that actions have deep consequences-Nicole Knott, Watertown High School, CT

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2012
Grades 8-12 Eternally pessimistic 16-year-old Dylan assesses the world and finds it terribly lacking. She despairs over the environment, winces at the behavior of her too-young mother, and resents the intrusion of her best friend's boyfriend. At the core of her bleak outlook is the knowledge that her father, aka the sperm donor, has never tried to contact her. And then he calls. The tension this creates between Dylan and her mother is brutal and realistic. Like many teens, Dylan has found emotional safety in keeping distant from others, judging before she can be judged. As Dylan comes out of her shell, she realizes her own power and responsibility in setting the terms of her relationships. Subplots involving her adoptive sister, a boyfriend who is a bit too hands-on, and tragedy in her father's new family help to demonstrate Dylan's growing maturity. Teens who were intrigued with the family drama in Sara Zarr's How to Save a Life (2011) or Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper (2004) will find similarly thought-provoking issues here.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)