Very in Pieces

June 15, 2015
Mathematically gifted Very Woodruff is likely headed to MIT, and she’s also the odd one out in a family of creative types. Her mother is a respected artist, her father is a music professor, her younger sister shows artistic promise, and her grandmother, “Nonnie,” is a famous poet. Nonnie’s impending death is front and center as Blakemore (Secrets of Truth & Beauty) spins a thoughtful story of a family breaking apart. While the Woodruffs watch Nonnie fade away, Blakemore introduces a touch of mystery when someone begins creating a work of art on the side of the their house in honor of Nonnie. As Nonnie’s condition worsens, and Very’s father and sister go AWOL, the typically steady Very loses her footing, too. She ends things with her responsible “good guy” boyfriend, Christian, after cheating on him with Dominic, the school’s sort-of bad boy. It’s a believable and engaging story of the decline of a cherished grandmother and community member, and a girl trying to find her place in her family, her relationship, and life. Ages 13–up. Agent: Sara Crowe, Harvey Klinger.

June 15, 2015
With her grandmother's health rapidly failing, high school senior Very (short for Veronica) feels responsible for holding together the rest of her family. In a family full of artists, mathematically inclined Very is the practical one, if bossy. And she's got a lot going on. Her grandmother, a well-known poet, talks to Very about her impending death, while Ramona, Very's younger sister, shies away from even visiting Nonnie. Their mother, a painter on sabbatical from the local college, spends her days in a drunken fog on the couch, and their father stays absorbed in his academic life as a music professor. A mysterious artist is creating an homage to Nonnie out of bottle caps and glass on the side of the garage. Very tries to shepherd Ramona through the rough first days of freshman year, but Ramona avoids her. When Very catches the eye of Dominic, a green-eyed boy with a reputation for dealing drugs, her sweet, college-bound, Korean-American boyfriend, Christian, suddenly seems rather dull. Blakemore keeps these balls in the air through Very's precise, analytical, present-tense narration. The intervention of the assistant principal, who brings Very to her office to discuss Ramona's absences and makes the suggestion that Ramona might benefit from seeing the school psychologist, comes across as unlikely, though it does move the plot along. A predictable but solid coming-of-age story. (Fiction. 12-16)

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August 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-Very Sales-Woodruff is the versatile, down-to-earth good girl. Being clever, in control, and predictable allows her to be the glue that holds everything and everyone together-including her artistic family. However, Very is preoccupied with her grandmother's dying, her mother's alcoholism, and her sister's precarious behavior. After she learns that her grandmother was a famous local poet, Very starts to reconsider her last year of high school. Should she stay on the "right" path or stray and find her heart's true desires? The novel begins slowly, with an even pace throughout and a strong ending. Frazer guides readers through the complexities of family life and roles, choosing between individual needs and selflessness. Readers who admire poetry will enjoy how some passages refer to poetry. Fans of Jandy Nelson's I'll Give You the Sun (2010) and The Sky Is Everywhere (2014, both Dial) will appreciate the realistic, authentic, and lyrical teen voice that this novel has to offer. VERDICT A general purchase for school and public libraries.-Krista Welz, North Bergen High School, NJ

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