Tune It Out

July 15, 2020
A 12-year-old girl navigates sensory processing disorder and complicated emotions when she's removed from her mother's care. Lou Montgomery hasn't attended school in over a year. Instead, she and her mother scratch out a nomadic living, performing in casinos and diners and sleeping in their worn-out truck as her ambitious mother scouts the country for Lou's "next big gig." Lou loves singing; her voice "makes me feel stronger than I am," she tells readers. But she hates performing; loud sounds hurt "like knives" and leave her screaming, and light touch makes her flinch. When her mother's investigated for neglect and Lou's sent to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle, Lou's new world--regular meals, a fancy private school, and a diagnosis of sensory processing disorder--overwhelms her even more. Her voice alternately wry, na�ve, and wise beyond her years, Lou confronts sensory overload, self-consciousness, and her simultaneous love for and anger toward her mother in poetic, poignant prose. The way she contrasts poverty and privilege is thought-provoking; her dread of being labeled a "special-needs kid" is realistic. Though Lou's friendship with quirky theater classmate Well sometimes feels too good to be true (would that all kids were so endearingly and instantly accepting of neurodivergence), Sumner realistically avoids fairy-tale endings while still closing on a hopeful note. Most characters, including Lou, default to White; Well's mother is Japanese American. A vivid, sensitive exploration of invisible disability, family bonds, and the complex reality of happily-ever-after. (Fiction. 8-12)

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Starred review from August 3, 2020
A talented singer, 12-year-old Louise sleeps in a truck with her single mother and doesn’t attend school, only interacting with others when her mom pressures her to sing at cafes and county fairs, hoping to make it big. Lou can’t stand loud noises or being touched, and her mom blames their secretive, peripatetic lifestyle on those “quirks”—an undiagnosed sensory processing disorder. But while driving the truck in a snowstorm to pick her mom up from work, Lou gets into an accident, and Child Protective Services sends the “significantly underweight” girl from Tahoe to Nashville and her mom’s estranged sister Ginger. Lou is taken aback by an existence in which clean clothes and food are always available, and tentatively embarks on a friendship with a wealthy classmate at her new private school. There is no easy solution to the growing rage Lou feels as she begins to realize the ways in which her mother has let her down, particularly a stubborn refusal to acknowledge and treat the girl’s differences. Employing Lou’s clear voice and well-drawn relationships between complex characters, Sumner explores the challenges Lou faces as a result of her neuroatypicality and financially insecure past, culminating in an appealing, sensitively told tale. Ages 10–up. Agent: Keely Boeving, WordServe Literary.

Starred review from August 1, 2020

Gr 5 Up-Loud sounds, crowds and people touching or brushing up against her are painful for 12-year-old Louise Montgomery. Her mom thinks she has the voice of an angel and is destined to make it as a singer; she has spent years forcing Louise to perform in noisy coffee shops and karaoke events while the two live together in their truck. After an incident wherein Lou crashes their truck, the young girl is moved across the country and placed in the custody of her aunt and uncle who she doesn't know. In this new setting, Lou deals with fitting in at a fancy private school, making friends, and learning to trust the adults in her life. She juggles all of this while managing what she learns, with the help of the school counselor, is a sensory processing disorder (SPD). Lou's relationships with the adults in her life, including her mom, aunt, and uncle, evolve over the course of the narrative as she adjusts to her new normal. Sumner doesn't shy away from tough topics including homelessness, poverty, foster care, and the ups and downs of having a sensory processing disorder. VERDICT Readers will fall in love with Lou Montgomery in this uplifting story, as she learns the power of music and the importance of family and friends.-Sarah Polace, Cuyahoga P.L. Syst., OH

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