Lila and Hadley

January 1, 2020
Hadley, 12, legally blind, angry, and not a lover of dogs unexpectedly bonds with Lila, a depressed pit bull waif. Hadley feels as if she's lost everything, and now she's losing her sight. With her mom in prison, she must move to Kentucky to live with her estranged older sister, Beth, last seen when Hadley was 7. Accompanying Beth, a dog trainer, to Right Choice Rescue and wandering among the penned trainees, Hadley spots Lila, considered unadoptable, looking equally miserable. Observing them connect, Vanessa, the owner, talks Beth into taking Lila home for Hadley to train. Still furious with Beth and their mom, whose letters and phone calls she ignores, Hadley works with Lila and grudgingly allows Beth to guide the training. Her vision worsening (she has retinitis pigmentosa), Hadley eventually agrees to mobility classes. Learning to use a cane is challenging, especially while holding Lila's leash in one hand. Her persistence--Hadley's strong suit--is a plus. New skills breed independence and self-esteem. Hadley becomes less defensive and judgmental, and the sisters haltingly reconnect--then Vanessa, now Beth's girlfriend, says it's time to find Lila a home. (Vanessa is black; Hadley and family are presumed white.) It's a pleasure to watch smart, wryly self-aware Hadley turn obstinacy into strength. From glum to stubborn and affectionate, Lila radiates doggy authenticity. A former Kentuckian and legally blind, Keplinger knows this territory, literal and figurative, inside out. A funny, moving tale, at once unsparingly realistic and upbeat. (Fiction. 8-12)

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March 2, 2020
When her mother lands in prison, 12-
year-old Hadley moves from Tennessee to stay with her estranged sister, Beth, in a Kentucky suburb. She’s also navigating worsening eyesight due to retinitis pigmentosa, and the frustrations layer into sadness and anger—Hadley avoids speaking to her mom, lashes out at Beth, and refuses to take mobility classes as her condition advances. When Lila, a depressed pit bull at the rescue where Beth works as a trainer, takes to Hadley, the sisters are tasked with fostering Lila—socializing her so she can be adopted. Spending time with Lila pushes Hadley to make some changes in her own life, accepting the hard things she faces and the love being offered. Like Hadley, Keplinger (That’s Not What Happened) is legally blind, and details, such as a passage about using a cane, lend the story authenticity. Hadley’s anger at her situation and changing ability is sensitively wrought, and her growth is organic and true in this touching story of acceptance, forgiveness, and interspecies friendship. Ages 8–12. Agent: Brianne Johnson, Writers House.

April 1, 2020

Gr 3-7-Growing up is difficult for most kids, but when you add in a single parent who is suddenly put in jail, having to move in with an older sister who you haven't seen in years and a degenerative eye disease that is slowly making you blind, things can seem even more impossible. Keplinger's novel handles all of these subjects without becoming overwhelming to the reader. Hadley's life seems like it's going as well as it possibly can when everything is turned upside down: Her mom is taken to jail for stealing money from her job, Hadley's degenerative eye disease is progressing faster than the doctors expected, and now she has to move hours away from her best friends to live with her sister. Through first-person narrative, Hadley reveals why she feels so angry and alone even when she is surrounded by others. After walking around the dog rescue where her sister works, she ends up befriending a dog named Lila, who will not respond to anyone but Hadley. The girl reluctantly ends up teaching Lila different commands while making a deal with the dog that if she responds to training, Hadley will attend mobility classes to learn how to navigate her gradually failing eyesight. Keplinger creates a story about growth focusing on the experiences of Lila and Hadley where each of them starts to come out of their shells and accept their surroundings. VERDICT A unique title that touches on experiences not covered in many middle grade books (going blind, mobility training, and dog training), with relatable and engaging characters. For fans of Wendy Mass's A Mango-Shaped Space and Andy Behrens's The Fast and the Furriest.-Lenore Catalano, Hammarskjold Middle School, East Brunswick, NJ

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