Just Like Me

January 15, 2016
Although she doesn't identify as Chinese, Julia, an 11-year-old girl adopted from China, is sent to sleepaway camp for a week to bond with the two other girls who were adopted from the same orphanage at the same time. There are two interconnected plots in Cavanaugh's third novel directed at middle-grade girls (Always, Abigail, 2014, etc.); one concerns Julia's acceptance of her heritage and feelings about being adopted, the other involves a camp competition that forces Julia and her at-war bunkmates to work together and eventually develop a liking for one another. After stirring up some initial interest, the story goes through a didactic and dull stretch as the camp competition and its subsequent life lessons pile up. Near the end, however, the story shifts again, gaining gravitas and becoming incredibly moving. Julia starts to come to terms with the sea of repressed emotions that surrounds her adoption, and her bunkmates, who have their own secrets and vulnerabilities, acknowledge and share them as well. The campers are differentiated well enough for readers to remember who's who, but except for narrator Julia and her bunkmate Gina, a foster child who pretends that everything is a joke, they don't have much in the way of shading or soul. Tame tale redeemed by a touching ending. (Fiction. 9-13)

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January 1, 2016

Gr 4-7-Eleven-year-old Julia heads reluctantly off to Camp Little Big Woods, a Christian summer camp for girls in Wisconsin, along with exuberant, sporty Becca, and talkative, pedantic Avery. All three were in the same orphanage in China as babies and now have journals from Ms. Marcia, their families' adoption agency coordinator, who is writing an article about transracial adoptees. Placed in a cabin with queen bee Vanessa; her fawning sidekick, Meredith; and her decidedly uncool cousin, Gina, the girls find that tempers flare, nerves fray, and friendships are sorely tested. Becca and Avery are equally at ease with their Chinese background and American upbringing, while Julia is more ambivalent thanks to a mother who denies that race is a factor in how she is treated and some insensitive classmates and teachers. Tween readers will find much to identify with in this charming and refreshingly wholesome coming-of-age story. Set to a soundtrack of 1970s and 1980s disco and pop classics and filled with swimming, campfires, games, and an occasional Bible study, the narrative follows all six cabin residents as they learn important lessons about being honest, kind, and comfortable in your own skin. Short chapters told from Julia's viewpoint alternate with her journal entries for Ms. Marcia, showing her progress as she learns to speak up for herself and admit her deepest fears. Vanessa and Meredith also come to terms with other kinds of family drama. Filled with slapstick humor and fast-paced action, the novel will engage reluctant readers, while offering fuel for deep contemplation by those ready to tackle questions of identity and belonging. Give this one to fans of Jeanne Birdsall's "Penderwicks" (Knopf) series, Jennifer L. Holm, and Andrew Clements. VERDICT Highly recommended for middle grade realistic fiction collections.-Laura Simeon, Open Window School Library, WA

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