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September 1, 2013
Massachusetts-based author Ossowski's debut about a family's fragmentation, forgiveness and love. Single parent Therese Wolley works hard to support her two daughters financially and emotionally. Older daughter Matilda sometimes suffers from nightmares, and young Franny interprets her world from an autistic perspective, enveloping herself in letters. But an item in the newspaper and an obligation to fulfill a promise abruptly alter the family dynamics. Therese packs the girls in her car and drives to her friend Leah's home, which Franny thinks "smells like art." The next day, Leah takes Franny on an outing, and Franny returns to discover her world is totally unbalanced. Therese and Matilda are gone, although her sister leaves behind a journal and a promise to return for her. Franny doesn't understand her abandonment, but in many ways, she copes with the changes in her life in healthier ways than her sibling, her mother and guardian. Leah buries her demons until Franny innocently uncovers them while asking about pieces of artwork she finds under a mattress. Meanwhile, Matilda and her mother settle into an apartment in another town, and Matilda acts out her resentment toward her mother by allying herself with a neighborhood bad boy, skipping school, sneaking out of the house and drinking. Therese stubbornly refuses to supply satisfactory answers to Matilda's questions, and she spends more time away from home as she worries that the past will come back to haunt her and her daughter. Although it does not have the strongest plot or ending, Ossowski's narrative is more about the characters and their individual journeys: The author artfully portrays each in meticulous detail and employs superlative imagery to paint every thought and action. Ossowski, a mother of three (including a child with special needs), touchingly examines the elements that bind families together.

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October 15, 2013
Therese Wolley takes her two children, Franny and Matilda, and runs to her best friend, troubled artist Leah. Franny is open to taking in their strange new house, but in the morning, Therese and Matilda are gone. As Franny adjusts to life with Leah, Matilda is hatching a plan to reunite with her sister, even if it means finding the father she doesn't remember with the help of the bad boy next door. Meanwhile, Therese is reliving the sparks she felt around her ex and her mother-in-law, the ominously named Barbara Yaga. The three Wolley women narrate the story, and each voice is as distinct as it is biased. Franny perceives the world through the lens of her autism and her youth. Matilda is plagued by strange dreams that color her daily life. Therese is ruled by her sense of touch, stubbornly relying on her impressions rather than reality, no matter how often she gets it wrong (although she doesn't always). This compact first novel is sometimes frustratingly short on details, but readers can be assured that it all makes sense in the end.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)