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Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library | Teen Fiction Book Hardback | 120791002112215 | T ZAR | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Jill MacSweeny just wishes everything could go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends--everyone who wants to support her. And when her mom decides to adopt a baby, it feels like she's somehow trying to replace a lost family member with a new one.
Mandy Kalinowski understands what it's like to grow up unwanted--to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, one thing she's sure of is that she wants a better life for her baby. It's harder to be sure of herself. Will she ever find someone to care for her, too?
As their worlds change around them, Jill and Mandy must learn to both let go and hold on, and that nothing is as easy--or as difficult--as it seems.
Critically acclaimed author and National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr delivers a heart-wrenching story, told from dual perspectives, about the many roads that can lead us home.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up-Sara Zarr delivers a touching, heartfelt tale (Little, Brown, 2011) of love, acceptance, and healing. Reeling from her father's death nearly a year earlier, Jill MacSweeney hides her intense grief behind a wall of anger that has isolated her from friends and family. Then Jill's mom decides to adopt a baby from Mandy, a pregnant teen she met online. Mandy will be staying with the MacSweeneys until the baby is born. Jill is less than thrilled. Meanwhile, Mandy struggles with the scars of her own mother's neglect and worries that the baby might be a result of the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother's boyfriend. Can these two very different girls overcome their individual doubts and learn to accept their situations-and each other-so that they can heal from their painful pasts and move on to brighter futures? Although the ending wraps up a bit too neatly, this is a beautiful and worthwhile listen. Told in alternating chapters and narrated to perfection by Ariadne Meyers and Cassandra Morris, Zarr has created an exceptional story highlighted by outstanding character development. Initially, Mandy comes across as vain, more than a little creepy, and seems far younger than her 18 years-despite the hard life she's experienced. Jill, at first, is closed-off, angry, and difficult to like. As the story progresses, listeners will gain a profound understanding of both girls and grow to love them in spite of their faults and quirks. Collections will benefit from the addition of this extraordinary audiobook.-Alissa LeMerise, Oxford Public Library, MI (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Seventeen-year-old Jill was dealt a shattering blow when her father died unexpectedly. Since then, Jill and her mother have been distant, like "twin planets orbiting the same universe of grief but never quite making contact." Now her mother plans to fill the void by adopting a baby. As far as Jill is concerned, the plan is "lunatic," but Mandy, the pregnant teen giving up her child, is relieved. She thinks she's finally found a way to escape her emotionally abusive mother and her mother's sexually abusive boyfriend by coming to live with Jill and her mother during the final weeks of her pregnancy. Alternating between the perspectives of Jill and Mandy, National Book Award- finalist Zarr (Story of a Girl) crafts intimate and authentic portraits of two vulnerable teens struggling to cope with uncertain futures. Independent and aggressive, Jill has little in common with Mandy, who's sheltered yet very observant, but they form a sisterly bond as they face personal crises. Their slow, cautious efforts to build trust and better understand the meaning of family are expressed with the deepest compassion and kindness. Ages 12-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Zarr places two very different young women at a difficult and crucial moment in each of their lives and takes each through a poignant and credible transformation. Thirty-three weeks pregnant and lacking support of any kind, eighteen-year-old Mandy agrees to give up her baby for adoption to Robin, a financially secure woman she meets online, and to live in Robin's home until the baby is born. Robin's teenage daughter Jill hates the idea; still deeply grieving the loss of her father less than a year before, Jill thinks her mother is trying to replace him with the new baby. Mandy and Jill's distinct voices tell their intertwined stories, revealing some unlikable traits for each and, eventually, the better person within. Socially awkward and naive, Mandy often makes others uncomfortable. Desperately hopeful, she tells lies she thinks are necessary to give her child the love and security she's never had. Jill's appearance -- black hair, black eyeliner, piercings -- reflects the emotional shell she's cultivated since her beloved father's death. Having pushed away her friends, boyfriend, and mother, Jill turns her bitchy behavior and suspicion on Mandy from the minute she moves in. The girls' growth is made realistic through small inroads and slow progress toward trust and rebuilding. The depth of characterization is exceptional, and the ending is surprising but satisfying, making for a rewarding read. lauren adams From HORN BOOK, Copyright The Horn Book, used with permission.
Kirkus Review
(Fiction. 12 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* When high-school-senior Jill MacSweeney learns that her widowed mother has agreed to an open adoption no lawyers, no agencies, no background checks, no binding agreements she is appalled and even more grief-stricken. Of course, her mom is lonely, but you can't just replace your husband her dad with a baby! To make matters worse, the baby's mother, Mandy, will live with Jill and her mother in the last month of her pregnancy. Told in the alternating voices of Jill and Mandy, this multilayered, complex story of life, death, and the meaning of family will simultaneously distress and gratify. The characters are achingly human. Jill, bewildered at the unexpected death of her father, has shut out her friends completely. Her mother, so ready to nurture and care for another, finds herself unable to cross the barrier of silence and grief Jill has constructed. Mandy needs a mother, not a baby, and cannot bear the thought of giving up this suddenly secure life that she has happened upon a life her new baby will enjoy without her. Filled with so many frustrations, so many dilemmas needing reasonable solutions, and so much hope and faith in the midst of sadness, Zarr's novel is a rich tapestry of love and survival that will resonate with even the most cynical readers.--Bradburn, Frances Copyright 2010 Booklist