Keep It Like a Secret

March 1, 2024
Grades 4-7 Twelve-year-old Morgan recalls happy times as a child, when his sister, Claire, six years older, played with him, read to him, and confided in him as they sat together in their backyard. But Claire no longer confides in him, and her arguments with their mother reverberate through the whole family. She often doesn't return at night, and Mom has given up on her. While Claire secretly plans to leave town after graduation, Morgan wants her to mend fences. When she asks Morgan to join her for a day together, he's happy to go and hopeful of change. But Claire's uninterested in repairing her family. She's trying to say goodbye, but her method risks her life and, worse, her brother's. In Claire and her mother, Anderson creates two convincing characters who are locked into their roles, furiously angry, and unable to consider the other's viewpoint. Inevitably affected by the situation, Morgan is a sympathetic narrator who wants reconciliation but has no way to achieve it. An absorbing, if unsettling, novel that portrays escalating tension within a family.

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March 15, 2024
Close-knit siblings in small-town Ohio approach a crossroads when one turns 18. For as long as Morgan, now nearly 13, can remember, he and big sister Claire have been inseparable. He's been seeing less of her lately, though, since the friction between his restless, defiant sib and their mother has reached the point of screaming arguments and long absences. So, when she appears at his bedroom window one morning, days after a particularly violent fight, he seizes the chance to sneak out in hopes of persuading her to come home. Instead, they embark on a daylong odyssey that includes a trip down memory lane, visits to places that have become important to Claire (including the home of her girlfriend, Sasha), and affirmations of their long-established Sibling Code (which ensures they will keep no secrets, tell no lies, and always have each other's back). Morgan comes to realize that Claire has been trying to prepare him for something unexpected. But along with winding up the suspense through significant flashbacks and encounters (plus, for comic relief, a long-promised, ill-fated driving lesson), Anderson offers nuanced explorations of a family with wide but perhaps in time healable cracks and of two young people whose distinct differences of outlook and personality are bridged by a powerful, loving bond. The siblings and their flawed but well-meaning parents are cued white; Sasha has "copper skin." An intensely felt tale of adolescents desperate for both stability and change. (Fiction. 9-13)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2024
Twelve-year-old narrator Morgan Turner and his older sister, Claire, used to be inseparable, even with their six-year age difference. They were a team: "She was my shoelace-knotter and jacket-zipper. She taught me how to pop my gum and Superman swing...She was always taller, faster, stronger, and smarter. Always better at everything." They abided by the Sibling Code: always there for each other, never hurting each other. But recent conflicts between Claire and their mother are disrupting the whole family and unintentionally causing pain to Morgan. The siblings are memorable characters with realistic motivations -- they aren't just set pieces moving through a plot. There's humor, too, when Claire takes her brother on a quest that includes spray painting an overpass, seeing a waterfall, and conducting a very funny driving lesson. Anderson (The Greatest Kid in the World, rev. 9/23) knows to let a big, complicated family story be complicated, to afford it the space it needs, and to allow a young boy to earn wisdom throughout the course of a powerful narrative. Dean Schneider May/June 2024 p.132 On All Other Nights: A Passover Celebration in 14 Stories edited by Chris Baron, Joshua S. Levy, and Naomi Milliner; illus. by Shannon Hochman Intermediate, Middle School Amulet/Abrams 304 pp. 3/24 978-1-4197-6729-6 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-64700-977-9 $17.09 In this collection of fourteen Passover-themed tales by different authors -- Laurel Snyder, Adam Gidwitz, Veera Hiranandani, among others -- one story is assigned to each step of the Seder. Each piece is preceded by an explanation of that step and four reflection questions. The engaging tales cover a vast range of Jewish experiences, including emigration from Eastern Europe and Cuba, Orthodox family life, women's varied roles in Jewish ritual, and interfaith families; as well as parts of life beyond the holiday, including losing a grandparent, coming out, being bullied, and neurodiversity. Most readers will find something that speaks to them and reflects who they are. The formats are also diverse, including realistic fiction, autobiography, fantasy, verse, and a story partially told in comics format. The tales invite readers to think about their personal relationships to the themes of family, freedom, and identity. Hochman's stark and atmospheric black-and-white drawings at the start of each story may remind readers of some Haggadah illustrations. Appended recipes invite hands-on interaction. Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

October 11, 2024

Gr 5 Up-In this coming-of-age novel, 12-year-old Morgan and his older sister Claire, 18, are inseparable; they have always understood each other and have an unbreakable bond. That is, until Claire starts to argue with their mom more and spends more time outside of their house and away from Morgan. After a week, Claire finally contacts Morgan and wants to see him. The two embark on a day-long adventure where they visit some of Claire's favorite places, and Morgan meets her girlfriend. Morgan knows this is the time to save his relationship with his sister and bring her home, but Claire has other plans. This book is listed for middle grades, but due to the themes and family dynamics, it will be a better fit for middle school readers and up. Some preteens and young adults may be able to relate to Morgan's difficult circumstances, whether due to the actions of the parents or a sibling. There are bits and pieces of laughter and adventure, but sometimes that is not enough-and that comes to light for the siblings as they grow. VERDICT Although this book may not be for everyone, the themes and tones can be relatable; it will make a fitting book suggestion by a trusted adult to help children cope with tough at-home, sibling situations.-Maeve Dodds

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2024
Twelve-year-old narrator Morgan Turner and his older sister, Claire, used to be inseparable, even with their six-year age difference. They were a team: "She was my shoelace-knotter and jacket-zipper. She taught me how to pop my gum and Superman swing... She was always taller, faster, stronger, and smarter. Always better at everything." They abided by the Sibling Code: always there for each other, never hurting each other. But recent conflicts between Claire and their mother are disrupting the whole family and unintentionally causing pain to Morgan. The siblings are memorable characters with realistic motivations -- they aren't just set pieces moving through a plot. There's humor, too, when Claire takes her brother on a quest that includes spray painting an overpass, seeing a waterfall, and conducting a very funny driving lesson. Anderson (The Greatest Kid in the World, rev. 9/23) knows to let a big, complicated family story be complicated, to afford it the space it needs, and to allow a young boy to earn wisdom throughout the course of a powerful narrative.

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)