Review: Every Shiny Thing

Every Shiny Thing by Cordelia Jensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Sierra’s mom is once again struggling with her addiction to drugs, alcohol, and poorly chosen men while her father is serving jail time for similar vices. Placed in the foster care system, Sierra moves in with a kind, mysteriously heartbroken interracial couple next door to Lauren, a tween fraught with compassion and her rapidly changing family dynamics. Lauren’s autistic brother has just moved to NC in hopes that a specialized school will better meet his needs. No longer a shadow or crutch, Lauren must determine who she is as well as how to function in an unfair world full of homelessness and privilege. As these two characters navigate their friendship through typical school drama, Lauren begins to lose control and fall into emotional instability, seeking solace in shoplifting and stealing her wealthier friends’ and families’ extravagances. Even with somewhat innately good intentions—hoping to sell these items to donate money for autistic children who cannot afford better therapy—Lauren frustratingly self-destructs in her own desire to escape the pain of her brother growing up without her.

Written by two impressive authors, Every Shiny Thing is a middle grade novel carefully constructed with alternating viewpoints. Sierra’s story is told in verse, emphasizing her kaleidoscope-like, emotional world while Lauren’s chaotic emotions and thought stream are portrayed in longer sentenced prose. A modern narrative with nontraditional families, coming of age questions, and how to find a place in a less than fair society, Jensen and Morrison create a strong realistic fiction story that tweens can relate with and look to for inspiration in a less than perfect world.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Amulet Books/ABRAMS kids for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. Every Shiny Thing will hit bookshelves April 17, 2018.

Review by Christine F. (theuncorkedlibrarian.com)

Every Shiny Thing by Cordelia Jensen and Laurie Morrison [Amulet Books 2018]


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Review: Turtles All the Way Down

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sixteen-year-old Aza has suffered the sudden loss of her father and is battling inner demons of mental illness—unkind thoughts and words that threaten to consume and possibly kill her. Trapped in the darkness of her own mind, Aza must navigate the unforgiving halls of high school with her fan fiction writing best friend, Daisy. When the town billionaire disappears days before being arrested for corruption, Aza and Daisy decide to investigate. The case is important to Aza as she has a crush on and connection with the fugitive’s son, Davis Pickett—a link of souls dating back from a summer camp fling. Gaining momentum on the details of Mr. Pickett’s disappearance, Aza begins to see fault lines within her mental health. Overly concerned with her micro-biome, even kissing becomes a death-defying hazard, causing Aza to dig her nail deeper into her never-ending fingerprint callous. From a car accident and a breakdown to a best friend who carries multiple burdens as well as a potential boyfriend whose dirty wealth is destroying a family and town, Aza must pull herself forward or drown in her head and a pool of hand sanitizer. It’s turtles all the way down anyway; who is to say what we are, what narrative we are living, and how we control the story of our lives.

Once again, Green mindfully taps into the inner workings of the teenage psyche just as Lamb had successfully done in She’s Come Undone. Designed for YA with a faithful adult following, Turtles All The Way Down is reminiscent of Rowell’s Fangirl with characters and friends who struggle with love and emotions, the world’s almost no-win nonchalance, and of course, a fan fictional element. The narrative possesses a melancholy trance of everyday life that lures readers in through a connection to sincere and darkly real characters. The conclusion for Turtles All The Way Down invokes tears over Aza’s acceptance of her inner confinement and willingness to move backward and forward for the rest of her life.  It is a vicious cycle.  Rest assured Aza will be OK but OK in an Aza-kind-of-way. Genuine and heart wrenching, the title explores family relationships, excessive wealth, and mental illness with the backdrop of questioning how humans exist, sometimes by choice and sometimes at the pen of another.

 Turtles All The Way Down by John Green [Dutton Penguin 2017]

Review by Christine F.

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