Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Format: E- ARC
Number of pages: 304
Source: NetGalley via Publisher
Publishing: October 29th, 2024
Opening Line: "I don't know what the owners have against trees, but I wish they'd plant a few between their squished sites."
Cayenne, along with the twins Bear and Sossity, and their parents, lived in a 1969 van traveling from one place to another until their father found a job working at a Sawmill in Montana. Her dad is a Vietnam vet on disability and their mom is a free spirit, carefree, adventurous and doesn't want to be tied down. It's the first time that they will have a place with a roof over their heads that isn't moving, and room for their new dog, George to roam.
Seventh grade presents many challenges for Cayenne, yet she's thrilled by the prospect of making new friends and finally fitting in. However, this proves difficult as the house they rent is run down, and her hippie parents constantly embarrass her by keeping chickens in the front yard and sending her to school with vegan lunches.
Soon, she meets Dawn, a bookish outcast, and Tiff, who appears to be popular. Cayenne takes up playing the flute and develops an interest in a cute boy named Beau, she just wishes that she had the courage to talk to him. In social studies they're studying about the sinking of the Titanic and the new wreckage that was recently discovered.
Will Cayenne fulfill her dreams to fit in with the popular crowd? And are the rumors that Beau might actually like her back true? Is living in this town everything that she thought it would be or does she want to return to a time when she didn't have to worry about fitting in so much?
Unsinkable Cayenne is a beautiful novel written in verse that explores wealth inequality, first crushes, the challenges of making new friends, fitting in, and family. Other books by Jessica Vitalis that I've read and enjoyed include The Wolf's Curse, Coyote-Queen, and The Rabbit's Gift.
Having this set in 1985 brought back so many memories, it had all the vibes of this time period with references to the clothing, perms, pooling together your change to buy a new pair of shoes, and even secretly piercing your own ears. The crush on Beau was really sweet and I loved that Cayenne finally found a supportive circle of friends. The classroom discussions about the Titanic were interesting and really highlighted the stark differences in class systems or how where the passengers stayed on the ship correlated to differences in the number of fatalities that were reported. Cayenne's story will resonate with kids whose families are struggling financially and those kids who want to fit in at school. Readers will appreciate that the author utilized her own life experiences when writing the book and I sincerely hope for more books about Cayenne, as her story deeply moved me.
*A huge thank you to Jessica Vitalis and her publisher for the E-ARC of Unsinkable Cayenne, in exchange for an honest review. *
I hope you'll check out all the other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge's blog HERE
This sounds like a great story I'd enjoy. I like stories set in the 1980's too. I hope I can find the audio version at my library.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great story, one that reminded me of my cousin's family. Cayenne certainly deserves a sequel after this first engaging tale. Thanks for featuring on this week's MMGM.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like an intriguing story - thanks for sharing your review of it. It does sound like the sort of story that will resonate with kids whose families have a harder time of making ends meet. Plus: historical fiction.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely review; thank you, Brenda!
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