Unsinkable Cayenne by Jessica Vitalis

Unsinkable Cayenne by Jessica Vitalis
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   

The Shape of Lost Things by Sarah Everett

The Shape of Lost Things by Sarah Everett
Publisher:  Harper Collins
Format:  E-ARC 
Number of pages:   272 pages
Publishing:   October 22nd, 2024
Source:  Spark Point via NetGalley 

Opening Lines:  I think it's safe to say I hate September."  

Four years ago, Skye Nickson's father kidnapped her brother, Finn and they disappeared.  Every September, their mom throws a MIA birthday party for him, and she's reminded of how much they miss him and just how difficult his absence has been on their mom.  Finn has always been her favorite person.  Usually, Skye could rely on her best friends, Reece and Jax to cheer her up, but recently, Reece has been acting differently.  Mom's new boyfriend, Roger helps to fill in some of mom's loneliness and their cat, Catastrophe has been a nice addition too.  Roger even asked Skye for her permission to marry her mom.     

When news arrives that Finn has been found, everyone is elated, but this new Finn is nothing like he was before.  He's grown taller, is secretive and he doesn't appear to remember any of the special moments they spent together growing up.  He's forgotten the family game of "Did you Know" and all the inside jokes they used to share.  And what is it with his late-night phone calls and losing things?  Skye tries to recapture the Finn of four years ago, but time didn't stand still.  Finn has had his own series of events that has shaped him into who he is now and yet Skye can't understand why he isn't happy to be home with them.

Skye loves to take photographs with an old Polaroid camera, she feels that they capture the things we can't see in the moment.  And she hopes that by taking pictures of Finn she'll be able to understand him better, but all it does is make her even more suspicious that this Finn can't really be her brother.  He doesn't even have the same scar that he had as a kid.  She knows that Finn has been in contact with their father, and that he's been lying about it and because she can't trust this new Finn, she even tries to get the police to investigate.   When Finn fails to come home one night, everyone begins to suspect foul play.  Recalling Finn's phone, Skye manages to contact their dad, and she begins to piece together some of what Finn was going through while he was with their dad.  Skye is instrumental in finding Finn and the whole family begins to receive therapy. 

Change is a huge theme throughout The Shape of Lost Things.  I especially liked the emphasis that "change doesn't have to be a bad thing.  It can just be a fact.  Like day and night, or the fact that some people are cat people, and some people are not."  Friends may change, Skye's brother changed, everyone around them may be changing and sometimes even our memory about events can change, but some changes are natural, and we need to adapt with them.  Keeping dialog open.  

Overall, the story is a little sad but does manage to resolve on a happier note.  Skye and her brother learn they had similar feelings of abandonment.  Skye feeling that she wasn't "special enough" for her dad to even take her with them.  While Finn struggled over his feelings about how no one found him and that it wasn't a choice for him to go.  Despite the tight bond they shared being disrupted by their dad's apparent mental health issues, and processing the kidnapping differently, it was nice to finally have them see both sides of the story and to have glimpses of the old Finn emerge.  This quick read may delve into some emotionally complex topics like a parent's mental illness and a sibling's abduction and return, but it also includes topics like a first crush, evolving friendships, and a parent's remarriage that kids can easily identify with.  I hope you'll have an opportunity to read it and would look forward to reading your thoughts.  Feel free to leave me a comment. 

** A huge thank you to the Spark Point for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review**  

Check out all the other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge's blog HERE           

Diet Soda Club by Chaz Hayden

Diet Soda Club by Chaz Hayden
Publisher:  Candlewick Press
Format:  Paperback-ARC
Number of pages:   320 pages
Publishing:   October 8th, 2024
Source:  Publisher 

Opening Lines:  "Most kids probably wake up to the sound of an alarm clock or the smell of breakfast cooking."  

Reed Beckett is the primary caregiver for his ten-year-old sister, Beatrice, who was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) at a young age.  Bea has been in and out of the hospital with recurrent pneumonias and Reed has always been by her side.  Their father died after a car accident, and their mom has been overwhelmed working double shifts at a bar.  Reed and Bea share a very special bond, his utmost priority is ensuring Bea is never left alone, even if it means sacrificing his schoolwork.

After Bea's latest stint in the hospital, they learn that as soon as she has recovered from her lung infection, she will need surgery to correct the scoliosis in her spine.  Struggling to process the news, their mom starts spending more and more time with her new boyfriend, Seth.  She even goes so far as to announce that she's spending the weekend away with Seth, leaving Reed responsible for all his sister's medications, breathing treatments, and daily care. When the weekend is over and their mother is still a no show, Reed begins to realize that she's left them to fend for themselves.

Reed takes up more of the slack from their mom's absence and begins to worry as there food and money is beginning to dwindle.  Also, there's the pending surgery for his sister which requires a five-thousand-dollar downpayment, an amount that seems unattainable.  When their mother still hasn't returned, Reed and Bea develop a system so that he can go back to school.  Reed gets up early to take care of her morning routine, during school, Bea will have access to his laptop so that he can call her, and Reed will skip lunch and head home to give Bea a bathroom break.  To raise money, Reed begins making and selling fake I.D.'s.  At first, he makes one to two but as news spreads, he begins to make more because they desperately need the cash in order to pay for their rent and to buy food.  To keep his side business a secret, he enlists the help of Helena, a previous friend who he had a falling out with in the past.  She has access to all the equipment that he needs and hopefully she'll help cover up his illegal activity.  At first it appears that Reed has found a solution to their money problems but keeping up the secrecy of their mom being absent possess to be a huge challenge.

I first heard about Diet Soda Club back in March when Candlewick Press had their Fall Fiction Preview.  The title and cover really piqued my interest and I wanted to know more.  Then the author, Chaz Hayden spoke during the event and provided a synopsis of his book.  He discussed having Spinal Muscular Atrophy and how he had always explored the idea about writing a book that included the caregiver's experience, expressing that he was hopeful that others will better understand SMA.  It was such a compelling plot, so I jumped at the chance for an ARC.

Beatrice is such an incredibly bright ten-year-old girl.  She never really gets down about spending too much time in and out of the hospital.  Sure, she has moments where she gets frustrated by a breathing treatment or scolds her older brother for spending all his time with her, but Bea is a fairly upbeat kid.  She's a whiz with computers (a mini hacker Reed would say) and better than even him at his math homework.  Reed is the worrier who takes everything on his shoulders.  He cares deeply for his sister and there really isn't anything that he wouldn't do for her.  They're both put into a difficult situation by their mom's negligence, yet somehow, they make the best of it.  Overall, this is the kind of story that will stick with you with characters that you won't be able to forget.  It's well written, providing positive representation of disability, and written by an author from their own personal experience.  Can't wait to check out Chaz's previous book, The First Thing About You next.        

   ** A huge thank you to the Candlewick Press for the paperback ARC in exchange for an honest review**