From Publishers Weekly
Skylar, 15, plans to spend the summer taking a sophomore English course in a high school across town. The intense anxiety Skylar and her mother experience at the prospect of this relatively simple commute is an early clue that some unspeakable incident has traumatized their family. Skylar's older sister, Alexandra, offers encouragement, but only to a degree, warning Skylar not to trust anyone too quickly, and something about the sisters' relationship doesn't seem quite right. Deftly interwoven with the wrenching story of Skylar's struggles to grow and heal are the activities of normal teenage life: making new friends, expanding past familiar territory and approaching a possible romantic relationship. Refreshingly, English classDfilled with thought-provoking discussions and taught by the ladylike yet steely Mrs. VargasDis never merely a convenient backdrop to Skylar's inner drama. Instead, it is a vivid place all on its own, peopled with a lively and likable crew of students. Thanks to Thesman's (The Other Ones) expert control, the reader's grasp of the exact nature of Skylar's tragedy develops in parallel to Skylar's own ability to articulate what has happenedDthree years ago Alexandra was abducted in a never-solved crime, and Skylar's own family has gone from being the object of sympathy to the subject of neighborhood gossip and suspicion. Hopeful without being sugar-coated, this tale offers compassionate insight into loss. Ages 10-14. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-10-Something is terribly wrong with the Deacon family. Fifteen-year-old Skylar is registered for summer school, but her mother is afraid to let her travel via public transportation. Skylar is unnaturally anxious about the class and potential interactions with her classmates. She spends a lot of time in her sister's room, but readers sense there is something strange about that, too. Bit by bit, over the course of the novel, they learn the devastating truth: Skylar's older sister was abducted three years earlier and has never been found. As a result, friends and neighbors who were originally solicitous have become suspicious and hostile, and Skylar's mother is teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Thesman handles the characters caught in this dilemma with sympathy and understanding. Teens will be carried through the book by the lure of their unresolved secrets. Simultaneously, the Deacons are, however unwillingly, carried on through their lives by the passage of time. Alexandra is lost, but their remaining children are growing. Skylar knows that she cannot trust everyone, but she learns not to be universally distrustful, either. She undergoes a sort of rebirth during the summer and, while this is painful, it is also empowering. In abandoning the hope that her sister will return, in relinquishing the continued imaginary friendship with Alexandra, Skylar becomes able to form friendships with her classmates. While her mother retreats in fear, Skylar emerges from a cocoon. This is a very fine book.
Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
