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Spring 2018 Kids’ Indie Next List
“Ivy Aberdeen has just suffered two huge losses: Her family's home has been destroyed by a tornado, and her secret notebook where she draws pictures of girls holding hands has vanished - only to reappear as pages left in her locker by a mysterious reader. It's not the best moment to get a crush on her new friend June, but Ivy perseveres through changing emotions and fears to figure out where she belongs in her world. Beautiful prose, characterization, and themes. Highly recommended!”
— Cecilia Cackley, East City Bookshop, Washington, DC
Praise For…
"Blake captures all the exhilaration of a first crush without shying away from Ivy's confusion....The sisters' relationship is one of the great rewards of this novel that includes a large and vivid cast of secondary characters, who give the story its sense of abundant texture."
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The New York Times Book Review"There are some books that we never forget. This is one of those books. Impactful, emotional, and important."
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Erin Entrada Kelly, Newbery award-winning author of Hello, Universe"A tenderhearted novel that should be in the hands of every reader."
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Kat Yeh, author of The Truth About Twinkie Pie and The Way to Bea"Ashley Herring Blake's novel captures the confusion, thrills and heartache of a first crush so perfectly that you will hold this book close to your heart."—
Lisa Yee, author of the DC Super Hero Girls series* " Ivy's story is no mere niche-filler in LGBTQ middle-grade realism--it's a standard-setter."
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Kirkus Reviews, starred review* "Filling a much-needed gap in middle grade literature, this story addresses not just the topic of a first crush, but also the invisibility frequently felt by middle children...Young readers will find Ivy's challenges very real and will sympathize with her choices, both good and bad."
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School Library Journal, starred review* "This is an emotionally sensitive and elegantly written novel about loss and the first stirrings of love."
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Publishers Weekly, starred review"This necessary and emotionally complex addition to the body of middle-grade literature offers readers a positive, complex, and courageous portrayal of burgeoning sexuality and relationships within the world of junior high."
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Booklist"Blake creates a sensitive portrayal of a preteen who's begun to figure herself out but isn't sure how she meshes with others, and of the bumbling and overstressed, but well-meaning, friends and family around her."
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The Horn Book