A Publishers Weekly and Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year about Wren Jo Byrd, a nine-year-old introvert whose life has gone topsy-turvy ever since her dad moved out.
"By turns heartbreaking and heartwarming—exactly like real life. Julie Bowe takes on the tough questions about what it means to be honest, to be a good friend, and to be a family, and offers answers that, while not always easy, are always true."—Linda Urban, author of Weekends with Max and A Crooked Kind of Perfect
"Bowe so masterfully took me inside the head and heart of Wren Jo Byrd that I felt like a ten year old again—and loved every minute."—Barbara O'Connor, author of How to Steal a Dog
It's the start of a new school year and Wren Jo Byrd is worried that everyone will find out her parents separated over the summer. No one knows the truth, not even her best friend, Amber. When even her new teacher refers to her mom as Mrs. Byrd, Wren decides to keep their divorce a total secret. But something else changed over the summer: A new girl named Marianna moved to town and wants to be Amber's next bff. And because of her fib, Wren can't do anything about it. From take-out dinners with Mom to the tiny room she gets at Dad's new place, nothing is the same for Wren anymore. But while Marianna makes everything harder at first, Wren soon learns that Marianna once had to ask many of the same questions—the big ones, as well as the little ones—that Wren is asking now.
Set in Wisconsin, with wonderfully nuanced characters—from the bossy new girl, who acts big but has a secret of her own, to the sporty girl who acts little and shy but who becomes an unexpected friend—this is a book about much more than divorce.
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Bowe (the Friends for Keeps series) effectively conveys Wren's fears and frustrations: "I don't know why I'm the one who has to go away when none of this was my idea," she confides to her cat, Shakespeare. Wren's decision to hide her difficulties at home, even as it affects her life on many fronts, powerfully illustrates how deeply upsetting family changes can be. Bowe's genuine portraits of the key relationships in Wren's life—with her friends, parents, and even the often-difficult Marianna—make for a warm and rewarding story about dealing with change.
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PW, starred review