Smith, Sherri L. - Sparrow
Kendall grew up with her grandma, ever since her parents and her younger brother were killed in a car crash she miraculously survived. But now her grandma is gone, and the only relative Kendall has left is her Aunt Janet, who's been estranged from her grandma for all these years and whom she's only met once. To find Aunt Janet, Kendall heads down to New Orleans, where she finds a new family of sorts.
I've liked what I've read of Smith so far, and this is probably my favorite of her three to date (I'm very much looking forward to getting my hands on her latest, Flygirl, about a female black aviator in WWII). I particularly love the look at grief and the difficulties of a young adult trying to make her way through the world when she's lost all adult support.
One of the people she befriends in New Orleans is the daughter of her aunt's landlord, Evie. I liked Evie's prickliness and her relationship with Kendall, but I wish the trajectory of her character arc weren't so focused on dealing with her disability (she's in a wheelchair due to MS). There is a good deal about Evie that has to do with her desire for independence and how that's compared and contrasted with Kendall's own desire and lack of for the same, but I'm not sure how much of it transcends the "character learns to not limit herself due to her disability" trope.
Still, as with Lucy the Giant, I like Smith's look at teens who often slip through the cracks of the system, often of their own free will, and I like how the books redefine "family." There's just a lovely, quiet way her characters connect with each other that's good to read.
I've liked what I've read of Smith so far, and this is probably my favorite of her three to date (I'm very much looking forward to getting my hands on her latest, Flygirl, about a female black aviator in WWII). I particularly love the look at grief and the difficulties of a young adult trying to make her way through the world when she's lost all adult support.
One of the people she befriends in New Orleans is the daughter of her aunt's landlord, Evie. I liked Evie's prickliness and her relationship with Kendall, but I wish the trajectory of her character arc weren't so focused on dealing with her disability (she's in a wheelchair due to MS). There is a good deal about Evie that has to do with her desire for independence and how that's compared and contrasted with Kendall's own desire and lack of for the same, but I'm not sure how much of it transcends the "character learns to not limit herself due to her disability" trope.
Still, as with Lucy the Giant, I like Smith's look at teens who often slip through the cracks of the system, often of their own free will, and I like how the books redefine "family." There's just a lovely, quiet way her characters connect with each other that's good to read.