Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Far From the Tree by Robin Benway


In the opening of this novel, readers meet Grace who is ruminating on the fact that it is the night of the homecoming dance.  She wonders about her ex-boyfriend Max and what he might be wearing. The reader is wondering what could be keeping Grace away from the dance.  Could it be a bad breakup with Max?  It turns out to be something more painful.  While her classmates are at the dance, sixteen-year-old Grace is giving birth to Max's daughter and then giving her up for adoption to another couple. 

This event in Grace's life motivated her to talk to her parents about a serious issue:  Grace wants to locate her own biological mother.  The process of losing her own daughter has made her curious about how her bio mom felt about giving Grace up. 

Grace soon discovers that she has siblings: an older brother named Joaquin and a younger sister named Maya.  The three siblings meet and grow to support each other through their various conflicts. 

Maya is dealing with her parents' impending divorce, an alcoholic mother, and her girlfriend, Claire.  Joaquin was never adopted and has been in the foster system since their mother gave him up.  He struggles to trust his foster parents.  Grace struggles with the loss of her daughter and whether she should tell her new siblings that she had had a baby and given her up.

The alternating perspectives made this novel feel like a fast read.  I was continually motivated to read on to see what happened next to each teenager.  Each character felt real to me, and I found myself rooting for each, getting angry at each, and--ultimately--crying for each. 

This National Book Award winner will likely appeal to a broad range of teen readers.  Teens who want This is Us on NBC will like the topics.  Teens interested in teen pregnancy, the foster system, and what it means to be a family will love this book.

Available at AHS, BCHS, ECHS, GVHS, LHS, and MHS.

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