Joni Reads
Written on Aug 17, 2016
My 8 year old was a bit young for this book so I pretty much read it by myself. It tells of a beautiful story of a little girl who has lost her father and in the process of her grief her mother decides to rip her away from the only home she knows and move. On top of the pain and the grief now Wren must become used to a new school, deal with all the popular kids and forge new friendships also.
Wow. I feel like I went through an emotional battle just thinking about all the things Wren had to deal with. I've read plenty of YA books dealing with the loss of a parent but never a middle grade book. This was whole new ballgame really only it touched on some of the same points.
What frustrates me, by no fault of the authors it's simply the cycle of grief, is how parents seem to be in denial about their children's grief. I noticed this in the YA books I have read on the subject and the same can be said for this one. I mean come on, when going through something like this parent's may have the flight instinct but my goodness, your kids NEED security and routine. They DO NOT need you to pick up your lives and run away. Common sense here.
But getting back to the novel, I do see why it happened here because it gave the basis for other issues, such as adjusting to a new school, dealing with bullies, among other things. I mean this book covers A LOT of topics. But it does it is such a way that you don't feel too bombarded with stuff.
I really loved this book. It's for sure going on the list for books for my daughter to check out when she gets older.