And the central question raised from this book is one of growth and change - "Am I the same person today as I will be tomorrow, and do my mistakes/achievements define Mel or is 'self' a continuously evolving identity?" It may sound too heavy for the average middle grade reader, and frankly, it likely is. There is a very nice commitment to a multicultural cast the author tackles real-world issues like internet safety, including one particularly stunning entry about shared photographs that will serve as a warning to any young reader in a progressively internet-centered age. Even I found myself grasping for understanding in some scenes, and thinking I must have missed something. I had trouble believing this style was frankly approachable for the core readership this author is intending. We don't spend enough time in either setting to get a grasp of the stakes at play, or even really the character dynamics, and I wonder if the author's time would have been better spent writing in a more straightforward and clear way. This is, ultimately, where the story falls down, as the alternating plot weakens the narrative as a whole. Alternating chapters switch back and forth between the start of the school year, and several months later from an unknown narrator.
Valentine's Day looms large, and betrayal is just around the corner.
The story centers around three middle school girls on the edge of adulthood striving to make sense of their seventh grade year. Ultimately a narrative device plummets this once hopeful read into a bit of a mess however, there is a central message that I think the intended age group could benefit from. It is a thoroughly well-written novel, but does not have the clarity of focus of the rest of her work. I wish I had nicer things to say about Goodbye Stranger, a middle-grade and up novel by Rebecca Stead.
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