Tag Archives: Maine

Review: Ruptured by Joanne Rossmassler Fritz

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Ruptured by Joanne Rossmassler-Fritz

Ruptured
Joanne Rossmassler Fritz
Holiday House
Published November 14, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Ruptured

The sensitive, suspenseful story of a family coping with a life-changing tragedy, told in stunning verse.

Is it wrong to grieve for someone who is still alive?

Claire’s mom and dad don’t talk to each other much anymore. And they definitely don’t laugh or dance the way they used to. Their tense, stilted stand offs leave thirteen-year-old Claire, an only child, caught in the middle. So when the family takes their annual summer vacation, Claire sticks her nose in a book and hopes for the best. Maybe the sunshine and ocean breeze will fix what’s gone wrong.

But while the family is away, Claire’s mother has a ruptured brain aneurysm–right after she reveals a huge secret to Claire. Though she survives the rupture, it seems like she is an entirely different person. Claire has no idea if her mom meant what she said, or if she even remembers saying it. With the weight of her mom’s confession on her shoulders, Claire must navigate fear, grief, and prospects for recovery.

Will her mom ever be the same? Will her parents stay together? And if the answer to either question is yes, how will Claire learn to live with what she knows? This beautifully written novel speaks to kids’ fears and credits their strength, and stems from the author’s incredible experience surviving two ruptured aneurysms.

My Review

I devoured this entire novel in one sitting. Claire’s frustration with her parents, the pressure she feels at her mother’s secret, it all felt so real and raw. Then, after her mother had the brain aneurysm rupture, Claire’s fear and grief were palpable. I’ve never been through something like what she went through with a parent, but the author brought me with her through that experience.

Another thing that I really liked was the way that Claire built a community of support for herself and her family. It isn’t something she does intentionally, but she does make choices that help her to create those connections. From making friends with a boy at the hospital to joining a support group and attending counseling at school to leaning into her relationship with her aunt, Claire finds ways to connect with others.

I love that there are books about these experiences not only for kids who will go through them or have been through them, but also for kids who haven’t. Reading about a child whose parent has a brain aneurysm rupture and recovers can help someone respond with more compassion and understanding if someone they know has a loved one going through this.

I think this is actually the second book about a brain aneurysm rupture that I’ve ever read. In Cammie McGovern’s JUST MY LUCK, which is also wonderful, I think the dad has a rupture and a long recovery that impacts the family.

I loved Rossmassler Fritz’s debut novel in verse, and this one must be shelved right beside it. What an emotional journey! Whew. And bravo to a fabulous writer for finding the courage to share such a personal story.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Claire’s family is white. She befriends a Black boy whose mom has also had a brain aneurysm rupture. Claire’s best friend is Latine.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
People mention praying for Claire’s mom and her family.

Violent Content
Claire’s mom collapses after experiencing terrible head pain. Claire calls 911 and waits at a hospital to hear whether her mom will survive.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything but help support this blog. I received a free copy of RUPTURED in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Sea is Salt and So Am I by Cassandra Hartt

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The Sea Is Salt and So Am I
Cassandra Hartt
Roaring Brook Press
Published June 8, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Sea Is Salt and So Am I

West Finch is one hurricane away from falling into the sea.

Yet sixteen-year-old Harlow Prout is determined to save her small Maine hometown. If only she could stop getting in her own way and find someone, anyone, willing to help. But her best friend Ellis MacQueen “fixes” problems by running away from them―including his broken relationship with his twin brother, Tommy. And Tommy’s depression has hit a new low, so he’s not up for fixing anything.

In the wake of the town’s latest devastating storm, Tommy goes out for a swim that he doesn’t intend to survive. It’s his unexpected return that sets into motion a sea change between these three teens. One that tests old loyalties, sparks new romance, and uncovers painful secrets. And nothing stays secret in West Finch for long.

My Review

This book wrecked me so badly. In a good way, I think? Haha.

It’s got big emotions. Secrets. People who desperately care about each other but somehow go to great lengths to do anything besides deal with the ways they’ve hurt each other. I couldn’t stop reading it. I thought about it for days after I finished reading it.

The writing is so steeped in feeling. It’s got an amazing small town setting, where everyone is waiting for storms to hit and knowing they might destroy the places they love. The story is complex. It’s deep. It’s unforgettable.

And then the ending. I… don’t even know what to say.

The ending is great, just…. abrupt? I love the book, and I’m not unhappy with the ending, I think it just left something unclear that I wanted more completely spelled out for me. But even that doesn’t dim the incredible journey that reading this story was for me. I loved it.

I think readers who enjoy books with big emotions and small towns packed with secrets will love this one. Fans of John Green or Kyrie McCauley should absolutely check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Tommy has depression. Ellis is bisexual.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing betwen boy and girl. Kissing between two boys. A couple scenes show people kissing without shirts and reference sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content – Trigger warning for suicide attempt.
One character tries to die by suicide by swimming away from shore.

Drug Content
Tommy is on medication for depression but isn’t happy with how it makes him feel. He stops taking the medication at one point. He drinks beer with Ellis at one point, which he isn’t supposed to do on his medication, either.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE SEA IS SALT AND SO AM I in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Both of Me by Jonathan Friesen

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Both of Me
Jonathan Friesen
Zonderkidz Books
Published December 23, 2014

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

On the run from a past she can’t bear to face, Clara retraces her the journey outlined in her father’s journal. Then a captivating, broken boy derails her. He sketches things he shouldn’t know. Images from memories she wants to forget. And she can’t let him out of her sight until she understands how he knows these things.

But following Elias means a trip into fantasy. The boy has two parts – the gentle Elias who soothes Clara’s fears and the rough, unpredictable one who lives in an imaginary world called Salem and a great evil to the east. As Clara falls ever deeper in love with Elias, she vows to follow his quest to the end, hoping it will unite the two versions of him.

I’m a huge fan of Friesen’s writing. Jerk, California pretty much blew me away, and I really enjoyed Aquifer as well.

This story, unlike the others, is written from a female point-of-view. Friesen does a great job bringing Clara to life – she’s spunky and fierce and knows how to manipulate people, but there’s a softer side of her, too, and Elias brings that out in her. There was one moment in which I was a little disappointed by Clara’s response. Something huge happens and she sort of calmly responds. I was waiting for the realization of the greatness of the loss she’s experienced, and I felt like that didn’t really come.

I really enjoyed the way that he brings Elias and Clara’s stories together. It wasn’t what I expected – it was far better. Much like Friesen’s debut, Jerk, California, the journey Clara and Elias take is spiced with interesting characters and events. This author has a great eye for character and for taking small moments and making them really memorable by delivering them via those unexpected bystanders to the story.

Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
Brief kissing. It’s clear Clara is a sexually experienced girl (no details offered), and she offers herself to Elias, but he puts on the brakes pretty quickly.

Spiritual Content
Clara has a lot of bitterness toward God. In a moment in which she feels she’s lost everything, she begins praying. Instead of the usual suffocating feeling of guilt about her past, a peace envelops her. She begins to pray with more confidence.

Violence
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: Shades of Mercy by Anita Lustrea and Caryn Rivadeneira

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Historical, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Shades of Mercy (Maine Chronicle #1)
Anita Lustrea and Caryn Rivadeneira
River North Fiction/Moody Publishers
Published September 1, 2013

Amazon | Barnes & Noble |Goodreads

Mercy Millar just wants her father to see her for who she is, instead of the son he wishes he had. She does enjoy the freedom to come and go the way her father’s son would, though. She is even allowed to drive to the edge of town and pick up the Maliseet workers unescorted. She looks forward to that drive each morning because it’s the only place she and Mick, a Maliseet boy, can be together. They steal a few minutes dreaming of a future far from Watsonville and its prejudices, where a white girl and a Maliseet boy can make a life together.

But when a local man’s daughter and another Maliseet boy run away together, racial tensions run high in the tiny Maine town, and Mick and Mercy find themselves right smack in the middle of it all. In an effort to keep Mick from harm, Mercy tries desperately to keep her feelings a secret from the rest of the town. When Mick is falsely charged with a violent crime, Mercy fears the worst. She must find a way to turn the tide of hate to mercy before an innocent man is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit.

Shades of Mercy is a simple love story wrapped in the tumult of the Civil Rights Movement in the northeast. While other parts of the country begin to embrace the bold words and dreams of leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr, the people of Watsonville, Maine restrict their Maliseet Indian population to a life in shanties built on the town dump. The story follows those first moments of powerful change as townspeople begin to demand equality for all citizens. The unique and important historical view of this novel makes it an unforgettable, valuable achievement and a worthy read for today’s youth.

Cultural Elements
Shades of Mercy deals with racism in a small Maine town. Mercy is a young white woman. Mick is a young Maliseet (Native American) man.

Language Content
No profanity or crude language.

Sexual Content
Mercy and her boyfriend share a few kisses.

Spiritual Content
Though Mercy and her family live among a strong Christian community, some community members do not believe that the Maliseet people should have the same rights as others. Mercy learns by the example of her parents when to be silent and pray versus when to speak out against wrongdoing.

Violence
A brief altercation occurs when a young Maliseet man is accused of attacking a white man. A terrible storm destroys and floods the town of Watsonville, Maine, leaving many citizens injured.

Drug Content
Alcoholism and apathy run rampant through the Maliseet camp.

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