Review by Booklist Review
Ash, not Ashley, does not want to do the family-tree assignment because she doesn't have a family tree. She's got a mom in prison, a dead grandma, and a series of failed foster families that never made her feel like she's engulfed in their loving branches. Her latest foster mom, Gladys, doesn't seem to care much about her, but Gladys' son, Jordan, is around more and more; he's growing angrier and angrier, and Ash knows the clock is ticking. With a new friend by her side, Ash slowly begins to open up to those around her and learn that while her life may be hard, that doesn't mean the lives of those around her are easy. A tough book that doesn't shy away from challenging families and scary nights, this debut novel allows Ash to grow not only in resilience but also her ability to rely on others once she allows her friends and teachers in. Hand to fans of Ellen Hopkins and Barbara Dee.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Twelve-year-old Ash doesn't need her foster family to love her. What she needs is a family that will respect and care for her. But her experiences as a foster child have taught her that adults are untrustworthy. A family tree school assignment exacerbates her feelings of loneliness and otherness among her classmates and in her new foster placement with Gladys, who's also "temporarily" caring for her adult son, his wife, and their infant child. When the project pressures her to reveal too much about herself ("I'm not a huge fan of sharing my feelings"), and concerns about being disrespected at school and at home become overwhelming, Ash finds solace in her superhero alter ego while hiding in her favorite tree. But when her physical safety is threatened, Ash must fight her instinctive self-concealment to learn who she can trust. In her debut middle grade novel, Gordon (The Redemption of Daya Keane) touches on themes of gender identity and sexuality to deliver a strong message about the necessity of letting in people who will see and support one's most authentic self. The inclusion of supportive adults who actively work to earn Ash's trust, especially as she struggles between self-protection and vulnerability, populate this sensitive read. Ages 8--12. (Nov.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 5 Up--Ash has no one she can trust. In her first week of middle school she is relentlessly bullied because of her gender expression, and she knows she will find no comfort at home. Her foster placement with Gladys was tolerable before Gladys's adult son, Jordan, moved into their tiny home along with his girlfriend and their baby. Now Ash is constantly exhausted from handling the baby's nighttime care while the thin wall of their bedroom fails to hide the sounds of Jordan abusing his girlfriend. This is Ash's ninth foster home in eight years and she knows that it violates rules that are designed to protect her, but she heeds Gladys's warnings not to tell her caseworker, fearing that her next placement could be even worse. Despite other characters' fixation on her sexuality and gender expression, this is not a coming-out story, and Ash is refreshingly unconcerned with using labels to define herself. Ash's voice is authentic and moving, and readers will root for her as she learns who to trust when she can no longer keep herself safe from Jordan's increasingly threatening behavior. The ending is a little too convenient, but its hopeful note is a welcome end to a harrowing read. Ash's race is not specified. Additional characters are diverse and appropriate for the northern California setting. VERDICT An affecting story of persistent trauma that leaves the door open for eventual healing.--Amy Reimann
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A tough kid earns a family. Twelve-year-old Ashley Dalton, who prefers to be called Ash, has one refuge in the world: a walnut tree in the yard of her foster mother's rental house, where she lives along with her foster mother's volatile son, his girlfriend, and their baby, who shares a room with Ash. Middle school, where Ash gets bullied for being unfeminine in her clothing and appearance, is scary and threatening. And then, making things worse, her new social studies teacher assigns the class to draw family trees. Ash's past is no one's business but her own. Eventually, with the help of her friends Gentry Noble (a gentle boy who's lost his own mother) and Joss Cruz (a supremely cool girl who's also concealing family secrets)--along with adults who listen to Ash, appreciate her talents, and ask the students to consider what they don't know--she finds the courage to confide in a teacher and her friends about the trouble she's in. Gordon's middle-grade debut is gritty, messy, and honest, with complex, nuanced characters navigating a realistically complex world that includes abuse, drug use, and homophobia. Ash's simple request at the end--"I want to live with people who actually care about me"--feels earned, and attainable. Ash and Gentry read white, and Joss is cued Latine. A finely drawn and cleanly written story that will give readers hope. (author's note, resources)(Fiction. 10-14) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
