Review by Booklist Review
Growing up in the tiny logging town of Mineral, Washington, 14-year-old Ida has always felt like she doesn't fit in. A heart condition keeps her on the sidelines for any physical activity, and her keen interest in geography and successful participation in local Geography Bees is perceived as obsessive and odd. When Elna, her worldly older cousin, arrives unexpectedly while her mom is in court-ordered rehab, rule-abiding Ida immediately idolizes her. She's fascinated by Elna's edgy ways and disregard for authority, and her glamorous cousin is the first person who doesn't treat her like an outsider. But as the girls' friendship grows, so does trouble, with Elna simultaneously encouraging Ida to be more confident and drawing her into a series of traumatic and dangerous adventures, culminating with stealing a car and running away after the revelation of a startling family secret. Readers who enjoy Frieda McFadden's fast-paced thrillers will appreciate Champine's (Knife River, 2024) tautly plotted tale of psychological suspense with a poignant coming-of-age story at its heart.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The sharply observed sophomore effort by Champine (Knife River) examines the double-edged bond between two teen girls. Ida, the neurodivergent 14-year-old narrator, spends most of her free time helping her mother at the family's convenience store in their fading logging town of Mineral, Wash. At school, she's regularly bullied by her classmates. After her guidance counselor calls her a "square peg," she's overcome by a "sick feeling... of having done something wrong, and everyone could understand what it was but me." Her perspective shifts when her 16-year-old cousin, Elna, arrives from San Francisco for an extended stay. Elna turns out to be a hustler, earning money by mending clothes for the loggers. Ida envies the pretty older girl's free spirit ("Like there was a formula my cousin had cracked that made the world, and the people in it, easy for her to navigate"). When Elna gives Ida a butterfly charm, Ida feels "a surge of belonging so powerful I thought my heart might explode." But Elna's charisma belies a dark side, and her magical effect on Ida evaporates during their confrontation with a logger, which turns violent after he catches them stealing from him. In Ida, Champine has crafted a singular perspective, and the plot builds to a surprising twist. This satisfies. Agent: Samantha Shea, Georges Borchardt, Inc. (Dec.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Fourteen-year-old Ida lives in Mineral, a tiny logging town in Washington state that's scenic but isolated. Ida doesn't much connect with her classmates, who think she's odd, and her physical stamina is limited by the congenital hole in her heart, all of which causes her to retreat into herself. She spends her days sneaking off to swim in her beloved Needle Lake and dreaming of the world beyond Mineral. But when her older cousin Elna from San Francisco arrives to spend winter break in Mineral, Ida's world starts to shift. Elna accepts Ida as she is and even takes her under her wing. Elna is everything Ida is not: tough, confident, and quick to turn on the charm when necessary. Ida worships Elna but is also afraid of her, especially as the cousins' youthful pranks and hijinks, such as shoplifting, become more extreme and dangerous. Suddenly, the cousins have too many secrets to bear, and Elna decides that they should run away. VERDICT Champine (Knife River) offers a coming-of-age story that starts as a slow burn but quickly ignites into a bonfire in a shocking ending. For those who appreciate novels about family drama and adolescent angst.--Margie Ticknor
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A woman who grew up in a tiny Washington state logging town recounts the disturbing events of the year after her slightly older cousin came to stay. Fourteen-year-old Ida lives with her mother, Anne, over their convenience store in isolated Mineral, Washington. Not only is Ida different from other teenagers--for example, she's obsessed with maps and flags--but she's got a heart condition that prohibits her from physical activity. Still, she has her geography flash cards and occasional early-morning swims at the lake, as well as some dreams of her own that she shares with no one, including her attraction to other girls. But when Anne's troubled sister, Candace, enters rehab again, Anne agrees to let Candace's daughter, 17-year-old Elna, stay with them. Elna has clothes, jewelry, and cosmetics that intrigue Ida, as well as daring behaviors, like bumming a smoke from some of the loggers Anne takes in as boarders. While there's plenty of plot once Elna starts manipulating and deceiving everyone around her, the heart of this coming-of-age novel beats in Champine's careful and thorough depiction of a girl with on the spectrum who also has great, yet misunderstood, academic gifts. "The only part of school I didn't hate was my time in the library," Ida says. However, Ida's late-developing social skills make her easy prey for Elna's schemes, like searching a boarder's room for his stash of pills. Unfortunately for Ida, who can't tear herself away from Elna's daring behavior, each action leads to another. Readers might predict the climax, but it doesn't matter. The point is that Ida finds her way forward, sharing a happy, stable future that doesn't always occur for people on the spectrum. A standout; authentic voice and gritty detail give this novel power. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
