Eleven and Holding

March 28, 2016
Compassionate portrayals of grief, courage, and resilience season this compelling coming-of-age story from Penney (the author of Love and Pollywogs from Camp Calamity and other titles as Mary Hershey). Macy Hollinquest is on a mission to bring her father home in time for her 12th birthday; he served in Iraq and is now working on a mysterious “special project” in a nearby Colorado town. Distrustful of the adults in her life and especially frustrated with her mother, Macy turns to Switch, a charming 14-year-old runaway, who attempts to drive Macy to find her father on a motorbike with a sidecar: “And off we flew, looking exactly like my mother’s worst nightmare.” Dispersed throughout the narrative, letters in which Macy introduces herself to her new middle school teacher reveal her hidden struggles: “Here is something that I don’t like: C-H-A-N-G-E!” Macy’s candid narrative voice and expressive observations (“Aunt Liv’s life was like one of the sad country Western songs she played all day”) bring humor and pathos to Penney’s tender, emotionally satisfying story. Ages 8–12. Agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

April 1, 2016

Gr 4-6-Macy is feeling overwhelmed by change. There's the recent death of her grandmother, a new baby brother, and the reality that her best friend Twee won't be going to middle school with her in the fall. And it gets worse. While her dad has been away for much too long on "important business" following his discharge from the Marines, her mom seems to be spending too much time with the guy who bought Nana's coffee shop over the determined wishes of Macy. Her birthday is just days away, but Macy refuses to turn 12 until her dad can be with her to celebrate. She and Twee soon meet an old woman named Ginger who seems to suffer from some kind of dementia and is offering a reward for the recovery of her lost dog. Macy decides that searching for Ginger's lost dog may be the perfect cover for her true mission: finding her dad. Twee, who was born in Vietnam and adopted by an American family as a baby, tends to be the voice of reason. Despite Twee's influence, the jumble of issues and the mystery about Macy's dad's absence doing "hush hush" work for the military combine to push Macy to ignore all sanity and make some questionable decisions-heading off to the big city with a skateboarding underage boy on a motorbike promises high jinks and additional troubles to overcome. The blend of ordinary and unexpected events is appealing. Middle graders will relate to the theme of resisting change and accepting hard truths. VERDICT An emotional coming-of-age tale that will resonate with readers who appreciate contemporary, realistic, character-driven novels.-Carol A. Edwards, Formerly at Denver Public Library, CO

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2016
Since Macy's Iraq War-veteran father left the family to work on a "special project," it seems like nothing is really right in her life. The situation is exacerbated by her other issues: her beloved nana has died, and Macy is starting seventh grade in the fall without her BFF, Twee, a Vietnamese adoptee who's a year younger. Then she meets Ginger, an endearingly oddball older woman who is looking for her lost dog, and Switch, a young teen skateboarder who leads a mysterious life and might just be a friend. Macy learns that her dad is just 100 miles away, so she plans to sneak off on a bus to try to bring him back, but she ends up riding there in the sidecar of a motorcycle driven by Switch, who has--sort of--stolen it. There are many hints that things aren't as they seem. Ginger is confused; is her dog really lost, or maybe he's dead? Could Switch be the runaway foster child that Macy's mother, a probation officer, is looking for? Clues that things were far from good with Macy's father before he left are also abundant, and canny readers will pick up on all of this before the reveal. It hardly matters though. Driven by attractive, colorful characters, this tale is immersive and engaging. With the exception of Twee, the major characters are white. Lively, funny, tender without being syrupy, and full of life. (Fiction. 10-14)

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July 1, 2016
Eleven-year-old narrator Macy's father hasn't returned home since coming back from Iraq. She knows he's working on a "special project that is extremely important," but she fears he won't be back in time for her birthday. Penney's novel brings to light some of the issues families of military personnel face. Readers will enjoy Macy's independent, adventurous spirit in this story about growing up, friendship, and forgiveness.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2016
Eleven-year-old narrator Macy Hollinquest lives in the town of Constant, Colorado, but as her birthday approaches, she knows that despite the town's name, nothing stays the same. The coffee shop her Nana owned until her death has been sold (to a "dirty rat fink"). Her mother is too busy caring for Macy's baby brother to pay her much attention. Soon she'll be starting middle school without her best friend, Twee. And worst of all, her father hasn't returned home since being discharged after his military service in Iraq. Macy knows that he is working on a "special project that is extremely important," but she fears he won't be back in time for her birthday, and there's no way she's turning twelve without him. Bringing her father home becomes Macy's mission on the last week of summer break, but her quest to find a lost dog (which may not in fact be missing), a hard-to-fool best friend, and her aversion to traveling by bus prove to be obstacles. In discovering the truth about her father's absence (Macy finds him in a rehab center, being treated for alcoholism), Macy realizes that those she had thought were her enemies may be on her side after all. Penney's novel brings to light some of the issues families of military personnel face. While the dialogue occasionally feels stiff and includes expressions that seem dated for contemporary tweens ("she's a peach"), readers will enjoy Macy's independent, adventurous spirit in this story about growing up, friendship, and forgiveness. celia c. perez

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)