Rocky Road

June 28, 2010
Financial troubles, bipolar disorder, and the pain of being the new kid are just a few of the themes explored in this sweet story about 12-year-old Tess Dobson, who is wise—and strong—beyond her years. She has to be: her eight-year-old younger brother, Jordan, is deaf, and her single mother, Delilah, is prone to wacky business ideas, money problems, and "Shooting Stars," Tess's term for her mother's bouts of depression. After being evicted, Delilah moves Tess and Jordan from Texas to Schenectady, N.Y.—into a retirement community. Delilah plans to open an ice cream shop, and although things are going according to plan (Tess and Jordan are making friends in school and in their new apartment complex), Tess feels uneasy: "My whole life I've wanted to trust Ma, but that's impossible if you're around her more than an hour." When Shooting Stars strike on the day of the store's big opening, Tess must rely on her new friends. Though the narrative runs long and things tie up a bit too neatly, Kent's (Kimchi and Calamari) sympathetic heroine and heartening conclusion should satisfy readers. Ages 8–12.

June 1, 2010
Grades 5-7 With stars in her eyes, Ma moves seventh-grader Tess and her younger brother Jordan, who is deaf, from Texas to Schenectady, New York, where she plans to open an ice-cream shop. With dread in the pit of her stomach, Tess starts her new school and begins to make friends in their new neighborhood, a senior-living community. Though its good to see her mother so full of energy, ideas, and optimism, she knows that Mas soaring emotional states inevitably plummet into crushing episodes of depression. Readers with their own family challenges may find it heartening to see Tess handle hers by building a diverse, supportive, multigenerational community around her. The storys slow pace gives plenty of time to develop characters and relationships so that when the dreaded climax occurs, it seems believable that Tess has the help she needs to cope with it. Predictable, yes, but also a hopeful family story from the author of Kimchi and Calamari (2007).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2010
As Tess and her deaf brother Jordan accept their sudden relocation to Schenectady, their well-intentioned but mentally imbalanced mother pursues her dream of owning an ice cream parlor. Their mother's plans are quickly threatened by "Shooting Stars"--Tess's term for her mother's "seesaw moods"--but friends rally to the rescue. Though the novel's resolution ultimately feels too neat, resourceful Tess's narration is dynamic.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)