Middle-grade contemporary. A 12 year-old girl – Ivy, younger sister of one, older sister of baby twins, gifted but shy and closed-off artist – whose family loses their home to a tornado at the beginning of the book navigating post-disaster stress, topsy-turvy family dynamics, and figuring out who she is. And, of course, trying to determine who took her precious, precious sketchbook (which reveals her deepest self) and is passing her drawings back to her one by one. The writing is simple but good. The opening scenes of the tornado and its immediate aftermath are very well done and deftly draw you into the story. I enjoyed how Ivy’s unique way of looking at the world, as filtered through her art, shaped the book’s writing. The characters and relationship dynamics felt accurate and real. The book did lose a bit of its light touch and got more pedantic than it needed to be (even considering its target audience) towards the end, as crises were being resolved and lessons were being learned. Overall: sweet, enjoyable, and a pleasure to read, though whether it is for you is obviously dependent on how you feel about the genre.
Originally posted by Scott on Goodreads.