Eleven and Holding

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. (June)

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