Chloe Cannon’s narration of a family’s escape from a tornado has the perfect mixture of anxiety and fear. When a tornado destroys Ivy Aberdeen’s home, the 12-year-old manages to save her notebook in which she journals by drawing her deepest secrets. After her family is relocated to a temporary shelter and Ivy’s notebook goes missing, she tries to discover who took it and is leaving messages written on her drawings in her locker. Cannon gives a unique vocal personality to each of the characters. She captures Ivy’s uncertainty about her feelings for another girl, her loneliness within her family, and her moments of overwhelming emotion due to her current circumstances. A.L.S.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Same-sex attraction is rare in middle-grade fiction, so it's gratifying to see the full arc of [the] relationship as Ivy's feelings move beyond simple friendship. Blake captures all the exhilaration of a first crush without shying away from Ivy's confusion and her worries about acceptance. Blake is adept at revealing how powerfully a misunderstanding can lodge in a child's mind, and Ivy's…assumption about how her sister might react to her feelings for a girl adds another layer of tension to a family in crisis. The sisters' relationship is one of the great rewards of this novel that includes a large and vivid cast of secondary characters, who give the story its sense of abundant texture.

★ 01/01/2018
After 12-year-old Ivy’s rural Georgia home is obliterated by a tornado, she heads to a shelter for the night with her parents, older sister, and twin baby brothers. There, Ivy ends up hanging out with her classmate June, a budding poet who admires Ivy’s drawing talent. The same night, Ivy’s treasured notebook goes missing—a book where she brought all her secrets to life, including the fact that Ivy thinks she likes girls. Worse, the person who has her notebook starts leaving notes in her locker, telling Ivy she should share her secret with someone she trusts. Black (Suffer Love) gives Ivy the deep-thinking soul of an artist, gently examining the trauma of losing her home, Ivy’s excitement about her crush on June, and her fears that people will judge her if they discover her secret. Blake dots Ivy’s world with sensitive and knowing conversation partners, young and old, with whom Ivy shares her questions and worries. This is an emotionally sensitive and elegantly written novel about loss and the first stirrings of love. Ages 8–12. Agent: Rebecca Podos, Rees Literary. (Mar.)

"Blake captures all the exhilaration of a first crush without shying away from Ivy's confusion....The sisters' relationship is one of the great rewards of this novel that includes a large and vivid cast of secondary characters, who give the story its sense of abundant texture."—The New York Times Book Review

"There are some books that we never forget. This is one of those books. Impactful, emotional, and important."—Erin Entrada Kelly, Newbery award-winning author of Hello, Universe

"A tenderhearted novel that should be in the hands of every reader."—Kat Yeh, author of The Truth About Twinkie Pie and The Way to Bea

"Ashley Herring Blake's novel captures the confusion, thrills and heartache of a first crush so perfectly that you will hold this book close to your heart."—Lisa Yee, author of the DC Super Hero Girls series

* " Ivy's story is no mere niche-filler in LGBTQ middle-grade realism—it's a standard-setter."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "Filling a much-needed gap in middle grade literature, this story addresses not just the topic of a first crush, but also the invisibility frequently felt by middle children...Young readers will find Ivy's challenges very real and will sympathize with her choices, both good and bad."—School Library Journal, starred review

* "This is an emotionally sensitive and elegantly written novel about loss and the first stirrings of love."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This necessary and emotionally complex addition to the body of middle-grade literature offers readers a positive, complex, and courageous portrayal of burgeoning sexuality and relationships within the world of junior high."—Booklist

"Blake creates a sensitive portrayal of a preteen who's begun to figure herself out but isn't sure how she meshes with others, and of the bumbling and overstressed, but well-meaning, friends and family around her."—The Horn Book

★ 01/01/2018
Gr 4–6—A sweet story of a first crush and being stuck in the middle. In the aftermath of a tornado, Ivy and her family find themselves without a home and dependent upon the kindness of others. Already often overlooked as the middle child, Ivy feels even more invisible now that her family of six shares a small hotel room. What's worse, Ivy is developing feelings for another girl at school; but after hearing the way her older sister reacted when her best friend came out, Ivy doesn't know who to talk to. Filling a much-needed gap in middle grade literature, this story addresses not just the topic of a first crush, but also the invisibility frequently felt by middle children. The protagonist struggles with the disappearance of a beloved journal after a tornado and a lack of privacy while sharing one room with her entire family. She is too young to help care for her twin brothers but old enough that she is often forgotten about. Ivy doesn't feel comfortable discussing her blossoming romantic feelings with her family but is able to find a trusted adult in whom to confide. Young readers will find Ivy's challenges very real and will sympathize with her choices, both good and bad. Give to fans of Tim Federle's Better Nate than Ever or Barbara Dee's Star-Crossed. VERDICT Relatable and engaging. A first purchase for public and school libraries.—Jenni Frencham, Columbus Public Library, WI

Chloe Cannon’s narration of a family’s escape from a tornado has the perfect mixture of anxiety and fear. When a tornado destroys Ivy Aberdeen’s home, the 12-year-old manages to save her notebook in which she journals by drawing her deepest secrets. After her family is relocated to a temporary shelter and Ivy’s notebook goes missing, she tries to discover who took it and is leaving messages written on her drawings in her locker. Cannon gives a unique vocal personality to each of the characters. She captures Ivy’s uncertainty about her feelings for another girl, her loneliness within her family, and her moments of overwhelming emotion due to her current circumstances. A.L.S.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

★ 2017-11-27
Twelve-year-old Ivy Aberdeen finds comfort in drawing; she keeps a private sketchbook the way other kids her age keep written diaries.After a tornado destroys her home, her notebook, filled with things Ivy isn't ready to talk about or trust with anyone, goes missing, and she feels the last bit of her world drop out from under her. The images are telling; there can be no doubt that the white girl with the "coiling mane" of wild strawberry-blonde hair is 12-year-old Ivy or that she's holding hands with a dark-haired white girl in every picture. When her drawings begin turning up in her school locker, Ivy's biggest fear comes true: someone knows her secret. The mystery person encourages Ivy to come out, but whom can she trust? Is she even ready? Blake's (Suffer Love, 2016) first middle-grade novel is characterized by rich, descriptive prose. The tornado scene is filled with breathtaking urgency as Ivy and her family run for safety, and the descriptions of Ivy's contradictory and confusing feelings capture the heartbreaking difficulty of a non-normative early adolescence filled with questions of identity and belonging. Most characters are assumed white; the black lesbian who owns the inn where the Aberdeens stay after the storm and who steps in as a surrogate mother while Ivy's own is occupied with insurance and a sick baby, is engaged to a brown-skinned Latina.Ivy's story is no mere niche-filler in LGBTQ middle-grade realism—it's a standard-setter. (Fiction. 8-14)