Publishers Weekly
06/01/2020
Raised by her white Baptist grandparents in Santa Fe, 16-year-old Johanna sometimes longs for younger guardians, like her friend Gabby’s energetic West Indian parents and her friend Leah’s warm Jewish mother. Johanna knows nothing about her own mom, whom she believes was killed in a car accident, until her estranged father, who pops suddenly back into her life via a letter, reveals that “there was a gun in the house. You were only a baby. You found it.” After Johanna absorbs the truth about having pulled the trigger at age two, her world reels out of control. The rage and guilt she feels intensify when rumors spread at school, and she becomes a victim of bullying, forced to navigate pain and humiliation. Though secondary characters (Johanna’s grand- parents; her new, good-natured boyfriend) can come off as one-dimensional in Richards’s dramatic debut, Johanna, with her harrowing internal journey and desperate attempts to find closure and peace, is an admirable, convincing heroine who is determined to make things right for herself. Ages 13–up. Agent: Lauren Galit, LKG Agency. (July)
From the Publisher
Richards deftly explores the myriad emotional struggles after an accidental gun death. . . . Tragic, moving and genuine.” —School Library Journal (starred review)
“A valuable take on a timely issue.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“In Richards's dramatic debut, Johanna, with her harrowing internal journey and desperate attempts to find closure and peace, is an admirable, convincing heroine who is determined to make things right for herself.” —Publishers Weekly
"Richards tackles this tragic story with fierce honesty. . . . when readers get into the trenches of Johanna’s emotional journey, they’ll be invested." - Booklist online
"Richards captures the ongoing struggle and painful reality of such tragic events with raw honesty and compassion and affirms the healing power of love. Fans of realistic fiction and “ripped from the headlines” stories will find this a compelling read." - The Horn Book Magazine
School Library Journal
★ 06/01/2020
Gr 9 Up—Johanna has lived with her grandparents since her mother died in a car accident when she was a toddler. Happy with her best friends, Gabby and Leah, and with a growing mutual attraction with newcomer Milo, Johanna leads the life of a typical teenager. Then the father who abandoned her long ago returns and reveals the shattering truth: When she was only three, Johanna came across a gun and accidentally killed her mother. Furious with the lie and devastated by her role in her mother's death, Johanna isn't prepared for the situation to get worse; then Gabby blurts out the story at school. Students on both sides of the gun safety issue clash, and when Johanna plans to paint a mural at school highlighting gun control, events and feelings spiral further out of hand. Ever-patient Milo struggles with Johanna's ferocious anger and grief, while Johanna must face hard truths about her father and begin a journey with her grandparents that could lead to healing. Richards deftly explores the myriad emotional struggles after an accidental gun death. Johanna is a compelling and unique character, and readers will empathize with the self-hatred she experiences. The growing relationship with Milo is sweetly evoked, and tempers the sobering themes. And while all the characters are richly delineated, the author stays true to the ravaged heart and soul of Johanna. In her impassioned voice, gun safety issues and statistics truly resonate. VERDICT Tragic, moving and genuine, this is a must for middle school and high school collections and should prove highly popular.—Lee De Groft, Jamestown H.S., Williamsburg, VA
Kirkus Reviews
2020-05-02
A teen unexpectedly faces the harsh realities of gun violence.
Sixteen-year-old Johanna Carlson has spent her life yearning to know what her mother was like; the maternal grandparents who raised her won’t discuss the daughter they lost. Johanna is resigned to live a quiet, stifling life in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her besties, Gabby and Leah, and maybe shake things up with the cute new transfer student, Milo. When her estranged father writes asking to meet, she hesitantly accepts his offer. Her father brings years of memories and pictures to share, but he also reveals that the story of the car accident she thought her mother died in was a lie her grandparents told. The truth: As a toddler, Johanna found an unsecured, loaded handgun and accidentally shot her mother. With her world in a tailspin, Johanna must find a way to forgive the adults who have abandoned and lied to her but also, more importantly, herself. The first-person narrative moves along at a steady pace, offering readers the rarely heard perspective of a child who is both the cause and victim of gun violence while also covering social issues such as bullying and religion. Johanna is white, Gabby is black, and Leah is Jewish and bisexual.
A valuable take on a timely issue. (Fiction. 14-18)
