"Realistic, moving, and paints a wonderful picture of nontraditional families."
Southwest Ohio and Neighboring Libraries (SWON)
"A moving story about the bonds of family...This is a highly engaging, high interest novel that addresses tough family issues. The reader easily empathizes with Sid as he grapples with tough decisions."
"The characters are wonderful and well-drawn...Chloe's exuberance is a perfect foil to Sid's need for peace and quiet daily. She provides a bit of needed humor along the way. Each has a unique voice and plays an important role in the unfolding drama...The setting itself seems like a character that soothes with a peaceful calm that envelops those living there. Families come in all shapes, and this book is testament to that."
Sal's Fiction Addiction blog
"An absolute gem of a book about what makes a family a family as well as friendship, love, tolerance and so much more...As a coming-of-age book, this is a winner...Highly recomended."
TriState YA Book Review Committee
"Harvey does a beautiful job balancing the story's many plot threads, while creating realistic, compelling characters. Identity, mental illness, social security (and insecurity), racial concerns, and recovery from trauma are all themes that surface throughout the novel without ever overwhelming the strong, skillfully told story."
"Because of its great characters this story is multidimensional, realistic, and human, yet also relatable, optimistic, and bright."
YALSA YA Galley Teen Review
"Harvey does a beautiful job balancing the story's many plot threads, while creating realistic, compelling characters. Identity, mental illness, social security (and insecurity), racial concerns, and recovery from trauma are all themes that surface throughout the novel without ever overwhelming the strong, skillfully told story."
Gr 8 Up—Sixteen-year-old Sid is a budding artist who lives with his beloved foster parents, Megan and Caleb, on an island in British Columbia. His parents have just taken in Fariza, a girl who distrusts all males and does not speak at all. Soon, Sid and Fariza are together and Fariza grows comfortable around him. Just as they begin to make a connection, Phil arrives. He is a friend of Sid's birth mother, Devi, and needs Sid's help. He explains that Sid has a half brother, Wain, who has gone missing, and he needs help finding him. After deciding to go, Sid meets his wealthy grandmother. He visits his mother's studio and discovers where his artistic abilities come from. And, he eventually finds his brother, who also had no idea that he has a sibling. Sid soon realizes how lucky he is to have been taken in by his foster parents, as he has manners, a moral compass, and a quiet life that he loves. The plot is a bit far-fetched, and loose ends are tied up all too quickly in a pretty package at the book's end. However, the author offers insight into what it is like to deal with a parent's mental illness. Sid is too good to be true, and his ability to stay calm in all crises will either be inspiring or too saccharine for readers.—Lindsay Klemas, JM Rapport School for Career Development, Bronx, NY
Sid, 16, is an odd, orderly soul. He wears black T-shirts and jeans exclusively, sketches obsessively, hangs out with his best friend, Chloe, and helps out with Caleb and Megan's other foster kids on their peaceful British Columbia island. At age 2, Sid (short for Siddhartha) was taken from his bipolar mother, Devi, who'd neglected him; now only his private sketchbooks hint at his difficult history. After he shares these with mute, traumatized foster child Fariza, they create stories together, a healing process interrupted when Devi's friend Phil arrives. Sid learns he has a 13-year-old half brother, Wain (short for Gawain), who's gone missing. Phil enlists Sid's help in searching for him in Victoria. There, Sid discovers the source of his artistic gifts, meets his congenial grandmother and easily locates his brother, who's touchy, sullen and black. Many questions go unasked and unanswered. Why, after 14 years, haven't Sid's foster parents adopted him? Do the boys ever think about their birth fathers? What is it like to be the black son of a white mother in such a white world? Appealing, original characters--especially Sid, eccentric but high-functioning--are a strong suit. While strangely tone deaf to adoption and transracial family issues, Harvey portrays parental mental illness and the long-term effects of childhood trauma with compassionate insight. (Fiction. 12 & up)
