Rating: 4 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
Shay is a 14-year-old girl who has been through five foster families in a year. She distrusts her social worker, her new foster family, everyone. And she has her reasons for it. Being the new kid in school is hard; being a foster kid in school is harder. She deals with bullies, crushes, mean teachers and nice ones, homework, hiding, lying, and — above all — being afraid. Shay is confused about her feelings towards her father, who is now out of prison, and doesn’t know what she wants. Fortunately, the Morgensterns make certain to get her a psychologist who gives Shay a journal in which to record her anger, which becomes … The Anger Chronicles. Shay then tells us her story through her journal entries as she settles in with a new family and deals with middle school, coming out, and her estranged father.
This is a slice of life book following roughly half a year in Shay’s life as she settles in with the Morgensterns. There’s not much plot to this beyond Shay enduring middle school, making friends, and making enemies, but that’s not the point. For all that the Morgensterns are Jewish — with Mrs. Morgenstern being a Rabbi — religion isn’t the focus, either. It’s there, a source of comfort for Shay’s adoptive family, but they never pressure her. She’s welcome, always welcome, but she’s just as welcome to stay home on the days they go to temple.
It’s clear how much Shay flourishes under their gentle parenting. Both adults make time for Shay, both as authority figures and as support. It’s very clear how hard they’re trying to meet Shay where she is. And it’s also clear that Shay, for all the struggles she’s endured, all the hurt she’s keeping close to her heard, is a good kid. She apologizes (eventually) when she’s wrong. She stands up for people. She knows the difference between right and wrong, she just doesn’t always know how to handle the feelings that come with everything.
Shay has a strong voice, and the writing — for all that it’s through the eyes of a fourteen-year old — is confident and easy to read. The pace is good, with Shay skipping the parts she finds boring or inconsequential and lingering over the ones that matter to her, like the first time she gets her crush to smile at her, or a talk with her favorite teacher.
This is a sweet story, full of optimism and hope. It’s not a romance, but it is about love — letting yourself be loved and loving yourself. This is about friendship and found families, and it was a delight to read.
