A review by idontkaren
My Brother's Shadow by Tom Avery
4.0
I read this entirely in one sitting (at the DMV! where I could have easily finished Anna Karenina as well). It is a sad, quiet book about a girl grieving in the aftermath of her brother's death. It's simple and spare in writing style (almost felt Scandanavian, but the author is English). No dad and her mother is basically checked out, so a lot of her interactions with people are at school. The author is a teacher, so he nails day-to-day life in the class and on the playground. The kids (not just the girl, but her peers) and their confused emotions and behavior felt genuine.
The girl is biracial, but it's subtly worked into the story, you'd almost miss it if you're not a close reader, but I kind of liked that. There are other subtleties - namely the wild boy - that some very young kids might not get, but it's a mysterious kind of nice. Reminded me of So Much to Tell You (Marsden) and the Ice Palace (Vesaas) but for a younger audience. I didn't make the connection to A Monster Calls til I read the description/reviews here, but now I definitely see that similarity, too.
The girl is biracial, but it's subtly worked into the story, you'd almost miss it if you're not a close reader, but I kind of liked that. There are other subtleties - namely the wild boy - that some very young kids might not get, but it's a mysterious kind of nice. Reminded me of So Much to Tell You (Marsden) and the Ice Palace (Vesaas) but for a younger audience. I didn't make the connection to A Monster Calls til I read the description/reviews here, but now I definitely see that similarity, too.