Bounce

Publishers Weekly

Shortly after her widower father announces he is remarrying, 13-year-old Evyn and her older brother move with him from their house in Maine to the Boston brownstone of their soon-to-be stepmother and six stepsiblings. For solace, Evyn confides in her dead mother, who died when Evyn was a baby, even though she admits she is really just talking to herself; in these conversations her mother advises her to let the bad stuff "bounce" off her, but it's hard. Evyn misses her best friend-who seems to have moved on very quickly, acquiring a new best friend and boyfriend-and she hates both her too-eager stepmother and her private girls' school, where she becomes a target of the popular clique. Friend (Lush) throws in plenty of plot lines, including Evyn's crush on her oldest stepbrother and her belated discovery that the school's mean It girl is constantly criticized by her mother; some of these developments feel more convenient than organic. But the author has an unmistakable gift for exploring family dynamics, and even though Evyn doesn't immediately understand such exchanges as the constant bickering of the twins whose bedroom she shares, they will be instantly recognizable to many readers. The tender scenes have a genuine poignancy, as when Evyn and her dad share a heart-to-heart in the middle of night, or when Evyn's stepmother tells her about her own mother's death. In the end, these moving moments make for a story that's both real and heartfelt. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Sarah Applegate

Thirteen-year-old Evyn's world is turned upside down by her dad's announcement that he is marrying a woman he barely knows and moving the family to Boston. She struggles to accept this transition, but it turns out that fitting in with her new family and making friends in a new school is not easy. Evyn experiences scorn from the popular clique at school, unrequited crushes, and growing distance from the friends she left behind. However, as Evyn's resistance to change gradually breaks down, she finds that her newfound surroundings may not be as terrible as she once imagined. Bounce effectively addresses the universally relevant issues of remarriage, adjustment, and a desire for acceptance. Friend's writing is simultaneously honest and refreshingly lighthearted, and by providing access to Evyn's internal dialogue, her readers will find themselves empathizing with this young girl's struggle to find her own identity and accept who she truly is. Reviewer: Sarah Applegate

School Library Journal

Gr 6-8
At her 13th-birthday dinner, Evyn's hippie father, Birdie, drops a bomb. He is going to marry Eleni Gartos, a college professor with six children, and Evyn and her 15-year-old brother will be leaving their home in Maine and moving to Boston with him. Evyn feels that her world has collapsed, while Mackey just asks to have two desserts. Feeling alone, the girl begins a dialogue with her dead mother as she imagines her. Friend captures the emotions and angst of a teen on the brink of womanhood thrust into a large, vocal stepfamily while having to share her father with a woman she hardly knows and a house full of stepsiblings. Throughout her ups and downs, Birdie's love remains constant, her stepsiblings are accepting, and her brother is transforming himself from a nerdy computer geek into a fledgling thespian. When her stepmother becomes pregnant, Evyn sets out to hop a bus to Maine. The beginnings of acceptance and possibilities are ignited as she learns to follow her inner "wise woman"-her mother's advice-and to "bounce" with the changes in her life. Friend offers no fairy-tale ending but presents, through hip conversations and humor, believable characters and a feel-good story with a satisfying amount of pathos.
—D. Maria LaRoccoCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.