True Blue

Publishers Weekly

Molly O'Connor, narrator of this flat-footed tale, feels responsible for the accident that has left her father incapacitated. Forced to move into an apartment, Molly cares for her dad while her mom supports the family as a waitress. The transition into her new school is predictably uneasy, and Molly quickly pairs with an outcast, skinny Chrys Lepido, who never removes his huge overcoat. Teaming up for a simplistic science project about the life cycle of a butterfly, the two seal their friendship. The plot takes a bizarre turn midway when it emerges that Chrys has butterfly wings hidden beneath his coat. Molly seems more dazzled by the fact that Chrys can conjure other winged friends to his side than the appearance of her pal's extra appendages. Incredulously, Chrys unveils his wings to his classmates to garner a science prize. With the prize money, Chrys and Molly buy her father a device that helps him communicate. Readers may be jolted by the fantastic elements and disappointed by the too-tidy end. Ages 10-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

VOYA

After Molly O'Connor's father is seriously injured in an automobile accident, he can no longer work as a journalist. Molly and her parents must move to a small apartment in a different school district. There Molly becomes the unenviable "new kid in school," and she also has to deal with her father's depression and disabilities—he is confined to a wheelchair and has problems swallowing and speaking—and her mother's fatigue and impatience after long hours of waitressing. Eventually Molly becomes friends with Chrys Lepido, another loner who seems to be concealing a strange secret. The two enter their project, "Metamorphosis and Iridescence in Butterflies," in a citywide science competition sponsored by a software corporation. After reaching the final round, their desire to win intensifies when they discover that first prize includes some software that could help Molly's father communicate. Thwarting their efforts is J. T., the school bully. Molly expresses her wish to "hide away for a while, and then come back as something completely new." The metaphor of a colorful butterfly emerging from a dull chrysalis applies to both Molly and Mr. O'Connor, but Chrys actually turns out to be a butterfly—a freak of nature who looks like a boy but who has butterfly wings hidden under his coat and who drinks nectar. This book can be read at a single sitting, and it contains many thoughtful examples about how to adapt to change and adversity. VOYA Codes: 3Q 4P M J (Readable without serious defects; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2003, Delacorte, 133p., Ages 11 to 15.
—Florence H. Munat

Children's Literature

As if it isn't bad enough that her father is wheelchair bound after a tragic accident, Molly must start a new school during the middle of the year. The first day is stressful and doesn't provide much hope for Molly until she meets a boy named Chrys. Chrys is shy, dressed inappropriately, and is teased by other students, but is a good artist. Their friendship grows as they work together on a science project, but questions come up when she finds out he was excused from P. E. classes, that he eats a special diet, and can't sleep lying down, all because of his "condition." This is where the book takes an unrealistic turn. I started off really liking the book because the author seemed to understand the emotions of a middle-school age student. However, half way through, I was disappointed. This could have been a touching story of change and growing up and dealing with differences, but the reactions of the characters weren't real (especially for a young teen), the "condition" could have been more realistic, and the ending was weak. 2003, Delacourt Press, Ages 12 to 14.
— Kathie Josephs

School Library Journal

Gr 6-8-After recovering from the physical and emotional trauma of a car accident, Molly must attend a new middle school. Her prominent science-journalist father is bound to a wheelchair, his speech garbled, his facial muscles paralyzed. Her mother has moved the family to a more affordable apartment and is working as a waitress to try and make ends meet. On Molly's first day at school, she meets Chrys, a painfully shy boy shrouded in a too-large overcoat. He is teased by the other students and taunted by the school bully. The two outsiders develop a friendship while working on a joint science competition. When Molly discovers Chrys's butterfly wings unfurled from under his bulky coat, this story takes a far-fetched twist. Unfortunately, formulaic dialogue and shallow character development plague this book. Molly's response to Chrys's affliction is more of a "gee whiz, why didn't you tell me?" attitude, rather than genuine shock and wonderment. Stories of metamorphosis do work, but this one is swaddled in a community teeming with superficial characters and ill-disguised social stigmas, and it seems to be grasping for meaning. For a thought-provoking and allegorical experience in "morphing," look to David Almond's Skellig (Delacorte, 1999).-Alison Follos, North Country School, Lake Placid, NY Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

A terrible car accident has crippled Molly's father and shattered her life in this slight but moving friendship tale. Molly has to start a new, cheaper school-where, inexplicably, all the students are very wealthy-now that her family is living on her mother's waitress income. Her schooldays are tortured by snotty, rich Vanessas and Courtneys, and every evening she comforts her depressed and newly quadriplegic father. Her only friend is the school freak, Chrys Lepido, who always wears an overcoat and eats milkweed for lunch. Chrys and Molly form a science fair team, and advance to the finals with their butterfly models. But Chrys has a secret deformity, and Molly is worried that her father will never recover. Together, as true friends, they find forgiveness, self-respect, and victory. The magic of technology makes for a pat, but satisfyingly happy, epilogue. (Fiction. 9-12)