Stevie Calhoun knows
how to take care of herself. It’s not like her mom hasn’t disappeared before.
So why is Aunt Mindy making such a big deal of it now? It’s not like Mom’s
really doing meth. Stevie makes sure of that. Whatever. She’ll go home with
Aunt Mindy if it will keep her from calling Child Protective Services—but it
doesn’t mean she’ll stay. Mom will come back. Mom always comes back. And Stevie
will be there when she does. But when Stevie meets Alan—frustrating and
fascinating and so-different-from-everyone-she-knows Alan—and she starts
helping out at the bird rehab center, things begin to look different. Even the
tutoring and the ridiculous outfits Aunt Mindy’s forcing her into might not be
so bad. Not that Stevie would say it out loud. She can’t. Because how can
anything be good if it doesn’t include Mom?
It’s easy for someone
on the outside of a bad relationship to see that it’s bad. But when you’re in
the thick of it, especially when it’s between a parent and child, it’s almost
impossible.
This story brilliantly
shows the perspective of a teenage girl in a less than ideal home life with her
mother. Actually, it’s the same perspective as one who is in some kind of
abusive relationship: there are the good moments, which can be amazingly wonderful,
and then there are the bad moments, which can be absolutely horrid. Stevie
experiences both on some level, so it’s so clear to see why she takes her
mother’s side even though the truth is staring her in the face. So well done.
Stevie is a great
character. She feels like a real teen trying to muddle her way through life. She
chooses a more optimistic outlook in order to make her life feel better, even
when the bad parts are up front and center. I really identified with that.
I actually wish this
story had been a bit longer because Stevie seems to ‘see the light,’ so to
speak, a little too easily. I liked the metaphors with the birds, a lot, but
the path from metaphor to understanding was a little too quick for my taste.
Still, this story does
a great job of exploring what it feels like to be in an unhealthy relationship
and why people stay in them. Definitely recommended.
2 comments:
Sounds like an interesting story. Thanks.
Hmm, I haven't heard of this one. It's not really the kind of book I normally read, though, so that may be why.
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