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Ellis, Ann Dee
4 Reviews
(3)
4-6
Olivia is juggling more than any almost-thirteen-year-old should. Since her dad left the family, Olivia cares for her little sister, prepares meals her exhausted single mother won't eat, and regularly enters sweepstakes in hopes their luck will improve and they can move out of Sunny Pines Trailer Park. Ellis poignantly reveals Olivia's inner life, her anger, and the daydreams that enable her to survive.
Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin
(3)
YA
Emmy has put her life on hold, waiting for her dead best friend to "cross the veil" and visit, as Kim had promised; Emmy does see ghosts, but not Kim's. Told in brief, tantalizing chapters interspersed with longer flashbacks, the plot unfolds in a satisfyingly deliberate pace. Deceptively simple language helps untangle themes of friendship, jealousy, guilt, and grief.
Reviewer: Siena Leslie
(3)
YA
After Mazzy's sister dies, her mother becomes too depressed to get out of bed and her father moves out. In denial, Mazzy tries to fend for herself, spending her days chatting with neighbors, snowing the social worker, and creating artwork. Though unremittingly bleak, Ellis's spare novel is a fascinating portrait of a family rent by grief, misplaced blame, and mental illness.
Reviewer: Amanda Mc. MacGregor
(3)
YA
In this psychological drama, readers are pulled into Logan's mind as he tries to cope with his guilt over the terrible event that changed his life: silently witnessing his best friend kill his father after years of abuse. With its taut prose, this suspenseful and disturbing story is sure to engage even the most reluctant readers.
Reviewer: Aimee Chevrette Bear
4 reviews
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