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OLDER FICTION
Richards, Alex

Accidental

368 pp. | Bloomsbury | July, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-1-5476-0358-9 $17.99 | Paper ISBN 978-1-5476-0662-7 $9.89 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-5476-0359-6 $12.59
(2) YA Ever since she was a toddler, Johanna has been raised by her maternal grandparents. They are caring and upstanding people, but they never talk about or share memories of their late daughter. Out of the blue, Johanna (a thriving teen, oblivious to her past) gets a letter from her estranged father, who wants to see her. Jo is thrilled to reconnect with her dad after thirteen years, even over her grandparents' objections, and to have access to information about her mother. What Jo didn't count on was the unspeakable truth about her mother's death: two-year-old Johanna pulling the trigger of her father's carelessly stored gun. What follows is a poignant account of a traumatized teen reexamining her identity and coming to grips with guilt, loss, and the betrayals and lies of the adults around her. Predictably, the lurid details of her early childhood come to light, and she is cruelly mocked and bullied at school, yet she is able to save her shattered sense of self and salvage her damaged relationships, at least the ones that matter. Debut author Richards captures the ongoing struggle and painful reality of such tragic events with raw honesty and compassion and affirms the healing power of love. Fans of realistic fiction and "ripped from the headlines" stories will find this a compelling read.
Reviewer: Luann Toth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

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