As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
To continue you need an active subscription to hbook.com.
Subscribe now to gain immediate access to everything hbook.com has to offer, as well as our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database, which contains tens of thousands of short, critical reviews of books published in the United States for young people.
Thank you for registering. To have the latest stories delivered to your inbox, select as many free newsletters as you like below.
No thanks. Return to article
(2)
YA
A change of summer plans finds seventeen-year-old narrator Emma--whose mother died of an overdose years back and whose father has just remarried--staying with her mom's large, boisterous extended family for a few weeks at the motel they run. Privileged, anxiety-prone Emma quickly acclimates to the working-class environs and bonds with her relatives, soon embracing a new, more laidback identity. Dessen's latest novel is largely about the ups and downs of family.
Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2019