(2) 4-6 Twelve-year-old Hazel and her younger sister have been moving around the country with Mama for two years, ever since Hazel's other mother died in a kayak accident for which the protagonist blames herself and which left her with visible scars. Now, they've arrived for the summer in Rose Harbor, Maine, where the ocean is difficult to avoid despite Hazel's fear of it since the accident. While Mama, reunited (perhaps a bit too coincidentally) with her first love Claire, begins to move on, Hazel's processing of her own grief is slower, though helped along by the friendships she forms. The novel surrounds her with people who affirm her need for patience, notably Claire's daughter Lemon, who is herself grieving the loss of her twin sister; and Jules, a friend who is nonbinary and on whom Hazel develops a crush. Blake (most recently The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James, rev. 3/19) balances many plot elements, often serious ones, without overburdening the narrative, to create a character-based, atmospheric novel with a strong sense of place.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(2) 4-6 Twelve-year-old heart transplant recipient Sunny is seeking a "New Life," including finding a better best friend (her old one outed her as bisexual) and a kissing partner. A girl named Quinn is willing to help--an endeavor that raises more questions than answers. Meanwhile, Sunny's long-absent mother is back in her life. Measured revelations of backstory and emotion-infused first-person narration balance major upheaval with private questions of identity.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) 4-6 When a tornado destroys twelve-year-old Ivy's rural Georgia home, her distress is compounded by the loss of her notebook full of drawings of herself holding hands with another girl. Then someone begins returning the drawings to her locker with notes. This sensitive portrayal of Ivy's first crush and internal conflict around coming out believably melds with concerns about her large family and her place in it.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(2) YA After breaking up with her girlfriend, Charlie, bisexual high schooler Mara relies on the closeness of her relationship with her twin brother, Owen, to cope with her emotions. However, Mara's world shatters when her best friend accuses Owen of rape. Blake strives admirably and with resounding success for emotional authenticity while exploring complex issues of consent, trauma, relationships, and identity.

Reviewer: Anastasia M. Collins | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018

(3) YA Grace's mother Maggie is wild, unpredictable, and temperamental. All Grace wants to do this summer is work without her mother stealing her tips; practice for her piano audition in New York; and spend time with Eva, a new friend who turns into something more. And caring for Maggie has become a task too great for Grace to bear. Emotionally resonant without being melodramatic.

Reviewer: Sarah Hannah Gomez

(3) YA Ever since she discovered her dad's affair, no one can get close to seventeen-year-old Hadley...until Sam, with whom she has an undeniable connection--and who has a secret that could destroy both their lives. This star-crossed romance, told from both perspectives, is honest about flawed family relationships and forbidden love. The characters' palpable emotions build tension until the story's inevitable heartbreaking climax.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes