Saving Red

by Sonya Sones Narrated by Caitlin Kelly

Overview

Sonya Sones, award-winning author of What My Mother Doesn't Know, delivers a gripping, funny, and inspiring novel in verse about what happens when the person you set out to save ends up saving you.

Right before winter break, fourteen-year-old Molly Rosenberg reluctantly volunteers to participate in Santa Monica's annual homeless count, just to get her school's community service requirement out of the way.

But when she ends up meeting Red, a spirited homeless girl only a few years older than she is, Molly makes it her mission to reunite her with her family in time for Christmas. This turns out to be extremely difficult-because Red refuses to talk about her past.

There are things Molly won't talk about either. Like the awful thing that happened last winter. She may never be ready to talk about that. Not to Red, or to Cristo, the soulful boy she meets while riding the Ferris wheel one afternoon.

When Molly realizes that the friends who Red keeps mentioning are nothing more than voices inside Red's head, she becomes even more concerned about her well-being. How will Molly keep her safe until she can figure out a way to get Red home?

In Sonya Sones's inspiring novel, two girls, with much more in common than they realize, give each other a new perspective on the meaning of family, friendship, and forgiveness.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A new book from Sonya Sones is always an event, and Saving Red shows why. This tender, taut novel in verse is both wise and full of heart.” — Deb Caletti, National Book Award finalist and author of Essential Maps for the Lost

“Original. Heart-wrenching. A beautiful treatise on empathy and love. These characters belong to you-as your own friends-when you read their story. Saving Red is an absolute treasure.” — John Corey Whaley, Printz Award winner and National Book Award finalist

“Each carefully crafted poem comes together to paint a vivid picture of love, loss, and the hope and humor that’s caught in between. Saving Red soars and will speak to the hearts of teen readers everywhere.” — Dr. Rose Brock, Sam Houston State University

“I love the way Sones’ verse carries the reader through the journey as though we’re riding a wave. We never know where it will crash down, or where it will lift us up gently—until it does.” — Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award winner

“A page-turning novel in verse about loss, grief, and redemption told in the voice of a wide-eyed, naive fourteen-year-old. A quick, accessible read for fans of emotional, character-driven titles.” — School Library Journal

“Sones tackles the topic of homelessness, runaways, and mental illness in another hard-hitting, but never overly dark, novel in verse. A beautiful window into the desperate futility of trying to save someone who doesn’t necessarily want to be saved.” — Booklist (starred review)

“[A] moving verse novel from Sones. Sones’s staccato, first-person poems sensitively trace the innocence Molly sheds as her world expands.” — Publishers Weekly

Jacqueline Woodson

I love the way Sones’ verse carries the reader through the journey as though we’re riding a wave. We never know where it will crash down, or where it will lift us up gently—until it does.

Deb Caletti

A new book from Sonya Sones is always an event, and Saving Red shows why. This tender, taut novel in verse is both wise and full of heart.

Booklist (starred review)

Sones tackles the topic of homelessness, runaways, and mental illness in another hard-hitting, but never overly dark, novel in verse. A beautiful window into the desperate futility of trying to save someone who doesn’t necessarily want to be saved.

Dr. Rose Brock

Each carefully crafted poem comes together to paint a vivid picture of love, loss, and the hope and humor that’s caught in between. Saving Red soars and will speak to the hearts of teen readers everywhere.

John Corey Whaley

Original. Heart-wrenching. A beautiful treatise on empathy and love. These characters belong to you-as your own friends-when you read their story. Saving Red is an absolute treasure.

Jay Asher

I couldn’t put Saving Red down.

Kirkus Reviews

2016-07-02
A young teen copes with loss by helping an older, homeless teen.It’s late December, and 14-year-old Molly is walking around Santa Monica in the middle of the night, filling school-assigned community-service hours. Her task is counting (not helping) homeless people for the city, but a particular homeless girl captures her imagination, and their lives entwine. Molly yearns to send 18-year-old Red back to wherever her home might be, because, as Sones slowly reveals, Molly knows what it does to a family when a child disappears. Her older brother disappeared a year ago, and she blames herself. Now she feels triggered and guilty when anyone disappears, even briefly, whether it’s Red, Cristo (Molly’s new, requited crush), or Pixel, Molly’s emotional service dog whom she “sort of inherited” from her brother. Molly’s free-verse, first-person narration is smooth and fast, though weakened by exclamation marks. Red is both zany, given to dancing in public, and mentally ill—a sort of Manic Pixie Dream Disabled Girl, especially considering Molly’s conviction that Red saves her. Both Red and Molly are white; although Molly is Jewish, Christmas figures prominently, including a scary re-creation of a scene from It’s a Wonderful Life. Most of Molly’s innocent assumptions about Red’s homelessness turn out to be true, and the conclusion leans toward wish-fulfillment. A heart-tugging, romanticized, mutual-savior story about homelessness and mental illness. (Verse fiction. 12-15)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170007066
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	10/18/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

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