09/02/2019
Eleven-year-old Ruby “Red” Byrd is skeptical when her kindly social worker takes her to live with new foster parents in tiny Bramble, Colo. Jackson and Celine Groove, an older interracial couple, immediately open their hearts to Red, though, and she is drawn to their petting zoo of rescue animals, especially their 400-pound tortoise, Tuck. And gregarious Marvin, who is Hawaiian and the son of Red’s respite caregivers, determines to befriend her. But she longs for her mother, who has been in prison for three years following an episode with pill addiction that left Red to fend for herself. Then her mother is released early, creating a literal storm for Red, whose roiling emotions can affect the wind. She longs to control this chaotic power, which infuses magic realism into Lackey’s charming, bittersweet debut. Included throughout are heartbreaking glimpses of Red’s life before her mother’s arrest, as well as Red’s letters to her mom, and readers will ache for her as she struggles to reconcile her affection for the Grooves with her fierce love for her troubled mother. Lackey’s compassionately drawn story ponders hope, grief, and found family, warming the heart while avoiding an overly neat conclusion. Ages 8–12. (Sept.)
An Indies Introduce Selection
A New York Public Library Best Books of 2019 Selection
A 2020 WILLA Literary Award Finalist in Children's Fiction & Nonfiction
“A gorgeous story about the joy that’s possible when we allow hope into our hearts. Wise and wondrous, this is truly a novel to cherish.” —Katherine Applegate, New York Times–bestselling author of Wishtree and The One and Only Ivan
"A story to tug at your heartstrings and bring a little magic too!" - 2020 WILLA Literary Award judging panel
"Lackey tackles difficult topics including addiction and loss with infinite gentleness." - School Library Journal, starred review
"A beautiful, nuanced story of how love and grief can coexist." - Mariama J. Lockington, author of For Black Girls Like Me
"An emotional tale filled with unique characters, heartbreaking realities, and a touch of magical realism." - Booklist
"Lackey’s compassionately drawn story ponders hope, grief, and found family, warming the heart while avoiding an overly neat conclusion." - Publishers Weekly
"Painful to read—in a good way." - Kirkus
"Lackey deftly draws readers into Red’s tumultuous emotional journey; with its strong narrative voice, interspersed with letters and journal entries in Red’s own words, the text resonates with a mixture of hope and hurt, strength and vulnerability." - The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
★ 09/01/2019
Gr 4–6—Red has a secret she wants to keep—she has the ability to affect the wind with her emotions, a trait she inherited from her mother. Red has become a pawn inside the foster care system, and anger and fear create unpredictable storms that she cannot control. Her mother attempts to pull her life together and become a fit parent as she struggles with drug addiction. As a rotating cast of adults move through Red's life and she is shuttled from one family to the next, her sole constant seems to be her social worker, Ms. Anders. That is, until Red is placed with the Grooves, her fifth foster stop in under three years. The couple own a petting zoo and seem to genuinely care for Red, who is conflicted by the growing love she feels for her foster mom and her desire to reunite with her birth mother. Determined to help her mother regain custody at an upcoming hearing, Red works on a special project with her new friend Marvin to prove that just because something is hard, it doesn't mean it is impossible. Excerpts from the notebook Red keeps for the project are peppered throughout the novel. VERDICT This middle grade tale reads like realistic fiction with a supernatural twist as Red's wind spirals and brews literal storms. Lackey tackles difficult topics including addiction and loss with infinite gentleness. Recommended for fiction collections.—Lauren Younger, University of Dallas Library
2019-07-14
A preteen tries to balance desperately missing her mother and slowly falling in love with her foster family.
Ruby "Red" Byrd, a white girl, isn't expecting much when her social worker leaves her with Jackson and Celine Groove, an interracial older couple who own a petting zoo. But the Grooves are gentle and kind; they barely flinch whenever Red lashes out or misses her mom, who is in prison after a pill addiction left Red effectively on her own. Red learns to love the animals, and her neighbor and classmate Marvin, who is Hawaiian and knows what it's like to feel like an outsider, takes it upon himself to become her best friend whether she likes it or not. (And as far as Red is concerned, that's not.) But whenever Red gets angry or distressed, the wind picks up and wreaks havoc wherever she is, and this magic makes her feel even guiltier than she already does for being what she views as an imposition to her foster parents. With heart-wrenching, distressing flashbacks to life with her mother and grandmother before entering the foster system and heartwarming bittersweet moments with her new extended family (Marvin's parents are the assigned respite family), Lackey balances Red's navigation of her new reality. Red's occasional, interspersed letters to her mother add further poignancy.
Painful to read—in a good way. (Fiction. 8-14)
Narrator Samantha Desz’s even pacing and tone reflect 11-year-old Red’s tightly controlled exterior—but don’t quite convey the turbulent storm of emotions thrumming inside her. After three unpleasant years in the foster system, Red is counting down the days until her mother’s release from prison. At the same time, she tries to suppress her pain and anger over the incarceration because she creates literal storms when her emotions get out of control. Her new foster family is understanding, but Red is hesitant to open up, fearing more hurt and more storms. In spite of the element of magical realism, the action moves slowly. While Desz’s calm narration mirrors the story’s pace, in doing so it merely alludes to Red’s heartrending emotions, rather than fully embodying them. S.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
