Every Shiny Thing

by Cordelia Jensen, Laurie Morrison

Overview

In this beautifully constructed middle-grade novel, told half in prose and half in verse, Lauren prides herself on being a good sister, and Sierra is used to taking care of her mom. When Lauren’s parents send her brother to a therapeutic boarding school for teens on the autism spectrum and Sierra moves to a foster home in Lauren’s wealthy neighborhood, both girls are lost until they find a deep bond with each other. But when Lauren recruits Sierra to help with a Robin Hood scheme to raise money for autistic kids who don’t have her family’s resources, Sierra has a lot to lose if the plan goes wrong.

Lauren must learn that having good intentions isn’t all that matters when you battle injustice, and Sierra needs to realize that sometimes the person you need to take care of is yourself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419728648
Publisher:	Amulet Books
Publication date:	04/17/2018
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	239,343
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Cordelia Jensen is the author of the YA novel-in-verse Skyscraping, which earned a starred review from Booklist (“Exquisite free-verse poems . . . illuminating and deeply felt”). Laurie Morrison taught middle school for 10 years before writing Every Shiny Thing. Both authors live in Philadelphia and received MFAs in writing for children and young adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

What People are Saying About This

author of Lost in The Sun Lisa Graff

“Like a kaleidoscope, Lauren and Sierra’s shifting perspectives will make you look at the world from different angles, transforming in unique and beautiful ways. This story shines.”

author of Flutter Erin E. Moulton

“This should hit the mark for middle grade readers who enjoy life’s complexities paired with the intrigue of secrecy.”

author of Blackbird Fly Erin Entrada Kely

“An inventive and emotional story about family and friendship.”

Editorial Reviews

“Like a kaleidoscope, Lauren and Sierra’s shifting perspectives will make you look at the world from different angles, transforming in unique and beautiful ways. This story shines.

author of Lost in The Sun Lisa Graff

“An inventive and emotional story about family and friendship.

author of Blackbird Fly Erin Entrada Kely

“This should hit the mark for middle grade readers who enjoy life’s complexities paired with the intrigue of secrecy.

author of Flutter Erin E. Moulton

"Sierra’s narrative, in poetry, captures her spare, cautious, and constrained life. Lauren’s prose is rich and descriptive, much like her own experiences. Together, the contrasting narratives tell a touching story about friendship, loyalty, and resilience that will have lots of appeal."

Booklist

“An inventive and emotional story about family and friendship.

Erin Entrada Kelly

01/01/2018
Gr 5–9—This dual narrative shifts the point of view between Lauren, in prose, and Sierra, in verse. Sierra has just been placed in foster care in Lauren's rather wealthy neighborhood after her mother was arrested. Lauren is missing her brother, who was recently sent to a special boarding school for kids on the autism spectrum. She is also outgrowing the relationship with her best friend and neighbor, Ashley. Lauren's social conscience has been awakened, and as she realizes that many do not have the resources she has, she decides to make a concerted effort to welcome Sierra. The two form a bond; but when Lauren comes up with a plan for raising money that involves theft, albeit for a good cause, Sierra becomes understandably anxious because she has a lot to lose. This unique story of friendship features two striving yet flawed main characters. Sierra is close to her mom, though she often has to take on the role of parent in their relationship. Lauren's examination of her privilege is admirable. Her Robin Hood scheme is not. The depiction of her growing compulsion to steal/shoplift is absorbing and suspense ratchets up with each theft as the stakes rise. Thoughtful readers will find a lot to like here—sadness, suspense, even humor. They may even pause to consider their own privilege. VERDICT Great for fans of dual narratives or books like Lynda Mullaly Hunt's One for the Murphys.—Brenda Kahn, Tenakill Middle School, Closter, NJ

School Library Journal

2018-02-19
Two authors combine their efforts to relate the intertwined tales of a pair of young teens in trouble.Sierra's first-person voice spills out of the pages in verse. With her alcoholic mother serving time in jail, she's placed in the home of a loving, well-to-do interracial couple, Anne and Carl, whose daughter died years before. Lauren lives right next door. Her older, autistic brother has recently been enrolled at a therapeutic boarding school, and she's deeply resentful of her parents' well-meaning (if distancing) handling of his issues. In response, she decides to raise money to treat less-wealthy kids with autism, an outstanding intent followed by poor management. First, she sells expensive gifts she's received. She also begins to steal her parents' things to sell, but after getting caught, she moves on to the belongings of friends and neighbors as well as to shoplifting. Unfortunately, she implicates Sierra, whom she's tenderly befriended, in her activities by storing the proceeds in Anne and Carl's deceased child's bedroom. Lauren's more complicated and disturbing tale is related in her first-person prose narrative, the two writing styles clearly delineating the two white seventh-graders. Sierra emerges the more sympathetic of the pair, with Lauren's unattractive behavior (or compulsion) never fully understandable, perhaps even to her.Many of the complications of human behavior are on display here, some of them painful to navigate. (Fiction. 11-14)

Kirkus Reviews

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