Slice-of-life tale about sisterly love --ALA Booklist
National Book Award winner Robin Benway debuts a coming-of-age middle grade novel about friendships, family, and discovering the person you're meant to be. The Baby-Sitters Club meets The Sandlot when twin sisters join a ragtag neighborhood girls softball team at a time when growing up could mean growing apart.
Aggie and Jac might be twin sisters, but lately they haven't felt the same about anything. While Jac is excited about their move to Los Angeles and a chance to seem cool and mysterious, Aggie is worried her new locker won't open, that Jac could make new friends without her, and that her friends from home will move on, leaving her all alone.
When the first day at school ends with an invite to join the neighborhood softball team, Aggie jumps at the chance to meet the other girls, even if she has to drag along Jac, whose own interest in the softball team might have more to do with the captain's older brother...
Aggie is relieved to learn that each girl is dealing with their own problems and becomes excited at the opportunity to create strong friendships. But as Jac and Aggie grow into different people, will they be able to hold on to their sisterhood? For life throws the biggest curveball of all: growing up.
In this heartwarming slice-of-life novel, a middle grade debut, Benway (The Wicked Ones) showcases the importance of friendship, family, and forgiveness in helping tweens navigate the awkwardness and uncertainty of early adolescence. --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Benway weaves themes of teamwork, solidarity, gender equity, and empowerment throughout.... A heartwarming, richly told coming-of-age story that radiates humor and care. --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
National Book Award Winner, PEN America Award Winner, and New York Times Bestseller
Perfect for fans of This Is Us, Robin Benway's beautiful interweaving story of three very different teenagers connected by blood explores the meaning of family in all its forms--how to find it, how to keep it, and how to love it.
Being the middle child has its ups and downs.
But for Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, discovering that she is a middle child is a different ride altogether. After putting her own baby up for adoption, she goes looking for her biological family, including--
Maya, her loudmouthed younger bio sister, who has a lot to say about their newfound family ties. Having grown up the snarky brunette in a house full of chipper redheads, she's quick to search for traces of herself among these not-quite-strangers. And when her adopted family's long-buried problems begin to explode to the surface, Maya can't help but wonder where exactly it is that she belongs.
And Joaquin, their stoic older bio brother, who has no interest in bonding over their shared biological mother. After seventeen years in the foster care system, he's learned that there are no heroes, and secrets and fears are best kept close to the vest, where they can't hurt anyone but him.
Don't miss this moving novel that addresses such important topics as adoption, teen pregnancy, and foster care.
National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Robin Benway returns with a story of love, loss, and sisterhood reminiscent of I'll Give You the Sun and Every Day. Told in reverse chronological order, A Year to the Day will claim a permanent home in your heart.
IT'S BEEN A YEAR--A YEAR OF MISSING NINA
Leo can't remember what happened the night of the accident. All she knows is that she left the party with her older sister, Nina, and Nina's boyfriend, East. And now Nina is dead, killed by a drunk driver and leaving Leo with a hole inside her that's impossible to fill.
East, who loved Nina almost as much as Leo did, is the person who seems to most understand how she feels, and the two form a friendship based on their shared grief. But as she struggles to remember what happened, Leo discovers that East remembers every detail of the accident--and he won't tell her anything about it. In fact, he refuses to talk about that night at all.
As the days tumble one into the next, Leo's story comes together while her world falls apart. How can she move on if she never knows what really happened that night? And is happiness even possible in a world without Nina?
National Book Award Winner, PEN America Award Winner, and New York Times Bestseller
Perfect for fans of This Is Us, Robin Benway's beautiful interweaving story of three very different teenagers connected by blood explores the meaning of family in all its forms--how to find it, how to keep it, and how to love it.
Being the middle child has its ups and downs.
But for Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, discovering that she is a middle child is a different ride altogether. After putting her own baby up for adoption, she goes looking for her biological family, including--
Maya, her loudmouthed younger bio sister, who has a lot to say about their newfound family ties. Having grown up the snarky brunette in a house full of chipper redheads, she's quick to search for traces of herself among these not-quite-strangers. And when her adopted family's long-buried problems begin to explode to the surface, Maya can't help but wonder where exactly it is that she belongs.
And Joaquin, their stoic older bio brother, who has no interest in bonding over their shared biological mother. After seventeen years in the foster care system, he's learned that there are no heroes, and secrets and fears are best kept close to the vest, where they can't hurt anyone but him.
Don't miss this moving novel that addresses such important topics as adoption, teen pregnancy, and foster care.
Fans of Sarah Dessen will devour Robin Benway's story of romance, coming-of-age emotion, and heartache, now in paperback.
Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life....
She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach--go anywhere without her parents' relentless worrying. But Emmy's parents can't seem to let her grow up--not since the day Oliver disappeared.
Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart....
He'd thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering this, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, has his heart racing and his thoughts swirling.
Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy's soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles--impossible to fit together?
National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Robin Benway returns with a story of love, loss, and sisterhood reminiscent of I'll Give You the Sun and Every Day. Told in reverse chronological order, A Year to the Day will claim a permanent home in your heart.
IT'S BEEN A YEAR--A YEAR OF MISSING NINA
Leo can't remember what happened the night of the accident. All she knows is that she left the party with her older sister, Nina, and Nina's boyfriend, East. And now Nina is dead, killed by a drunk driver and leaving Leo with a hole inside her that's impossible to fill.
East, who loved Nina almost as much as Leo did, is the person who seems to most understand how she feels, and the two form a friendship based on their shared grief. But as she struggles to remember what happened, Leo discovers that East remembers every detail of the accident--and he won't tell her anything about it. In fact, he refuses to talk about that night at all.
As the days tumble one into the next, Leo's story comes together while her world falls apart. How can she move on if she never knows what really happened that night? And is happiness even possible in a world without Nina?
Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy's soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles--impossible to fit together?
Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life. . . . She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach--go anywhere without her parents' relentless worrying. But Emmy's parents can't seem to let her grow up--not since the day Oliver disappeared.
Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart. . . . He'd thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who had kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering it, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, all at once, has his heart racing, and his thoughts swirling.
Readers who love Sarah Dessen will devour these pages with hearts in throats as Emmy and Oliver struggle to face the messy, confusing consequences of Oliver's father's crime. Full of romance, coming-of-age emotion, and heartache, these two equally compelling characters create an unforgettable story.