Starred Review ALA Booklist

Starred Review Five, seven, five e pattern of haiku the combination for Sasha to open the door to her poetic self. The 13-year-old lives in Caboose, West Virginia, and if it wasn't for bad luck, she'd have no luck at all: her mother walked away, her father died in the mines, and her brother was killed in the line of fire, leaving foster mom Phyllis to do her best with egg-salad sandwiches served on the porch at four in the morning. Sasha, meanwhile, tries to manage her desperate life, but blackout rages keep setting her back. Thankfully, a school counselor, new friends, and a poetry club with an unlikely leader help Sasha begin a life with her next-door cousin, Mikey, and his dad, Hubert. Through the club and its contests, Dooley subtly exposes readers to poetic forms that invite engagement, understanding, and expression, while Sasha and her extended family are depicted with a sweetness reminiscent of Cynthia Rylant southern soulfulness that is warm even as it reveals the downtrodden struggles of a mining community. With a lifetime goal of leaving Caboose behind, Sasha has to wonder why it is that we leave home when the only family we know is there.

School Library Journal Starred Review

Gr 5-7 The West Virginia coal mining town of Caboose seems to be to blame for the mounting losses of everyone Sasha loves. First her mother walks out and doesn't come back. Then her father dies in a mining accident. And finally her caretaker older brother Michael dies while fighting a fire. Angry and los t, the seventh grader initially shuts down everyone around her. Her journey through grief is made possible by a certain resilience of those around her and her willingness to see the neighbor kid Mikey, a distant relative, as a friend. That opening allows other friends to appear, and she soon joins a poetry club where she discovers the healing power of putting her feelings and ideas into words. Ostensibly motivated by a scholarship contest, Sasha is not really going to be immune to pain in the future, but she's finding a way to cope. The changes in her life, the anguish she feels, and her journey forward are expertly portrayed through Dooley's use of first-person narration, which is sensitive and gentle without being soft or sentimental. The poetry is wonderful and feels authentic to Sasha's years without being unduly adult. Various verse forms are explored, including haiku, cinquain, and quatrain. VERDICT What could have been a mushy tearjerker resonates with emotional authenticity in Dooley's deft hands; an excellent purchase for upper elementary and middle school collections. Carol A. Edwards, Formerly at Denver Public Library, CO

Horn Book

Placed in foster care after the death of her brother and legal guardian, Sasha struggles to cope. Her growing connection to a long-lost young cousin, who is also dealing with trauma, helps Sasha process her own, and poetry becomes an outlet for her turmoil. An empathetic narrative (with one part in verse) of layered characters, complex relationships, and hard-won healing.

Voice of Youth Advocates

Seventh grader Sasha has had bad fortune in her life. Her mother left when she was five. Her dad died when she was eight in a mining accident, and now her brother has died. She is now in the care of a kind foster mother. With everyone leaving her, she is determined to leave the small mining town as soon as possible. When she discovers cousins she never knew about next door to her and her own voice in poetry, life begins to normalize. Then another mining accident occurs and Sasha cannot bear the thought of another death. She runs away with her cousin.Dooley has created a character full of contradictions. Her grief is thick and a constant companion, causing her to run at moments and lash out in others. Yet, her relationship with young cousin Mickey is full of caring and understanding. Sasha only sees the bad in mining and the poorness of her community in comparison to others in her school, but Dooley shows readers the richness of small-town life as well. Readers may have a hard time relating to Sasha at first but they will find familiarity as they continue along with her. Her growth is the book's strength. The last quarter of the book is almost exclusively in poetry in many different formats, showcasing the power of verse. Tween fans of realistic fiction will find depth in this novel.Kristin Fletcher-Spear.