As the middle child of seven, 16-year-old Novah Wilkinson feels overlooked.She is often left covering work shifts for her older siblings at their family's dog grooming, day care, and boarding business and helping take care of her younger siblings, which means no time for hanging out with her friends. But overnight the Wilkinsons' world turns upside down when Novah's parents are killed in a car accident. Oldest sibling Ariana is forced to turn down her volleyball scholarship to Howard University and becomes the siblings' legal guardian on a conditional basis: Ari has less than a year to prove to the judge that she is a capable guardian or the children will be split up. She has to keep the family business running, make sure everyone stays in school and out of trouble, and pass every visit with their caseworker. Novah and her family are Black, and Novah knows foster care is the worst possible scenario for them. Understanding there is too much for Ari to handle on her own, Novah is determined to help in every way she can to prevent their separation, even if that means overwhelming herself and struggling to hold on to parts of her adolescence-like pursuing a relationship with her crush, Hailee. Although this is a short, quick read, it packs an emotional punch. The exploration of the siblings' various mechanisms for coping with grief is especially poignant.An uplifting story about the power of family. (Fiction. 12-18)

Seven Black siblings try to find their new normal after the sudden deaths of their parents in this emotionally devastating novel by Peppins (Briarcliff Prep). Sixteen-year-old volleyball star Novah wants to focus on spending time with her friends and earning a sports scholarship, but her responsibilities multiply after her parents are killed in a car accident. To assume guardianship of her siblings and take over the family’s pet grooming business, her older sister, Ari, forgoes college, and Novah, as second-eldest, is tasked with caring for the household. But keeping up with her siblings isn’t easy; her oldest brother Zion is struggling through a breakup, and her youngest sister Bailey, who is autistic, has stopped speaking entirely. As Novah begins falling behind in school, and her siblings’ personal issues threaten to overwhelm, she believes she has no choice but to abandon her dreams to fulfill her parents’ “family first” wishes, especially when failure means risking separation. Via Novah and Ari’s push-and-pull relationship, complicated by their status as the oldest siblings and de facto caretakers, Peppins crafts a compassionate and complex rendering of a family contending with grief amid myriad interpersonal conflicts that overflows with narrative tension and urgency. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jas Perry, KT Literary. (May)