Overview

Adopted by Caucasian parents, biracial teen Lizzie has never felt like she belongs. After the death of her father, Lizzie starts acting out--dating, staying away from home for days, and giving up her plans to continue her education. When Lizzie discovers she is pregnant, she is faced with the difficult choice of having a child or getting an abortion. This leads Lizzie to want to find her own birth mother. After running away from home, Lizzie ends up in a town called Kingston, where she tracks down an older woman named Ruth who sheds light on the circumstances surrounding Lizzie's birth. Distributed in the U.S by Lerner Publishing Group

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9781459414969

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Reviews

When teenager Lizzie discovers that she is pregnant, she sets out on a journey to meet her birth mother in this hi-lo text. Lizzie, who is biracial, has always had friction with her white adopted mother, Eileen, that she attributes to race. Her pregnancy leads her to run away and she begins living at a women's shelter. The shelter connects her with others less fortunate than her, including teens dealing with homelessness and sex work. Just as a social worker finds a lead that may point Lizzie to her mother, news comes that Eileen is dangerously ill with stomach cancer. Lizzie decides to head home, and the news of her pregnancy helps heal the issues between the two. The book deals head-on with gritty themes like adoption, abuse, and teen pregnancy; however, the neat resolution at the end seems to oversimplify Lizzie's experience regarding race with her mother and predominantly white town. The text, written at a second grade reading level, combined with edgier, relatable content for high schoolers, will appeal to striving readers. A solid addition to collections needing hi-lo realistic fiction --School Library Journal -- Journal (8/23/2021 12:00:00 AM)

When teenager Lizzie discovers that she is pregnant, she sets out on a journey to meet her birth mother in this hi-lo text. Lizzie, who is biracial, has always had friction with her white adopted mother, Eileen, that she attributes to race. Her pregnancy leads her to run away and she begins living at a women's shelter. The shelter connects her with others less fortunate than her, including teens dealing with homelessness and sex work. Just as a social worker finds a lead that may point Lizzie to her mother, news comes that Eileen is dangerously ill with stomach cancer. Lizzie decides to head home, and the news of her pregnancy helps heal the issues between the two. The book deals head-on with gritty themes like adoption, abuse, and teen pregnancy; however, the neat resolution at the end seems to oversimplify Lizzie's experience regarding race with her mother and predominantly white town. The text, written at a second grade reading level, combined with edgier, relatable content for high schoolers, will appeal to striving readers. A solid addition to collections needing hi-lo realistic fiction--School Library Journal -- Journal (8/23/2021 12:00:00 AM)

"""The book deals head-on with gritty themes like adoption, abuse, and teen pregnancy . . . A solid addition to collections needing hi-lo realistic fiction""--School Library Journal -- (8/23/2021 12:00:00 AM)"

Tackles difficult issues head on, matter of factly and with sensitivity.--Cate Carlyle CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Author Information

WANDA LAUREN TAYLOR is an author, filmmaker, editor and educator. With a background in social work and advocacy, Wanda lectures on social justice and human rights issues, and has worked for organizations helping marginalized populations. She is a former CBC TV producer and author of books that include Birchtown and the Black Loyalists, which has been listed as one of the top Black history books for young readers by Today's Parent Magazine and by the Canadian Children's Book Centre, and the SideStreets novel Ride or Die. Wanda lives in Toronto, Ontario.

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