Brilliant newcomer Mary Hanlon Stone delivers a compulsively readable insider?s view of growing up in a world where money and privilege don?t always glitter.
May 3, 2010
First-time author Stone debuts with a careful and challenging examination of clique politics. After Stephanie’s abusive, alcoholic mother abandons the family, her ineffectual father ships her off to a wealthy family she has never met in Los Angeles, where Alpha girl Annie takes her under her wing (“Let’s tell everyone we’re real cousins”). Stephanie loves feeling included, but hiding her background—and her true self—soon becomes impossible. There is a lot of emotional territory for Stephanie to travel as she explores her troubled past and complex present. Readers may not feel like all of the story lines are examined completely; Stephanie’s relationship with her mother, who hit her but also “hugged me fiercely,” seems more like a narrative device than a real part of her story. However, Stone demonstrates smart insight into how Annie’s circle operates and how hard Stephanie works to be part of it (“I nod when she nods. I laugh when she laughs”). Though her inevitable transformation comes quick, readers will find it easy to rally for Stephanie as she becomes visible on her own terms. Ages 12–up.
July 1, 2010
Gr 7–10—-tephanie's abusive, alcoholic mother leaves their Boston home one night in a theatrical huff. Her weak-willed father cannot cope, so the 14-year-old is shunted across the country to a wealthy friend while the family figures out what to do. The friend's teen daughter is initially excited to include Stephanie in her clique, and Stephanie uses her Boston accent to make people laugh while spinning lies to keep them from knowing about her family's sordid past. However, after an overheard conversation, the queen bees turn on Stephanie. When a new girl appears and draws their fire, Stephanie is at first simply relieved to be out of the crosshairs but soon sees a different path and befriends the girl. Stone skillfully takes her protagonist from the bottom of a smelly closet where she is hiding from her mother's fists to a sunny, golden California beach club full of socially climbing girls concerned only with fashion, diets, boys, and possessions. It is as stark a change for readers as it is for Stephanie. She is in many ways younger than these teens, although she's had harder things to deal with, and her naïveté is heartbreaking. She learns from her trials, but there are no miracles. Stone portrays her growth believably, in small increments, with many slipups along the way.—"Geri Diorio, The Ridgefield Library, CT"
Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 1, 2010
After her abusive mother runs off, Stephanie is sent to California to stay with family friends. Ashamed of her background, Stephanie concocts an exciting image of herself only to become, yet again, the victim of cruelty once her lies are revealed. This edgy fish-out-of-water story features a strong and sympathetic protagonist.
(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)