What She Missed

May 1, 2023
Sixteen-year-old painter Ebony Jones, who is Black, is struggling to figure out who she is. After being unable to finish a self-portrait assignment at school and
flip-flopping between her birth name and chosen name Indigo, she feels as if she no longer sees herself clearly. These feelings of instability worsen when both of her parents lose their jobs in Houston, forcing the family to move to remote Lake Alula, a predominantly Black Texas shore town where her late grandmother lived. Though her childhood friend Jalen is excited to reintroduce her to all the things they did as children, Ebony is haunted by bittersweet memories of her grandmother, causing her to withdraw emotionally. She instead gravitates toward Jalen’s older sister Lena, whose rebellious streak and bombastic personality make Ebony feel more like herself. Lyrical yet grounded prose by Tamani (All the Things We Never Knew) depicts Ebony’s emotional turmoil via a keen first-person POV, while interstitials featuring an omniscient narrator act as between-the-lines glimpses into Ebony’s psyche. Amid the emotional intensity, these unique moments of narrative interjection provide quiet spaces for reader contemplation regarding the things one hides from oneself and the ways in which self-discovery can inspire both fear and feelings of freedom. Ages 13–up.

May 1, 2023
Grief, severe anxiety, and an abundance of negative self-talk make for a narrator who is at odds with herself--and who's missing a lot of what's going on around her. Sixteen-year-old painter Ebony Jones couldn't bring herself to complete a self-portrait assignment at her old school before her parents uprooted her whole life and moved her to Alula Lake, a historically Black seaside town in Texas where she spent summers as a child. She hasn't been back since her grandmother Gigi's passing. Now, she's struggling with the ways she sees herself, both as an artist and as a person, the begrudged change in scenery, the loss of her friend group, and constant reminders of Gigi, all of which exacerbate her issues, leading to Ebony's quickly spiraling into self-destructive habits even as her parents and a childhood best friend try hard to reach her. Brief passages from the perspective of an omniscient narrator interspersed between Ebony's first-person chapters give readers necessary insights into things Ebony's unable to notice or deeply unwilling to accept. Without this awareness, she can't help but tank her relationships and find herself in embarrassing and dangerous situations. It's the alternative perspective that clues the reader in to the long journey ahead, as even the closing honesty and reconciliations will not resolve some of her deeper issues. She is a protagonist who is simultaneously deeply frustrating and relatable, and by the end she's at least able to paint herself more clearly. Heartbreakingly well executed. (Fiction. 12-18)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 1, 2023
Grades 9-12 Ebony Jones, 16, is angry that her parents have decided to leave Houston for tiny, rural Alula Lake, where her grandmother Gigi lived until her death six years earlier. Even though she spent many childhood summers at Gigi's house, Ebony resents that she has to leave her friends and all that Houston has to offer--most important, the high school for the arts she attends. Ebony reunites with her childhood friend Jalen, although she chafes at his steady focus on his goals. Jalen's half sister, Lena, with her spontaneous, jaded attitude toward life is more appealing to Ebony, and she is drawn to Lena's bad-girl vibes. Ebony's anger feeds on her reckless behavior and consumes her until she reaches a breaking point that puts her on the path to clarity. Ebony's first-person narrative crystallizes her pain, and her acting out will resonate with readers. In a nice touch, chapters are punctuated with descriptions of what Ebony misses while preoccupied by her troubles. The other characters are refreshingly realistic and thoughtfully drawn and provide much-needed support.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.