March 1, 2023
A teen struggles to cope with her younger sister's death in the follow-up to Jude Banks, Superhero (2021). Ever since her younger sister, Halley, died from a peanut allergy two years ago, 14-year-old Clementine Marsh has felt like the world outside is overwhelming and that she's trapped in a snow globe. Her new high school is chaotic, and gossip has made her a target of bullying. Her best friend moved to Vermont and feels like a stranger. Worst of all, her widowed mother has fallen in love. How can Clementine cope with losing Halley when it feels like she's losing her mom too? Clementine's narrative, which drifts between past and present, candidly explores depression and grief. Unfortunately, some scenes, such as Clementine's vividly recounted suicide attempt, risk triggering readers with similar struggles, and there are no mental health resources included. Realistically, Clementine's path toward healing is not linear; hopeful moments alternate with physical and verbal outbursts and periods of inertia. Readers will root for Clementine as she learns to manage her emotions with help from a support group, though Hood's dashing of potentially positive developments becomes emotionally taxing. Most secondary characters are lightly developed, but Clementine's relationship with her mother--who remains steadily supportive amid her own grief, worry, and exhaustion--is touchingly three-dimensional. Clementine reads White; secondary characters bring some diversity. An unvarnished portrait of grief and healing; approach with care. (Fiction. 12-14)
COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
March 20, 2023
Since her younger sister Halley died from an allergic reaction to peanuts two years prior to this book’s start, now-14-year-old Clementine Marsh, who cues as white, has experienced depression and grief that led to a suicide attempt. Now, she’s transitioned out of her beloved Montessori and started ninth grade at a chaotic new school where she experiences bullying, slaps a smirking classmate, and believes she’s seen as “the one who has lost her mind.” Meanwhile, she also feels as if she’s stuck in a snow globe where tears fall instead of snow. Clementine’s widowed mother provides support via a residential program and therapy, a support group, a trip to see old friends, and, finally, what Clementine—whose snarky first-person narration is candid and sometimes funny—calls a “low-rent Outward Bound.” The program emphasizes activity, community, and routine, but nothing really helps, especially when Clementine’s mother starts dating. Balancing each of Clementine’s steps forward with one back, Hood’s follow-up to Jude Banks, Superhero offers a difficult, emotionally keyed portrayal of grief, depression, and suicidal ideation in which healing comes slowly, and in fits and starts. Ages 10–up. Agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Hochman.
October 6, 2023
Grades 6-10 *Starred Review* In a spin-off of Jude Banks, Superhero, Hood turns her attention to a now slightly older Clementine, who continues to grieve the sister who died after a nut exposure. Wracked with guilt and struggling, too, with a best friend who relocated states away, Clementine leans into unhealthy coping mechanisms despite a support network that includes her mother and Jude. Like many dealing with grief, Clementine experiences feelings of isolation and a sense of numbness, which she attempts to handle through risky behavior. Importantly, Clementine represents often unseen populations--both that of bereaved siblings and of 14-year-old characters. Giving voice to these groups, Clementine runs into the same mistakes as she grapples with her grief, trying to honor her sister while reaching for contentment and joy in her life again. This seems impossible and paradoxical to Clementine, who sorts through the conundrum from a slightly different and equally important perspective as Jude's in the initial novel. Facing her own mortality, Clementine seeks external help but must ultimately dig within herself to find the courage to move forward. Like Amy Besheal's We Are All Constellations (2022) and Christine Webb's The Art of Insanity (2022), Clementine examines the most human of experiences through the lens of family disruption and loss, magnifying feelings of being adrift and what it means to grieve and come-of-age at the same time.
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