I had this on my Kindle and read most of it on the plane coming home last weekend. There are strong voices all the way through the story, making me hope that readers who find this story will find needed connections and some hope, too. However, even that takes a while for her to trust this boy she knows, until she discovers he has a secret, too. Change hurts kids more than they might ever tell their loved ones and this feels like someone keeping too many secrets until finally, she does find someone who cares. Jade does need a friend, especially now that her dad is ill, stays in a chair most days and her mother doesn't seem able to stop being busy. Reading the story and its underlying sadness made me sad, too. Then this friend, Zoe, appears for real across the street and the experiences with her and other kids at school become a bit strange but really fun, at first. She struggles to make friends, at least is tired of making new ones, so she writes herself a friend in a special notebook! Now she's in command, able to have fun with a friend who won't leave until Jade herself wants her to. Everyone leaves and her family was supposed to also until her dad got sick.
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