Review by Booklist Review
After recalling her mother's funeral in sharp detail, Kitty chronicles the year beginning with her eleventh birthday. Living in London with her father and sister, Imogen, she deals with her grief as best she can, despite missing Mum in so many ways. When Dad announces that he and his daughters will be spending several months in New York City, Imogen is thrilled, while Kitty is stubbornly reluctant. Starting at a new school that September is hard, but after befriending a classmate who is dealing with his parents' divorce, her outlook gradually begins to shift. After the family returns to London, a twelfth-birthday letter from Mum, written before her death, poignantly affirms Kitty's new direction. The tightly focused scenes at the funeral and wake introduce many of the characters while endearing readers to Kitty as an observer with keen awareness of events and people. The well-drawn characters are distinctive individuals who see things from different points of view and don't always get along. Sometimes sounding more sophisticated than Kitty's age would suggest, the narrative engages readers with its well-paced story and articulate portrayal of emotions. Clark portrays Kitty and her circle of family and friends with perception, wit, and finesse in this absorbing first novel.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
With a deeply introspective bent that delves into the darkness of grief and the light found on the other side, Clark's tender debut will strike a chord with readers who have experienced the loss of a loved one. Brown-haired, brown-eyed, implied-white Londoner Kitty Wentworth, 10, has just lost her mother to lung cancer as the book begins--her honey-haired, blue-eyed sister Imogen, 13; their father; and their maternal grandmother share the grief. Shortly after Kitty's 11th birthday, however, their father uproots the two girls for a three-month stay in New York City as he pursues a career opportunity. While she's not thrilled by this trip Kitty finds herself enthralled by all her new city has to offer--less pleased by her father's friend, Jen, and Jen's "junior kindergarten"--age son, Dash, both implied white. Despite difficulties in adjusting, Kitty slowly begins to find her way, meeting new friends, having new adventures, and ultimately, working through her grief. Elevated language and an older-sounding narrator make this ideal for more mature readers, for whom the stark examination of loss, death, and the wide variety of complex emotions will resonate strongly. Ages 8--12. Agent: Elizabeth Bewley, Sterling Lord Literistic. (May)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 5--8--When your world comes tumbling down, the last thing you want to do is change what's left. Unfortunately for Kitty, that's just what's happening to her. After she loses her mother to cancer, her father gets an opportunity to work in New York City for a short time. Kitty tries to fight it, even, in one hilarious sequence, creating a slideshow of pigeons getting into a subway car to dissuade her pigeon-fearing father. Nevertheless, they go to New York for one semester. Both Kitty and her sister, Imogen, see therapists in New York to deal with their grief; Clark offers a solid depiction of therapy as positive and sometimes necessary. Throughout, Kitty deals with her grief openly and honestly, doing her best to work through it. When describing her grief and the world around her, the precocious 10-year-old uses lyrical language that can seem\\ too mature for her years. Readers from New York City and London will delight in the descriptors for both cities, including a plot point involving The Great British Baking Show (as Americans call it). Few descriptors are given for Kitty and other characters, besides hair; most characters seem to be cued as white. VERDICT A touching story of grief and change; a strong realistic fiction purchase.--Kerri Williams, Center Moriches Free P.L., NY
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Review by Horn Book Review
Although Kitty's mother was a psychologist who tried to prepare her daughters for her death from cancer, Kitty, age eleven, struggles with complicated emotions. She manages her feelings with the help of "Team Wentworth," the family and friends who support her, her sister Imogen, and their father through their grief. That support sometimes takes unusual forms, such as a request to help a neighbor prepare for her appearance on The Great British Bake Off. But just as Kitty starts to regain her balance, her father decides to move the family from London to New York for a short-term job assignment. She has trouble settling down in New York and worries about her father's friendship with a woman he met through a widowed parents' support group. Gradually, Kitty finds the New York equivalent of Team Wentworth, deals with her feelings, and finds a sense of normalcy by the time the family returns to London, and she is ready to push beyond her comfort zone when a new opportunity arises. Kitty is a perceptive narrator, keenly aware of the emotional currents around her. Clark's characters, both adult and child, are fully realized and slightly eccentric without being caricatures. The book takes a thoughtful approach to grief and recovery, exploring Kitty's emotional growth in a nondidactic way. Sarah Rettger July/August 2021 p.107(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Losing your beloved Mum to cancer has to be one of the worst things in the world to happen to a child, but 10-year-old Kitty finds her own way of coping with this terrible loss. Kitty lives in the upscale Hampstead borough of London with her older sister, Imogen; her father; and her cat, Cleo. Her beloved Gran is close by, and her godmother provides support, food, and wisdom for the bereft and grieving family. Going back to school is particularly tough, however. Everything reminds Kitty of her mother, and she feels lethargic and dejected. As Gran says, comparing grief to glitter, "If you throw a handful of glitter in the air, even if you try your very best to clean it up, you'll never get it all. I keep finding glitter tucked into unexpected corners. I suppose it will always be there." When her father's work responsibilities bring a chance to spend some time living in New York City, Kitty is resistant. At Dad's insistence, they go, however, and the family learns the language and customs of this new place. Kitty ultimately comes to realize that memories of her mother are the glitter that will be with her wherever she goes. The heart-rending topic; the well-drawn family relationships; and Kitty's brave, honest, and often funny responses to her tragedy are the soul of this book. All characters present White. Heartfelt and comforting. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
