Racing the Clouds

Thirteen-year-old Sage Prescott--who lives with her father in Virginia following an incident involving her mother--has never met her maternal grandparents. And now they've invited her to Ohio to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. At first, Sage doesn't want to go. Then, she realizes it's the perfect opportunity to learn more about her family. But her grandmother is formal and stern, and though her grandfather is kind, no one seems to want to talk about her mother, of whom Sage's memories are a mixed bag: sometimes she's the loving woman who taught Sage about running; sometimes she's a stranger who "paced around our apartment like a tiger in a cage, trying to claw its way out." Descriptions of Sage's guilt over the events surrounding her mother's absence, as well as the teen's love for dogs and stellar ping-pong skills, coalesce into a fully fleshed-out character. Her struggles in learning how to cope with current and past events and accept help make for a satisfying emotional journey by Dunlap (It Happened on Saturday). The Prescotts read as white. Ages 10-15. Agent: Ann Rose, Tobias Agency. (Feb.)

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Complex emotional themes are handled with a gentle touch in this realistic story of resilience.