Stick with Me

Two girls navigate the slippery ice of tween friendship. . . . The girls' stories are told in alternating third-person chapters integrated so well- that when the two ultimately intertwine it is both natural and fresh. . . . Wren and Izzy have depth and nuance that give their stories vitality and believability . . . A pleasurable balance of original and satisfying.

The lives of two twelve-year-olds intersect for a brief time, with long-lasting positive effects. . . . Blecher creates two authentic tween characters in quiet, artistic Izzy and tough, determined Wren.

Gr 3-6--Blecher preserves the ingredients from her successful debut, Out of Place, and reworks them in this stunning novel. Wren is a talented ice-skater who travels to Boston to be with her little sister Hannah while she undergoes surgery at a local hospital. Her parents rent a house for a week, and Wren moves into the room of a young girl her age named Izzy. Izzy and her family move into the apartment above their garage, and they form a friendship with their new tenants. Wren joins Izzy for her week-long theater camp, and is absorbed into a web of drama that threatens to complicate their relationship. These two unlikely friends soon learn what it means to "stick together." Blecher has a clear gift for writing about young girls who live on social margins, and the particular struggle of wanting to belong while staying faithful to one's self. Izzy and Wren are relatable heroines with flaws, impulses, and dreams that will resonate with young readers. Wren's family is uprooted from their routine, which results in a considerable amount of stress and anxiety as they anticipate the outcome of Hannah's surgery. Blecher addresses the difficult topic with sensitivity and realism, without sugarcoating the very real effect of medical transitions on families. VERDICT A smart and emotionally honest book that lays bare the complexities of friendship and of growing up.--Katherine Hickey, Metropolitan Lib. Syst., Oklahoma City

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Artistic Izzy, 12, feels out of place in her rapidly shifting world. Her former best friend only wants to hang out with the class mean girl, and Izzy's parents recently moved the family into their garage apartment so they can rent out their Boston home for a week. Figure skater Wren, also 12, plans to spend her school break on the ice; she's dismayed to learn that her family will instead be heading to Boston. There, they'll rent a house near the hospital where Wren's four-year-old sister will undergo surgery for epilepsy. When the rental situation throws the girls together, and their mothers sign them up for a weeklong drama camp, Izzy and Wren become unlikely confidantes and discover the power of a supportive friendship. Each protagonist is layered and relatable: anxious Izzy uses her art to navigate her emotions, while Wren regrets her habit of speaking harshly before thinking. In chapters that alternate between the girls' perspectives, Blecher (Out of Place) keenly illustrates the agonies and intricacies of tween friendship, as well as the familial challenges of being 12: "Too old to stomp your feet and whine. Too young to actually decide anything important." Ages 8-12. Agent: Alexander Slater, Trident Media Group. (Nov.)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

"[A] pitch-perfect ode to friendship." — Good Morning America