Do manspreading, unchecked sexualized teasing, and sexual predation share a continuum of exploitation? Who gets to define each? Why most female characters here accept these behaviors with passive resignation or active welcome remains frustratingly unexplored. This ambitious novel covers significant, rarely explored ground.
Dreading the day Jeremy will move into their new house, Lydia discovers it contains a room with herbal extracts and a book of spells she hopes will offer needed protection. (Emma’s biracial her mom was black and her dad is white.) Emotionally isolated from her squabbling, divorced parents, Lydia dreads hurting her attorney mom her bartender dad often cancels their scheduled visits. Is it normal to enjoy this? Lydia, who’s white, has distanced herself from Emma, whose mother is deceased and who longs to live with her dad. Knowing her friends happily seek male attention that sickens her, she keeps her reactions to herself. Jeremy’s not the only male threat in Lydia’s world: Andrew and their male Catholic school classmates find ingenious ways to look up her skirt. Without saying why, Lydia gives her cousin Emma, 11, who lives with them, the candy he slips them. But just like the adults in her life, and God, and her friends, the magic Lydia deeply believes in eventually loses its power to keep her safe.Lydia, 12, would rather swelter in heavy clothes in the August heat than endure her mom’s boyfriend, Jeremy, touching her bare skin. Lydia hopes to find a little bit of magic in their new home. Then her mom surprises her by buying a dilapidated house in their neighborhood. Even more confusing is when Jeremy hovers too close and hugs a little too long. Her cousin and friends think she should be flattered, but the boys-and sometimes her mom's boyfriend, Jeremy-make Lydia uncomfortable and confused. Lydia hasn't felt comfortable in her own skin since the boys at her school started commenting on the way she looks in her uniform. Perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead, Laurel Snyder, or Ali Benjamin
From the critically acclaimed author of the ALA Notable and Charlotte Huck Honor Book Forever, or a Long, Long Time comes a poignant coming-of-age novel about the complicated parts of growing up, finding your voice, and claiming your space.
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