December 14, 2015
When her journalist mother is sent overseas on assignment, 10th-grader Wren Verlaine is uprooted from her California home and shipped off to a prestigious boarding schoolâher mother's alma materâin Connecticut. Amid the culture shock at Hardwick Hall, Wren attempts to grapple with her anger at her mother's abandonment, unravel the secret of her paternity, and figure out how to fit in with a mean-girl roommate who tries to ostracize her. Wren's fish-out-of-water story is a familiar one, but while obvious clues leading to the discovery of Wren's father's identity are deployed early on, Myers (Stone Cove Island) draws out the revelation without any kind of twist that might make it worth the wait. When all is eventually unveiled, due in part to Wren's mother's serious injury in the line of duty, the blanket acceptance between father and daughter is a little too storybook-perfect to be fully realistic. Even so, Wren's efforts to find her voice as a singer/songwriter, make friends, and explore new hobbies at Hardwick Hall make for enjoyable reading. Ages 14âup.
November 1, 2015
A California teen finds her way at a ritzy East Coast boarding school. Wren, a budding guitarist and singer, and her journalist mother, Hannah, have always managed life as a cozy unit of two in Ventura, California. When Hannah announces that she's sending Wren to her Connecticut alma mater, Hardwick Hall, for the duration of her long-term reporting assignment in Greenland, Wren is surprised but takes it in stride. She's never felt deeply Californian, and maybe being on her mother's old turf can help her uncover a secret Hannah's always held close: the identity of Wren's biological father. At Hardwick, Wren struggles with the usual fish-out-of-water issues: making friends a month into the second year of high school is hard; the school's rules and subtle New England class distinctions are confusing; and worst of all, her suitemate Honor is extremely and inexplicably frosty. On the plus side, Wren discovers the joy of horseback riding and finds a true friend in Chazzy, a talented and daring singer who encourages her to audition for a musical-performance class taught by an indie-rock heroine. Clues to Wren's father's identity are clearly signposted, but her flash of understanding, against the backdrop of a life-threatening crisis for Hannah, feels earned, and her reunion with him is both warm and believably complex. Wren's engaging voice combines with a strong sense of place and nicely developed secondary characters to yield a satisfying read. (Fiction. 12-16)
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January 1, 2017
California sophomore Wren is forced into boarding school back east when her journalist single mother accepts an assignment abroad. At Hardwick Hall, her mom's mysterious alma mater, Wren struggles to fit in and is shunned by her suitemate, Honor. The book's big revelation about the father Wren has never known feels obvious, but subplots--including Wren's involvement with the school's music scene--add interest.
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