Gr 6--9--It's 1982, and Alma Rosen is 13 years old. She is in her final year of middle school and can feel her world changing around her. Her parents are on the cusp of divorce, she just started her period, and she can see her friendships growing and changing. Alma spends her days listening to music on her Walkman, riding her bike through the East and West Villages of NYC, and eating candy. This novel-in-verse is filled with interstitials such as lists, postcards to family and friends, and letters to her Grandma Miriam who passed away but whom she misses dearly. Alma is Jewish on her paternal side and Chinese on her maternal side, and both of these facets of her identity have deeply influenced the way she walks in the world. All the characters, from primary to tertiary, are fully developed. Alma's relationships with her grandparents, her parents, her friends, and even her school social worker are important to her and shine throughout the story. Additionally, Cane brings 1980s New York City to life with organic references to the music, books, and media Alma consumes. There is a strong sense of her neighborhood through the friends she spends her days with and landmarks she roams to on her bicycle. VERDICT This beautifully written, emotionally charged look at growing up and moving through life's changes is a great addition to upper middle grade collections looking for detailed and nuanced coming-of-age stories.--Kristyn Dorfman, Friends Academy, Locust Valley, NY

It's 1982 in New York, and Alma Rosen, a half-Chinese, half-Jewish 13-year-old, is struggling to find her way. Her parents' marriage is falling apart, and her group of friends is changing, along with her mind and body. Alma leans on her one constant: listening to music on her beloved Walkman as she searches for meaning and resilience. Alma's stream-of-consciousness-like thoughts, conveyed through unpunctuated poems, comprise the majority of the passages. This provides deep insight into her mind as she navigates racism, homophobia, menstruation, grief, and more. The poems, which sometimes begin with a definition or song lyrics, are interspersed with lists and letters. Details of the time period and location are sprinkled throughout, creating a strong sense of place. While some characters feel underdeveloped, the complexities of Alma's relationships with her parents and grandparents shine, and her guidance counselor is sensitive to both Alma's struggles and those of her age group at large. Readers who appreciate free-verse novels with a loose narrative arc will enjoy the story's historical details and wide range of topics.

1982 is a year of change for 13-year-old New Yorker Alma Rosen. Her parents seem destined for divorce, and her friend group is changing. Her body and mind are changing too; she gets her period and her first kiss. Alma's also starting to notice the inequitable treatment of women in her community and in literature. By leaning into her love of music and creating her own brand of resilience, she learns that while change is constant, she can decide how she responds to it. Unpunctuated poems in a stream-of-consciousness style make up the bulk of this verse novel. Some poems start with a word and its definition, some with song lyrics, and others take the form of lists or letters. Books, movies, music, and TV shows, as well as historical details of the time period and Greek mythology, are common touch points. It can be challenging to grasp all of these threads while also following the narrative arc. However, the poems that focus on a small moment or idea stand out for their captivating emotional complexity. Alma identifies as half Chinese and half White; her life is influenced by her Jewish paternal grandmother and her Chinese maternal grandparents. Although the backgrounds of Alma's latchkey kid friend group are described with specific racial and cultural markers, socio-economic situations, and family dynamics, at times their voices lack distinction. A coming-of-age story for readers who appreciate a strong sense of place. (Verse novel. 12-14) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.