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Description
Shortly after moving with her mother to Florida, a lonely, fourteen-year-old bibliophile is reminded of her infant brother who died and decides to care for an abused, abandoned child with help from a new friend.
Quick Summary
If you're looking for a book that actually makes you feel something deep, this one's about a girl named Memory who moves to Florida still carrying the weight of losing her baby brother Christopher, and instead of letting grief swallow her whole, she finds purpose in helping a little boy who's been hurt and abandoned. What makes it stick with you is how raw and honest it is about what it feels like to be lonely, to grieve someone you barely got to know, and to figure out who you are when everything's changed plus her friendship with a new friend adds warmth and humor that keeps it from getting too heavy. It's perfect for readers who like stories where the characters' emotions feel real and complicated, not tidy, and especially for kids who've ever felt like an outsider or dealt with loss. Parents should know it tackles tough stuff child abuse, grief, abandonment but does so with sensitivity and ultimately leaves you with hope rather than despair. If you've ever read Jacqueline Wilson's books about kids facing hard realities with honesty and heart, you'll get a similar vibe here.