Losing forever

by Gayle Friesen

Book Review

School Library Journal :
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Gr 6-9-Ninth-grader Jessica is dealing with a "shifting universe." Several years earlier, her toddler sister died in an accident and her parents divorced. Now, her mom is remarrying, and Jessica's unlikable, but beautiful, stepsister-to-be has begun to share her room, four weeks before the wedding. If that's not enough, Jessica's friendship with her best friend has taken a backseat now that Dell has a boyfriend. In the course of the story, the teen learns to accept that everything is evolving, and that she cannot expect anything-least of all people and relationships-to stay the same forever. Like Friesen's Men of Stone (2000) and Janey's Girl (1998, both Kids Can), this is an above-average novel with spirited dialogue and well-developed characters, and although Jessica is still grappling with her past traumas, the narrative tone is never gloomy.-Catherine Ensley, Latah County Free Library District, Moscow, ID