Sam

Oh goodness. I spent much of this book in tears. A coming-of-age novel about a girl named Sam, from ages 7 to 19.

This is written in the present tense, third person, and the voice - Sam's voice - feels immediate and authentic. It felt VERY true to a girl's interior; the writing matches Sam's maturity as she grows.

Ugh. This book was honestly gutting. Sam's mom is a young, single mom in Massachusetts, near Salem. Sam has a half-brother, Noah. Noah and Sam's dads are both deadbeats who make intermittent appearances. Sam really pines for her dad. Unreliable kid narrator that she is, we - the adult reader - understand pretty quickly that he has a substance abuse problem. Oh, it's just heartbreaking.

I found this all incredibly real, naturalistic - humane and compassionate. The thread which weaves through the book is that (a) Sam is introduced to rock climbing at a young age by her dad, shows a talent for it, and it becomes her guiding passion, and (b) Sam also has an inborn curiosity about geological things. But geology don't pay the bills.

Oh goodness. As soon as this ended, I wanted to restart it. Just a wonderful wonderful book, if you have a girl in your life or are a girl or are raising a girl etc etc.