Someone Else's Shoes [Hardcover]

Tackling divorce and suicide with a warmth and sensitive humor that refuses to be weighed down,Someone Else's Shoeschronicles a road trip that unites three young people in search of family and acceptance. Fans of Sharon Draper, Jo Knowles andCounting by Sevenswill be moved by this tale of what brings us together when things fall apart.

Twelve-year-old Izzy, a budding stand-up comic, is already miserable about her father's new marriage and the new baby on the way. Then ten-year-old cousin Oliver and his father, Uncle Henderson, move in with Izzy and her mom because Oliver's mother committed suicide only a few months ago. And to make matters worse, Ben, the rebellious 16-year-old son of Izzy's mother's boyfriend, winds up staying with them, too.

But when Uncle Henderson--who has been struggling with depression after his wife's suicide--disappears, Ben, Izzy, and Oliver set aside their differences and hatch a plan to find him. As the threesome travels in search of Henderson, they find a surrogate family in each other.Izzy is a 12-year-old surrounded by loss. Her parents are divorced and her aunt recently committed suicide, leaving her Uncle Hen barely able to take care of himself, let alone his son and her younger cousin, Oliver. Oliver quickly becomes Izzy’s responsibility. As if that wasn’t enough, her mother is dating a dentist with an intimidating and possible criminal on and her father is remarried with a new family. While trying to help Oliver deal with his feelings, she learns it is not good to keep emotions bottled up. The characters are well developed and all struggle throughout the book with figuring out the “right” thing to do.VERDICT:Tweens who enjoy emotion-heavy realism will relate to Izzy and enjoy this title.
—School Library Journal

This middle grade book by Printz Honor author Wittlinger (Saturdays with Hitchcock) shows the grief, anger, and outright havoc ló2