This is the same author that wrote Counting by 7s. This is a thoughtful and beautiful book, like that one.
I love the main character, Macy. Books like this always make me wonder if I don't give kids enough credit. They watch and make sense of things they're not told.
P. 43 I took a big, unladylike bite into my cupcake. My taste buds nearly exploded with happiness.
Her grandmother has passed away and her business was sold to Chuck, who is friends with her mom. In the story we find out he is also mourning the loss of his partner, Phillip. Then there is Ginger, Phillip's mother, who is in and out of senility and not quite able to process loss.
P. 226 I guess Ginger knew that somewhere in her head, but her heart wouldn't really let her know it. So, she kept pretending he was alive if only she could find him.
Macy's father is away on what she is told is a secret mission in the military and her mother is a probation officer. Macy is facing moving on to middle school without her best friend, who is a year younger.
P. 227 Sometimes when we're not ready to hear something painful, we have to keep ourselves busy not hearing it. It can look crazy, but it's not. It's just coping. We all do it differently.
It is called Eleven and Holding because she doesn't want to turn 12 without her dad being there. She teams up with a runaway boy who is actually a client of her mother's, unbeknownst to her. What they find out changes pretty much everything.
Goodreads summary:
Like The Thing About Jellyfish and Counting by 7s, this sweet, heartfelt middle grade novel illustrates for readers what it’s like to tackle loss, confront hard truths, and find the courage to begin again.
Macy Hollinquest is eleven years old, and don’t count on her to change that anytime soon.
Her birthday is just days away, but she has no intention of turning twelve without her dad by her side. He’d promised to be there for her big day—and yet he’s been gone for months, away doing some kind of secret “important work” after being discharged from the Marines. So she’s staying eleven, no matter what—that is, until she meets Ginger, a nice older lady who is searching for her missing dog. Could Ginger be the perfect cover for attempting to locate her dad?
Macy’s search puts her on a path to a head-on collision with the truth, where she discovers that knowing can sometimes be a heavy burden. And that change, when finally accepted, comes with an unexpected kind of grace.
Mary Penney’s earnest, heartfelt story of change, loss, and new beginnings will resonate with readers on the cusp of new beginnings, and stay in their hearts long after it’s done.
Macy Hollinquest is eleven years old, and don’t count on her to change that anytime soon.
Her birthday is just days away, but she has no intention of turning twelve without her dad by her side. He’d promised to be there for her big day—and yet he’s been gone for months, away doing some kind of secret “important work” after being discharged from the Marines. So she’s staying eleven, no matter what—that is, until she meets Ginger, a nice older lady who is searching for her missing dog. Could Ginger be the perfect cover for attempting to locate her dad?
Macy’s search puts her on a path to a head-on collision with the truth, where she discovers that knowing can sometimes be a heavy burden. And that change, when finally accepted, comes with an unexpected kind of grace.
Mary Penney’s earnest, heartfelt story of change, loss, and new beginnings will resonate with readers on the cusp of new beginnings, and stay in their hearts long after it’s done.
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