A Month of Mondays

January 16, 2017
Suze Tamaki was three years old when her mother, Caroline, walked out on the family. Now, 10 years later, Caroline has returned to Victoria, B.C., ready to get to know Suze and her older sister, Tracie. After Caroline left, Tracie and Suze made a pact, promising never to speak to their mother again. Suze is secretly curious about Caroline, but Tracie is holding her to their promise, so Suze keeps her meetings with Caroline a secret. Suze is also balancing problems with friends and at school: Suze keeps getting sent to the office, and her grades are average at best, though Suze’s English teacher sees her potential, moving her into an honors class. Anthony’s (The Right & the Real) characters, both central and secondary, are fully dimensional, and Suze and Caroline’s frustrations are realistically portrayed as they make awkward attempts at a fresh start (such as when Caroline unthinkingly gives Suze a gift basket that includes a bottle of Prosecco). Suze’s dry—borderline sardonic—narration makes for thoroughly entertaining reading as Anthony sympathetically explores the vulnerability of the early teen years. Ages 9–13. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.

December 15, 2016
Grade-seven student Suze Tamaki decides whether or not to reconnect with her 10-years-absent mother. Suze is comfortable: she has her father and older sister at home and her apathy at school. That is, until she comes home to find her absentee mother, Caroline. Suze's sister, Tracie, tries to stop Suze from spending time with Caroline by invoking a pact they signed years before, causing strain between the sisters. While Suze struggles with feelings of abandonment, she decides to give her mother another chance, a choice made with such understanding that it pushes credulity. However, Suze's voice shines with authenticity, which balances her sometimes unbelievable decisions. Meanwhile, at school, Suze's English teacher sees through her likable antihero persona and slyly partners her with a model-student friend for a special project. Surprisingly, Suze finds she wants to do well, which will win her a permanent place in Honors English. Eventually, things with Caroline, Tracie, and school come to a head, but all ends well without resolving too neatly. Suze, half Japanese-Canadian and half Anglo-Canadian, is disconnected from her Japanese heritage, which allows the narrative to skirt issues that sometimes come with being biracial and a minority. Also unfortunate are the digs at A.J., Suze's strong, mother-figure aunt, whose weight is overemphasized. A solid story that explores themes of family, abandonment, and belonging. (Fiction. 10-14)

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February 1, 2017

Gr 5-8-Suze Tamaki is coasting lazily through seventh grade when her mother, Caroline, suddenly reappears after 10 years of abandonment and her English teacher tricks her into switching to Honors English and pairs her with her overachiever best friend. Suze hates being forced to live up to everyone's high expectations. She wants to get to know her mother, but her older sister, Tracie, gets angry at her if she even talks to Caroline. Suze feels caught in the middle of everything when all she wants to do is snuggle up in bed and read. Anthony explores the issues of absent parents, family dynamics, and second chances. Suze is biracial (she is Japanese-Anglo-Canadian), though her biracial identity is not the focus here. The novel moves a bit too slowly, with occasional emphasis on unnecessary details that drag the pacing to a crawl.

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2017
Grades 4-7 Suze Tamaki always seems to be getting herself into trouble, a result of feeling bored with school and her life in general. When an English teacher coaxes her into an honors class, Suze learns what it's like to finally be challenged. However, her life dramatically changes when her mother, Caroline, shows up unannounced after a 10-year absence and wants to pick up where she left off. Dad's not thrilled, and big sister Tracie won't allow it. In fact, she's adamant that the two stick to the pact they'd made years before: to never speak to Caroline. Ever. But Suze is conflicted and wants to give her mother a chance. Anthony, who writes YA novels under the name J. M. Kelly, has created an engaging narrator bound to resonate with readers. Suze is half Anglo, half Japanese, and a Canadian tween through and through. Her missteps, hesitations, and assumptions are universal, and when she faces her toughest challenges, she takes messy but brave leaps that leave her a little more mature than the day before.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)