Big & Little Questions (According to Wren Jo Byrd)

Gr 3–5—Wren Jo Byrd navigates the beginning of her fourth grade year and her parents' separation with mixed success. Bowe creates realistic tension with Wren's secretiveness and dishonesty toward her best friend, Amber; a new girl in town named Marianna; and shifting family dynamics. Wren learns that Marianna has secrets of her own, and as both characters' secrets are exposed, the girls and their relationship mature. The final resolution provides Wren (and readers) with the assurance that her parents love her and that life will go on. Bowe integrates the themes of divorce and friendship well and with an awareness of her audience. She gently conveys the intricacies and hardships of balancing time with both parents, routines and family mementos changing, and the experience of being rejected by a friend. The characters, while relatable, are relatively flat, making it hard to fully engage with them.