Swing Sideways

Gr 4–6—Complicated family problems become more manageable when shared between friends. Every word, every gesture, every disagreement registers on the internal Richter scale as two friends negotiate the highs and lows of true friendship. Annabel and California forge a deep bond. Annabel, the tween from the city, and California, who arrives from a rural environment, find each other at the perfect time. Plenty of problems accompany each girl—illness, panic attacks, a hovering mother, an estranged family, and more—but all of these conditions pale beside their love for each other. They idle away the hours during a long summer on an idyllic farm complete with fields of corn, trees to climb, lakes for swimming, and endless time to talk, plan, and try to resolve issues. California is sure her mother and grandfather can become reconciled if only she can find the two missing ponies her mother once rode. Annabel, meanwhile, struggles to overcome her panic attacks and learn to eat normally again—if only she can maintain distance and independence from her helicopter mother. Together, the girls uncover dark family secrets and learn to be brave under pressure. This is a summer neither Annabel nor readers will ever forget.