Ellen Hopkins moving into middle grade is a good thing. She's very good at telling hard stories in verse, and at keeping them realistic. She's got a real gift for connecting with readers.

This book tells the story of Cal and Hannah -- two sides of a family story, with dual viewpoints. Hannah: accomplished gymnast and dancer, stable family, popular in school. Cal: has lost his mother to cancer and his father to a combination of addiction and incarceration. Cal's inclusion into family life is hard on everyone, and he finds it hard to trust that he's landed in a safe place. Meanwhile, Hannah's parents are going through a rough patch, and the grandmother is mean as a viper. Good times. I think Hopkins handles the material well for the age group -- there's a lot going on under the surface, and while some specific abuse is mentioned, Cal mostly keeps the details of his previous life private. Hannah has several moments of coming of age and while everything isn't completely happy families at the end, there is some resolution and growth. I have mixed feelings about the school lockdown at the end, where Cal comes into his own and keeps several kids safe. On the one hand, a chilling reminder of that all too realistic facet of every day school life. One the other, somewhat of a convenient deus ex machina to make Hannah's dad and vicious Grandma change their tunes a little bit. Based on Hopkins' adoption of a 9 YO grandchild. Unclear what age the kids are in the book -- probably 6th/12 or early teen. ( )