Sad and poignant, the story of a girl searching for connections now that her mother is gone. There were so many things that could have bogged this book down, but the author wrote Caroline with such tenderness. I am not sure what kid would like it, but I did. ( )

Very, very slow start -- I just couldn't get into it.

Caroline is a hurricane child, born during a hurricane which is considered bad luck. She is shunned by the kids at school and frequently gets into trouble with her teacher. She has early, fond memories of her mother who left the family and sent back postcards from her travels. But the postcards have long stopped. Caroline wishes to be reunited with her mother but doesn't know how to find her; she wonders if the woman in black she always sees has something to do with her mother. Kalinda Francis shows up as the new girl in school and Caroline falls in love with her. Together the two go in search of Caroline's mother. The prose is elegant and grounded and the island setting is vivid. Caroline herself comes off as an old soul. ( )

Featured in the blog posts: https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2019/01/21/a-year-of-poc-authors/
and https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2019/02/18/bookishbloggersunite-blacklit-month-...

Mentioned in a blog post at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2020/07/06/veronica-mars-but-make-it-queer/ ( )

This book was such a great surprise given that I only heard one person talk about it before, but as it turned out I had heard about the author even if not this particular book.

Caroline Murphy was born during a hurricane and that is said to be unlucky. At 12 years old she is very lonely and being bullied at school. She keeps wondering why her mother left home a year ago and never came back and now she is developing a crush on a new girl in school called Kalinda.

I really liked the main character and her developing friendship with Kalinda. I was really enjoying that part of the plot and the mystery surrounding Caroline’s mother. However, I didn’t love the execution in the last chapters as much and it seemed to be moving too fast. Still, this is one of the best middle grade books I’ve read and perfect for kids. ( )