A tad conflicted about this book. It's well written and has engaging characters, the plots good, too, but maybe it tried to tackle too many issues at once. While the book has an over all great message, it felt weighed down with too many social issues. Pick a couple and explore. If this is for kids 9-13, I'm not sure it won't bog them down with depression. Kids living this life will likely walk away- why read what you live? As an adult who works in this environment, I thought the book was interesting to read, but no so sure kids will feel as inclined to read it. But kids can be surprising, so one never knows.

It's no secret I'm a fan of middle grade that addresses tough issues but inspire hope at the same time. This book checks off all the boxes of what makes a compelling story for me: Lovable characters, real-life issues, real-life reactions, lovely prose, messages about believing in your dreams and finding yourself.
While the content may be tough for some young readers, with the proper conversations with trusted adults, there are important lessons to be learned.
I loved this heart-warming story and am inclined to pick up any future book by this author.

I loved this story of a courageous girl who knows she needs to make some changes in her life. She secretly takes it upon herself to help her family, especially her mom break away from a dangerous place. I loved how the author showed her school as her place of escape. School was her safe place. This is true for many students. I know my students would love this book! I can't wait to read more from Emily Blejwas!

I think this type of story is important for all ages, but maybe too many issues in one book for the age it is marketed to. I know we don't give kids enough credit, but this book might be a little too much for the target audience. I think the author has no control who the book gets targeted to; it is the publishers, so I don't fault the author for that. The story is good, but sad. I felt it was a little slow in parts and I did find myself being bored at times.

Wonderful story! Engaging and fast paced! Wonderful coming of age story

Eleven year old Brittany lives in a very broken family. Her cruel stepfather is physically and emotionally abusive, her grandmother who lives with them is very ill, she often goes hungry and she lives in inner city Chicago where most families have many similarly stressful circumstances. She is helped by her optimistic 5th grade teacher, her best friend and her neighbors. Brittany decides to come up with a plan to get away from her stepfather and when she finds a birthday card to her grandmother in the mail from her grandmother's brother, she sets out to investigate a way to contact him. This story is very sad and full of very unfortunate circumstances. It is touching and well written and I think that middle grade and above students and adults will benefit from reading this book.

"A crazy thing about life is that most people will never know what they mean to you."

Mr. McInniss. Odessa. Agata. The bus driver. So many people give of themselves to Brittany. The fifth grader, living in poverty in Chicago, despite all the forces working against her, is smart and creative enough to accept their help. Brittany's home life is hard with her sad and seemingly hopeless but loving single mother, her beloved great grandmother fading into dementia, and her mother's abusive boyfriend, Jack, father of her baby brother. Brittany has to face many terrible things every day, cruelty, name calling, homophobia, abuse, poverty, illness, shame that her father abandoned her and her mother long ago. Brittanytries to come up with "Plan B" in her yellow notebook and to help her family to better their circumstances. In the way Last Stop on Market Street opened readers' eyes to food pantries and the diversity and humanity of the guests who come there, Once You Know This can do the same for middle grade readers. Brittany's realization that "To Get to Your Future You Have to Look to Your Past" and that her memories of trash and sea glass, her growing love of art and her own creative abilities, and her own courage and inspiration can change her family's lives for the better. Her teacher's mentoring shows Brittany that "See? Art comes in all forms. Art can be anywhere." Some young readers will be overwhelmed by the grim reality of Brittany's life, others will recognize elements good and bad, all will be inspired. Most importantly, Brittany's mother is moved to action thanks to Brittany's journal, leading them to reaffirm their loving bond, summed up by a Scrabble box full of memories and a chance at a better future. As a friend says to her, "You don't ever know what a person will grow up to be. You just got to wait and see. People do surprise you." That is exactly what this books achieves.

Brittany's life is not what she would like it to be. Her new teacher wants her to see a bright future but it's hard when you are living in poverty in Chicago. Her mom's boyfriend is abusive, her beloved Grannie is getting old and forgetful, her brother is sickly, and her mom is scared and tired. When her Grannie gets a letter from her younger brother in Alabama, Brittany starts developing a Plan B.

What happens is... once the doors open, once there seems to be a possible way out, once hope becomes evident... then things can start changing.

I wasn't a huge fan of the way Once You Know This was told. It didn't flow very well and it jumped around a lot. It was jarring and abrupt at first, I felt like I had no idea where the book was going and what exactly was going on.. I also wasn't a fan of how the resolution came about. I feel like that could have been slightly more developed. I feel like there were a few things also left up in the air. Some kids this age ARE going through tough stuff like poverty, domestic violence, dealing with family members who are ill, etc. We're not doing anyone any favors by putting our heads in the sandbox and pretending otherwise. Once You Know This had these themes in the book. However, I never once felt like it was too much, too dark, nor did I feel like these themes were dealt with in an inappropriate way.

In the end, I thought that Once You Know This was an okay read. While I do think it's appropriate for a middle grade audience, there's not really a lot of lightheartedness in the book and that is hard to get a kid this age on board with, even a kid who is going through these things, needs something in their life to cheer them up.

Once You Know This is a touching book about a young girl who seems to have nothing going her way; her grandmother (who lives with them) has Alzheimers, her mother has an abusive boyfriend, they are barely scraping by, and yet her teacher tells her to dream big. And she does. She dreams her way to a way out of their problems and helps her whole family find a better life. This is a heartfelt story, with lots of appeal for middle-grade readers.

Once You Know This
by Emily Blejwas
Random House Children’s
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Children’s Fiction
Pub Date 19 Sep 2017
I am reviewing Once You Know This through Random House Children’s and their partnership with Netgalley:
Brittany is eleven years old and knows their is a better world out there, but sometimes it is hard to see it. Brittany lives in Chicago, her Grandmother is sick, she doesn’t like her stepfather, her Cat is missing.
Mr. Mcinnis, her fifth grade teacher wants his students to dream, to believe they can be anything, despite their circumstances. Brittany finds the courage to help her Mother and her baby brother escape the abusive situation after her Grandmother dies of Alzheimers.
This is a wonderful book for Middle Grade readers, I believe many girls would be able to relate to Brittany’s character.
I give this book five out of five stars.
Happy Reading.

Brittney's fifth grade teacher, Mr. McGinnis, likes to teach his students cultural things as well as the regular school topics, and he encourages them to keep notebooks of their dreams. It's hard for Brittney, because her family is struggling. Her father was a Polish student who disappeared when her mother became pregnant, and now she, her mother, and her younger brother Tommy live with her mother's grandmother. Jack, her mother's boyfriend, is frequently abusive to her mother, and the grandmother is sinking deeper and deeper into dementia and illness. There is rarely enough food to go around, and trips to the food pantry and WIC become more and more frequent. When a birthday card arrives for the grandmother from Alabama, signed "Fuzzy", Brittney manages to hunt down a great uncle who still lives near her grandmother's house. As Jack's behavior becomes more erratic and money becomes tighter, Brittney tries hard to come up with a "plan B" that will help her family survive.
Strengths: I liked that this gave some details about the social services that people who are struggling can access. Students who may need them may learn something useful, and students who don't need them might come to understand a bit more how difficult life can be for others. I liked that the mother had friends that stepped in when they could, and especially liked that Brittney knew to try to get help for her mother because of Jack's behavior. Mr. McGinnis was a sympathetic teacher who didn't pry too much.
Weaknesses: I wished that Brittney had been portrayed as older; she seemed too self aware for a fifth grader.
What I really think: I'm debating this one. It seems a bit slow as well as sad, so it will probably go on my list of books that I will buy if there is money left over. I wish I could buy everything, but where would I put that many books?