Unsinkable Cayenne is a middle grade novel in verse set in 1985 and starring a spunky and irrepressible heroine: Cayenne. Cayenne is used to living from campground to campground in her family's van along with her mom, dad, and twin siblings. Her parents are unconventional, Her dad is an ex-soldier who struggles with PTSD by smoking pot, her mom, a hippie with untraditional parenting views. But for the first time in her whole life her family is going to try their hand at putting down roots, which gives Cayenne the opportunity to go to a real school. She can't wait for this chance to be normal. But 7th grade proves to be full of challenges, from rich snooty girls that ice her out in band class, to botched attempts to make some real friends. Cayenne's social studies teacher has his class doing an in-depth project on the Titanic. Jessica Vitalis also does an excellent job incorporating themes of class and equality both in the Titanic theme and in Cayenne's story. Young readers will definitely connect to Cayenne's desire to fit in and cheer for her as she learns to tell her family what she needs.

What a beautiful novel-in-verse.

Middle grade hasn't been a genre I have been picking up as much lately, but this one I loved so much I read it in one sitting. I felt like I was sitting for a coffee with a friend who was telling me the story of their childhood during a time of classism and poverty.

Highly recommend. 4.5 Stars rounded up!

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Cayenne is a character that everyone will cheer for! Her strength will help so many kids get through their own hard times! I also learned so much about the Titanic. I had no idea the wreckage wasn't found until that much later! Wow!

Cayenne desperately wants to fit in at her new school. Cayenne, her twin siblings and her parents are often transient, but settle down in a town/house when her father is offered a job. She is just starting to make friends, one of which is a boyfriend, when her dad looses his job. This novel in verse was quite a read. I felt like my heart was breaking for Cayenne throughout the book. This was quite a powerful story written in verse!

Vitalis has done an incredible job highlighting the emotional journey of main character, Cayenne, and the grit she musters up to find hope in a seemingly hopeless situation. Readers will relate to her want to fit in and ache when disappointment after disappointment arise. The discussions around uncovering the Titanic wreckage allow for a nuanced conversation on class and fairness. A powerful read!

My heart hurt for Cayenne who desperately wants to fit in. A life of poverty and being transient has made life difficult, especially after the birth of her twin siblings. She’s had to take on a lot of extra responsibility when she just wants to be a kid. The 80s setting made for a lot of personal connections for me. Kids will also like all the Titanic references.

“I don’t understand why the amount of money someone has determines how much they are worth.”
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Twelve-year-old Cayenne has wanted to have a permanent home all her life so when her nomadic hippie parents decide to settle down in a small town in Montana, she’s thrilled. It’s the 80s, but popularity and fitting in are still a big part of #middleschool life, which makes it hard for Cayenne because her family has very little money and their hippie ways make them “weird”. As Cayenne starts learning how to fit in, she’s not sure she likes who she is becoming in order to do so.
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This was such a unique MG historical fiction novel in verse. It brought in elements of family dynamics, the Titanic wreckage being found, as well as classism, being green and healthy, and what it’s like to try and fit in when you’re a tween/teen. Fans of Stargirl and The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise will love this book. So many great lessons with this novel that releases October 29 from @jessicavauthor

CW: classism, poverty, homelessness, bullying, drug use, depression, job loss

I had really mixed feelings about this one. Cayenne is a great character who just wants to find a place to fit in.
She is an "unsinkable" character with a whole lot of heart!
I didn't like her parents and how they just really didn't care and nothing was really done about it.
I don't know that many kids will be able to relate to this one. The not fitting in part sure, but this family dynamic of being unhoused. But I don't know. Hopefully this will find the kids who need it.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

Jessica Vitalis knows how to write grit with heart. In her latest, we find Cayenne, a thoughtful girl who lives a transient lifestyle due to her unconventional parents. Like most kids in middle school, she longs to fit in, make friends and just live a normal life for once. Life is never as idealistic as we’d like it to be, but Cayenne proves to herself that, unlike the Titanic, she is truly unsinkable. Kids and the grown-ups who love them will have lots to dissect and discuss in this fast-paced novel in verse.

Jessica Vitalis has written another beautiful, heartfelt story that will stay with readers for a long time. Set in the 1980s, all 12-year-old Cayenne wants to do is is fit in with the other kids in her new town, but she's saddled with both poverty and hippie parents who've dragged her around the U.S. living an itinerant life. As she struggles to make friends, connect with a boy, and figure out how to fit in, she eventually learns that the secret to happiness is being unapologetically herself. I highly recommend this poignant verse novel.

I am becoming a major fan of Jessica Vitalis! She hits the mark on the story setting and family dynamic. Fitting in and belonging are major themes and so important to young people. The novel in verse works very well. I'm going 4.5 stars on this. The title, the connections to the Titanic are all good moves. The Titanic elements were a bit overdone at times, and I was a BIG Titanic history buff at one time.

This is a quick read MG novel focused on Cayenne, the eldest daughter of an unhoused couple who prefer to live out of their van and on the margins of society. Cayenne’s father is a Vietnam veteran who smokes pot regularly to cope and her mother is antiestablishment new ager of some variety, although her backstory is almost entirely ignored. Cayenne, however, has longed for a more traditional life and is thrilled when the family decides to try living in a small Montana town. However Cayenne soon discovers that fitting in me as much more than being in possession of house (particularly a dilapidated one). It’s an interesting family dynamic to feature in a novel, albeit one that is unlikely to resonate with many contemporary middle grade readers given the time-bound specificity of WHY the family is unhoused, but the conclusion is unsatisfying and it’s never quite clear if the reader is supposed to suspect child neglect or not (the spectre of it seems to fade in and out), which results in an unsettling overall feel.

This is a wonderful story about fitting in vs. being yourself. While this is a common middle grade trope, I highly recommend adding this book to your home or classroom library. The characters are unique and compelling and the positive friendship examples would make for great class discussions. It also highlights how hard it can be when one's life approach differs from their parents. Something most middle grade readers can relate to! It's very well-written and is a great recommendation for kids who like realistic fiction verse novels like Starfish or Alone.

As a fan of both novels in verse and of Jessica Vitalis's books, I was thrilled to be able to read an eARC. This book was beautiful, heartfelt, and Cayanne is one of those characters who will stay with the reader long after the book is finished.

I have really mixed feelings about this one....in one hand I found the writing beautiful and the friendships in this book to be really sweet (sometimes.) In the other hand the parents in this book were absolutely horrible especially the father and that really wasn't properly addressed. Its mentioned a few times in a very mild way but this man was lazy, didn't care about his family, cared more about pot than finding a job, ignored his wife, and thats just naming a few things. In the end its all swept under the rug and no one really learned anything. Honestly the more I think about this book the more it makes me angry and I hate it.

A beautiful novel that tenderly explores questions of class, of family loyalty, and of the very relatable desire to fit in with the crowd. Drawing upon the historical context of the discovery of the Titanic wreckage in the 1980s, Jessica Vitalis' UNSINKABLE CAYENNE poignantly addresses poverty from a child's eye view. Cayenne's internal conflict and her wish to belong will resonate with and touch the hearts of so many young readers. My thanks to the author and Greenwillow for the eARC.

What a fantastic novel-in-verse set in the mid ‘80s showing the resilience that Cayenne has living with her family in a van. They finally decide to rent a small house, and Cayenne starts 7th grade. She quickly finds out making friends is not that easy. The popular girls make her feel like a loser in the beginning but eventually include her some. There’s a boy that she thinks she likes and maybe he likes her. When dad loses his job, Cayenne’s parents begin to fight more and mom wants to leave. Cayenne thinks that people can make her feel small, but knows it’s okay to stand out in middle school because there will always be people who will make you feel that way. Do Cayenne and her parents stay or move on?

My daughter and I had so much fun reading this book together each night. She loved the main character, and the storyline. It was a great book for kids!