Back to Bainbridge

I’ll be honest, I did not realize this would be a middle grade novel when I started reading- but I still enjoyed it a lot. The writing style and themes brought me right back to when I used to read MG, and I’m sure I would have loved this book then.
The story was very sweet, with a strong focus on family, new friendships, and how sometimes what you need is right where you are. Also, as someone who’s never been to New York (I’m not even American) any book in NYC is inherently interesting!
If you like to read Middle Grade books or know someone who does, I really recommend this adorable book about family, secrets, and finding a place to belong.

A young teenage girl finds herself a step closer to growing up and finding herself in this must-read middle grade debut. Vicki and her younger siblings Dylan and Judith have to start over when her mom loses another job and apartment, moving them back to their grandmother’s apartment on Bainbridge Avenue in the Bronx. Vicki has few things she can hold onto in her unstable young life, which makes her dream of finding her absent father all the more important to her. In the meantime, she again begins the slow process of establishing tentative roots, trying to make friends and build a life, this time with chores and structure from her grandmother. As those new responsibilities help her feel grown up and useful, she soon becomes close with Rosa, the daughter of the building’s superintendent—her heart does “a little flip” when Rosa refers to her as a “friend”—and also James, the neighborhood bad boy.

With their help, Vicki decides to try to uncover the secrets that may lead her to her father. The children’s search takes them on a small adventure that brings Vicki, for the first time, into Manhattan, a trip that Lally captures with striking detail and buoyant energy. Along the way, amid much funny and believable chatter, the new friends learn what really matters: to rely on each other, that sometimes the truth hurts, and that it’s okay to count on others to do the things we can’t do for ourselves.

Vicki is a convincing and relatable heroine, one who makes mistakes and sees the world through a sometimes hurt, vulnerable lens. Her mother is an imperfect woman who tries her best even though she frequently falls short, and the supporting cast is complex, lively, and endearing. This is a moving, empathetic read that will resonate with young readers who have ever felt alone, misunderstood, or that if one thing were somehow different the world might finally make sense.

Takeaway: Moving, empathetic must-read of growing up and discovering what matters.

Comparable Titles: Nina LaCour’s We Are Okay, Jeff Zentner’s The Serpent King.