School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up-Jessica Almasy brings to life Blythe Woolston's William C. Morris Debut Award-winning novel (Carolrhoda, 2010) with a dark tone that matches the intensity of the story. Loa, 16, often uses her science teacher's lessons to describe the life swirling around her. Each of the book's chapters is introduced by a relevant science theory or problem. Loa's life is filled with deep layers of sadness intensified by post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She lost her younger sister to a genetic disorder, her best friend to a brutal accident that she witnessed, and her parents to alcohol. Haunted by vividly disturbing dreams and flashbacks, Loa is navigating through her life while trying to define herself apart from these traumas. Listeners will sympathize with Loa as she struggles to cope with her reality and especially when a seemingly caring boy takes advantage of her. The narrator's pacing and delivery makes this sound like a novel in verse, with broken sentences and harder punctuations in select spots. While this is distracting at first, it subtly becomes more natural and fits Loa's feelings of being disconnected.-Stephanie A. Squicciarini, Fairport Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Woolston's morbid and layered debut delves into the shattered life of 16-year-old Loa, whose younger sister, Asta, died of a genetic mutation and who, more recently, lost a friend in a tragic accident. Loa suffers the effects of PTSD, including vivid nightmares and flashbacks, which are gracefully written and interspersed throughout. Amid their grief over Asta's death and financial problems, Loa's parents neglect her pain as the family tries to scrape by. "After all those years of fighting hard, we lost. Now we get drunk. We hit each other. When the truck won't start, we punch the windshield so hard the shatterproof glass breaks. Is this depression or anger?" she asks. Loa is strong, but overburdened and isolated; laced with bleak humor, her deadened, searching narration carries this dark and highly promising first novel. The chapters begin with questions or statements, usually drawn from physics, biology, or math, which tie in to Loa's struggles ("What should you do if you are stuck on frictionless ice? Assume you are nude and there is no atmospheric resistance") as she tries to find her way. Ages 12-18. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
A strong narrative voice and a wave of tragedies define this character-driven first novel. After Loa's little sister dies of Rett syndrome, no one talks about the loss, but Loa and her parents drink to escape the pain. Not long after, Loa sees her friend Esther splattered on the road by a logging truck. When the screaming nightmares begin, Loa gets six therapy sessions -- all that's covered by insurance -- but the terrifying "bony guy" still appears every time she closes her eyes. Loa makes coffee and cleans the bathroom grout to stay awake; when her dad loses his job, Loa also keeps busy washing dishes at a senior residence. Woolston draws a realistic picture of a family in trouble while focusing firmly on her protagonist. Loa is smart and interested in school, especially her physics class. Her obsession with science makes sense given her sister's death from a genetic disorder; each chapter opens with a physics problem or scientific theory of some kind. The motif reflects Loa's deeply cerebral existence as she fights through the pain of loss; her strength makes the tentatively hopeful ending credible. The bold cover photo of a human heart suggests the dark and sometimes graphic nature of the story. Those readers drawn inside will be won by the vivid characterization and fresh style. lauren adams (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
(Fiction. YA)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Sixteen-year-old Loa's story begins in a tangle of turmoil. She witnesses a truck strike and kill her friend Esther, an event that too vividly brings back memories of the death of Loa's sister, who suffered complications from Rett syndrome. Loa's parents are angered and haunted by the cruel turns of their lives, so Loa focuses upon her desultory job and her way-out-there astrophysics homework. Woolston's talent for dialogue and her unique approach to scenes make what sounds standard about this story feel fresh and vital. What is most surprising and rewarding, though, is how the novel deprioritizes these dramatic elements to follow the flow of Loa's life it's difficult to move on from trauma, but sometimes you just can't help it. A nebulous sexual relationship with a boy who posts pictures of himself and Loa on the Internet provides much of the push-and-pull, but it's a new friendship with an odd boy at her new school that offers the best chance of relief. A strong debut about learning to see yourself apart from the reflection you cast off others.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist