School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up--When teenager Lizzie discovers that she is pregnant, she sets out on a journey to meet her birth mother in this hi-lo text. Lizzie, who is biracial, has always had friction with her white adopted mother, Eileen, that she attributes to race. Her pregnancy leads her to run away and she begins living at a women's shelter. The shelter connects her with others less fortunate than her, including teens dealing with homelessness and sex work. Just as a social worker finds a lead that may point Lizzie to her mother, news comes that Eileen is dangerously ill with stomach cancer. Lizzie decides to head home, and the news of her pregnancy helps heal the issues between the two. The book deals head-on with gritty themes like adoption, abuse, and teen pregnancy; however, the neat resolution at the end seems to oversimplify Lizzie's experience regarding race with her mother and predominantly white town. The text, written at a second grade reading level, combined with edgier, relatable content for high schoolers, will appeal to striving readers. VERDICT A solid addition to collections needing hi-lo realistic fiction.--Kathryn Ferrante, Renbrook Sch., West Hartford, CT
Kirkus Review
Prompted by an unplanned pregnancy, an adoptee seeks out her birth mother. Lizzie has always felt out of place as a Black adoptee raised by White parents. She's also a disappointment, with a boyfriend her mother doesn't like and poor performance at school. Certain she's destined to be hated by her predominantly White community forever and finding herself pregnant and unsure of whether she wants to terminate or not, Lizzie flees town in search of her birth mom. When her Airbnb falls through, she lands in a women's shelter where she experiences conflict with another resident before she serendipitously meets a counselor and other mentors. Those adults quickly track down a nurse who, nearly two decades after the fact, remembers when Lizzie was born and may be able to locate her biological mother. All the while, Lizzie finds herself in the position of many biracial teens: too Black for some people, too White for others. Taylor has clearly grasped the high interest part of hi-lo with her gritty plot, but the pacing makes the story difficult to follow, undermining accessibility for the target audience of reluctant readers. The varying portrayals of Lizzie's mom as, at times, a distant, racist person, and at others a loving parent, don't just give readers whiplash, they also present without nuance negative stereotypes about transracial adoption. A heavy reliance on racial tropes and outdated language that doesn't ring true for zoomers make the work feel out of touch. Tackles a complex subject without sufficient depth. (Fiction. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
