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Summary
Summary
A Boston Globe Best Children's Book of 2017
A 2017 BCCB Blue Ribbon Book
A 2017 New York Public Library Best Book for Kids
A 2017 VOYA Top Shelf Fiction Pick for Middle School Readers
A 2018 NCTE Notable Verse Novel
A 2018 CCBC Choices Book
Claire and Abi have always loved their summers at the lake house, but this year, everything's different. Dad and Pam, their stepmom, are expecting a new baby, and they've cleared out all of Mom's belongings to make room. And last summer, Abi was looking at boys, but this summer, boys are looking back at her. While Abi sneaks around, Claire is left behind to make excuses and cover up for her. Claire doesn't want her family to change, but there doesn't seem to be a way of stopping it. By the end of their time at the house, the two sisters have learned that growing up doesn't have to mean their family growing apart. WHEN MY SISTER STARTED KISSING is Helen Frost's beautiful novel-in-verse about summertime and coming of age.
A Margaret Ferguson Book
Author Notes
Helen Frost is the author of several books for young people, including Keesha's House, selected an Honor Book for the Michael L. Printz Award. Helen was born in South Dakota and currently lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with her family.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-7-Claire, 11, and her older sister Abigail, 13, have always been close. Their mother died when the girls were young, but their father made sure they had a happy childhood. An important part of their family history has been the month they spend each year at their cabin at Heartstone Lake. Although it was the site of their mother's death, Claire and Abigail love it because their mom loved it, and they feel connected to their mother through their shared experiences on the lake. This summer, however, the girls have a new stepmother and a baby brother on the way. When Abigail, now "Abi," starts spending time with a boyfriend rather than with her sister, Claire feels isolated from everyone in her family. The story unfolds in a series of quatrain, free verse, and acrostic poems that present the perspectives of Claire, Abi, and the lake itself. Each new image adds to the last, creating a complete mosaic by the end of the month at the lake. Some of the poems contain both text and a subtext so that readers can decode added meaning through certain words or letters in bold type. Frost, the author of Keesha's House and Salt, uses the verse format effectively, showing the development of each of the characters in brief, well-chosen vignettes. VERDICT An insightful portrayal of a family in transition. For tween readers who appreciate lyrical writing and coming-of-age tales.-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Frost's contemplative novel in verse, sisters Claire and Abigail have recently gained a stepmother and are soon to have a newborn sibling. Claire, 10, is resistant to these changes and is especially bothered by the growing distance between herself and her older sister, who insists on being called Abi and has "betrayed" her by accepting their stepmother. Last summer, Abi had her first kiss; this summer, she's torn between two boys. Poems from the perspective of the lake the family has visited for years provide calming, ageless counterpart to the girls' emotional and immediate concerns. Frost (Applesauce Weather) adeptly uses different poetic forms to differentiate her characters (mostly quatrains for Claire, free verse for Abi), as well as acrostics and concrete verse, lending a sense of movement to poems in which Claire is kayaking. Although both sisters' perspectives are represented, Claire's motivations and personality are better established. Readers will easily identify with her efforts to honor her late mother's memory while accepting her shifting relationships with Abi and her growing affection for the new members of her family. Ages 10-12. Agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
The summer Claire turns eleven, her widowed father has remarried, his wife is pregnant, and their lake house has been unceremoniously cleaned of her long-deceased mother's things. While thirteen-year-old sister Abi is preoccupied with first romance, Claire is rattled. Narratively connected poems from each girl's perspective--and, intermittently, from the lake itself--paint an intimate portrait of quiet family tumult. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Eleven-year-old Claire and thirteen-year-old Abigail have lived alone with their father since their mother died when Claire was a baby. The three have spent a month at the lake every summer, but things are different this year. Their new (pregnant) stepmom is coming, while their mom's belongings have been packed away as if she'd never been there. Abigail declares she wants to be called Abi, and all she can think of is boys and kissing them. When Abi starts sneaking out to hang with other kids, Claire is left alone to cover for her. But as the sisters grow apart, they learn that family is what ties them together. This novel in verse, set entirely at the family cabin, is told from the sisters' points of view, with Claire's in quatrains or verse with cleverly hidden feelings, and Abi's in free verse. The challenges born of the family's disrupted status quo, the peacefulness of kayaking, and the trials of becoming a teenager bring a realistic and insightful quality to the young girls' coming-of-age story.--Fredriksen, Jeanne Copyright 2017 Booklist
