Tiny Dancer by Siena Cherson Siegel and Mark Siegel

Tiny Dancer is the beautiful graphic memoir from Siena Cherson Siegel, with artwork by Mark Siegel.  Both the story and the art are memorable and done in a way that each enhances the other.  This is the story of a young dancer who struggles to find her fit in the world after giving up the thing that has always defined her.  How do you find your place when you have dreamed of only one thing for your entire life?  

In this memoir, Siena Cherson Siegel tells us of how she always dreamed of being a ballerina, in particular a ballerina in the New York City Ballet.  We learn of all the hours and all the work that went in to achieving this dream.  But when she decides to step away, where will she fit.  This beautifully told story will dive into Siegel's young life as she navigates a world that looks different from the one she always dreamed of.  

I can't wait for my tiny dancer to read this moving story one day!

 

From Amazon: 

A teenage ballet dancer struggles to find her next step, and her place in the world, in this exquisite graphic memoir—a follow-up to the Sibert Honor–winning To Dance.

All her life, Siena has dreamed of being a ballerina. Her love of movement and dedication to the craft earned her a spot at the School of American Ballet, with hopes of becoming a member of George Balanchine’s world-famous New York City Ballet company. Siena has worked hard for many years to be a professional ballet dancer, but injury and doubt are starting to take their toll.

Maybe it’s time to look beyond the world of dance—but Siena’s whole identity has been shaped by ballet. When you have spent your entire life working toward something, how do you figure out what comes next? And how do you figure out who you are without the thing that defined you? This is a moving and beautifully drawn memoir of a dancer struggling to find her next step—and a young woman finding her true footing in the world.

 

You'd Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow

You'd Be Home Now is the newest novel from Kathleen Glasgow.  This story is powerful and moving and important.  It is a story that tackles the disease of addiction, specifically the opioid crisis that is all to common.  It tells of one family's struggles to find help and acceptance amid the constant pull of addiction.  You'd Be Home Now tackles not only the struggles of those with addiction, but also the effects addiction has on the family and friends of those who fight this disease.  In this deeply personal novel, Glasgow gives the reader a deeply moving story about family and how to find our place in a world that too often tries to force us in to a box not of our choosing.  This is such a good and important read!

 You'd Be Home Now is the story of Emory, a girl dealing with the fallout of her brother's addiction, in particular a car accident that not only injured her, but killed one of their classmates.  As she returns to school and Joey returns from rehab, she must find a way to handle the world around her.  A world that blames her and her brother for the accident.  A world that often fails to see her for who she really is.  A world that constantly poses chances for Joey to relapse, no matter how much Emory supports him.  And as we all know, this is a world that is relentless.  But while trying to protect Joey, can Emory discover who she is and who she can be?  

 

From Amazon: 

From the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces comes a stunning novel that Vanity Fair calls “impossibly moving” and “suffused with light”. In this raw, deeply personal story, a teenaged girl struggles to find herself amidst the fallout of her brother's addiction in a town ravaged by the opioid crisis.

For all of Emory's life she's been told who she is. In town she's the rich one--the great-great-granddaughter of the mill's founder. At school she's hot Maddie Ward's younger sister. And at home, she's the good one, her stoner older brother Joey's babysitter. Everything was turned on its head, though, when she and Joey were in the car accident that killed Candy MontClaire. The car accident that revealed just how bad Joey's drug habit was.

Four months later, Emmy's junior year is starting, Joey is home from rehab, and the entire town of Mill Haven is still reeling from the accident. Everyone's telling Emmy who she is, but so much has changed, how can she be the same person? Or was she ever that person at all?

Mill Haven wants everyone to live one story, but Emmy's beginning to see that people are more than they appear. Her brother, who might not be "cured," the popular guy who lives next door, and most of all, many "ghostie" addicts who haunt the edges of the town. People spend so much time telling her who she is--it might be time to decide for herself.

A journey of one sister, one brother, one family, to finally recognize and love each other for who they are, not who they are supposed to be, You'd Be Home Now is Kathleen Glasgow's glorious and heartbreaking story about the opioid crisis, and how it touches all of us.