The In-Between by Katie Van Heidrich

when you’re in between where you want to be and where you are, when you’re in between what you previously had and what you so desperately want to have back, when you’re in between thoughts and feelings and wonderings of what’s even okay to think and feel, when you’re in between your parents, always of the mind that you should be on one side or the other, always of the mind that you should be in one place or another, but having to straddle multiple places at once, always in the messy middle of something, perhaps currently in the messy middle of the notoriously messiest years of adolescence, trying to figure out if you want to unload your mess on your friends whose lives aren’t as messy as yours—

Katie, her mother and two siblings are forced to move from their rented apartment. They find themselves in a 'long stay' motel. There are so many issues - it is one room, one bed, one tiny bathroom and this place means Katie now lives outside her school district. It is the second semester of seventh grade for Katie and the second semester of six grade for her brother. Their little sister is in her final semester at her elementary school. 

Until now Katie has had one best friend to rely on - Mia but that has now ended. We "traded elaborate notes, mutually overjoyed that we have each other, that we aren’t alone, especially considering we are the only two Black girls in this class."

Katie and her siblings spend every second weekend with their father. Life in his home is so different but there is no way they can spend longer there because mum will never give up custody. Oddly though, even though their father does have plenty of room, the kids share a pull-out couch in the guest room and two other bedrooms remain empty upstairs. Dad has a new wife and the house is kept spotless and the cupboards are full of supplies as though they are preparing for a future crisis. (Note there is a hint that his wife was a victim of modern slavery which is why I suggest this book is for readers aged 12+).

This book is a true story - a memoir - "In the early 2000s, thirteen-year-old Katie Van Heidrich has moved more times that she can count, for as long as she can remember. There were the slow moves where you see the whole thing coming. There were the fast ones where you grab what you can in seconds. When Katie and her family come back from an out-of-town funeral, they discover their landlord has unceremoniously evicted them, forcing them to pack lightly and move quickly. They make their way to an Extended Stay America Motel, with Katie's mother promising it's temporary. Within the four walls of their new home, Katie and her siblings, Josh and Haley, try to live a normal life--all while wondering if things would be easier living with their father. Lyrical and forthcoming, Katie navigates the complexities that come with living in-between: in between homes, parents, and childhood and young adulthood, all while remaining hopeful for the future."

Which cover above do you like? There is a great lesson here you could use with your students around their preference for one cover over the other. The publisher list this book for grades 5-8 but I think it will better suit a Young Adult reader aged 12+.

The In-Between is a verse novel so these lines are set out in free verse but when I copied them from my Kindle I was unable to retain that formatting:

As we tumbled out of the Mountaineer, which seems to be on its last leg, to stretch our arms and legs, to gather fast-food wrappers and empty soda cups in gas station plastic bags, to grab our bags from the trunk and make our way upstairs and to our door, an unexplainable pit appeared in my stomach and continued to grow as we climbed the stairs. And though I couldn’t have possibly known it then, I somehow felt that we were walking into a much bigger disaster than anything we’d already managed to survive.

It’s not so much that being here is the end of the world, but somehow the thought of going to school from here, the thought of carrying out the very normal routine that is going back to school from this rather abnormal place, feels apocalyptic.

It’s a notice reminding families that it is against the law to have your child enrolled at a school they are not districted for and that proof of residence can be requested at any point during the school year.

In my opinion, there are three kinds of teachers in this world: The ones who fly by the seat of their pants, whose classrooms always smell like last-minute, frantically made copies, the ones with meticulous plans who use every last second of class as if their very lives depended on it, and the ones who are clearly recycling material they “perfected” twenty years ago, who make minimal efforts to make class interesting or fresh.

But I know better than to think their relationship is all good. After all, they’re so, so different— even beyond the obvious, with Mom being Black and Dad being white ...

I pause and consider the weight of what I’m holding. A bundle of bananas. A gallon of milk. A loaf of bread. Sandwich meat. There’s more, and these are good things, I know, but somehow this just doesn’t feel right. After all, we’re still at this hotel and Dad is still going back to his house, the one that still has the two empty, unfurnished bedrooms upstairs. Perhaps there is more to this than I can possibly understand right now. Perhaps I’m missing the bigger picture or simply wouldn’t get it.

Her mother is Black; her father is White, and her stepmother, whose English is limited, is from Thailand. As her mother bounced between jobs and states in search of new opportunities, Katie strived to support her, suppressing her own emotions. But her mother’s avoidance of the reality that she cannot provide for her children makes it increasingly difficult for Katie to remain silent about her feelings. Complex character development will engage readers, and vivid descriptions of the physical landscape bring the text to life. Van Heidrich masterfully describes her childhood emotions as well her mother’s confusing choices and mental health struggles with compassion and nuance. Stellar writing, perfect pacing, and a sophisticated treatment of universal themes make this a must-read. Kirkus Star review

There are some discussion and extension questions on the publisher webpage. 

Companion books:

Shelter

Hold Fast

Paper Things

Earlier this year our Sydney Morning Herald had a feature story in their Saturday magazine about the people who use storage facilities and their reasons for leaving their possessions in these places - sometimes for many many years. Reading this broke my heart and then when I read Katie lost all her things when no payment was made for their storage my heart broke all over again. I would love to share some quotes from this, but I do not have subscriber access.

The Worlds we Leave Behind by AF Harrold illustrated by Levi Pinfold

"They hadn't invited her, hadn't forced her, hadn't encouraged her, hadn't wanted her to come, but there she was, a little kid suddenly in their care. 

And now they were in the woods and it had all gone wrong."

Imagine you have hurt another child - you are a child yourself - and you most certainly did not mean for this to happen. Now think about the reaction of the older sibling of this child. Their anger spills over. You already feel so much guilt. But what if you meet someone who offers to remove one of the people from this event? To wipe out all trace of them. 

The little girl is Sascha. The boys are Hex and Thommo. Sascha follows the boys down to the river. The boys are there to ride on a rope swing. Sascha begs them for a turn but she is stuck and accidentally knocks into Hex. He is an impulsive boy who never thinks about consequences. He picks up a lump of mud and hurls it at the little girl. She falls and there is a snap as we hear her arm break. Thommo and Hex (Hector) have been friends forever. When Sacha falls Thommo runs away. Hex thinks he has deserted him but actually he has gone for help. When the older brother and sister of Sacha arrive, Hex leaves quietly knowing an ambulance is coming. That night, though, he feels terrible. On Monday he visits his old friend Thommo but he is turned away. He decides to revisit the rope swing but when he arrives Sacha's sister Maria arrives and in her anger she lashes out at Hex. 

He runs away and finds himself in a strange part of the woods outside a small cottage. He meets an old woman and her dog. She offers him comfort and more:

"How many were there? ... 'Two' he said. 'Yes. And look, you are just one.' ... 'Don't you wish you could do something? ... I can help. I can even the score. I can make it so they never hurt you again."

Revenge. Retribution. The woman offers to make the world forget the kids who caused him harm. 

"Only you would know they'd ever existed at all. And your world will heal, reshape itself around the hole ... No one will miss them or remember them. No one will be hurt by their loss ... "

The woman gives him an acorn. He is told to crush it if he wants these kids removed. What he doesn't know is that Maria, Sascha's sister, has also visited the old woman and she also has an acorn.

And what about Thommo - it seems he has totally forgotten Hex ever existed and yet every now and then he gets a niggling feeling that something is wrong. 

This is one of the strangest, most disturbing, and yet intriguing books I have ever read. And I need to say there is no neat resolution. Older readers might link this story with a fairy tale such as Hansel and Gretel but this tale is way more sinister and it has no happily ever after. 

Blub from publisher page: Hex never meant for the girl to follow him and his friend Tommo into the woods. He never meant for her to fall off the rope swing and break her arm. When the finger of blame is pointed at him, Hex runs deep into the woods and his fierce sense of injustice leads him to a strange clearing in the woods – a clearing that has never been there before – where an old lady in a cottage offers him a deal. She'll rid the world of those who wronged him and Hex can carry on his life with them all forgotten and as if nothing ever happened. But what Hex doesn't know is someone else has been offered the same deal. When Hex's best friend Tommo wakes up the next day, he is in a completely different world but he only has murmurs of memories of the world before. Moments of deja vu that feel like Tommo's lived this day before. Can Tommo put the world right again? Back to how it was? Or can he find a way to make a new world that could be better for them all?

Compact and disquieting: a horror story with plenty of food for thought. Kirkus

... this isn’t a blood-and-guts-type horror story. Instead, it’s a nuanced story of friendship, social nuances, betrayal and eventually vindication. There’s magic, mystery and things that lurk in the dark. Cracking the Cover

Harrold’s solutions to the alternative worlds that might be produced by the children’s absences are thought provoking, and the explanation he provides for the witch’s intervention in the children’s lives owes as much to a vintage American tv series as to the brothers Grimm. It’s a handsomely produced tale about the darkness that can come to any of us on any day, the decisions that we take or avoid, and the possibilities, for good or ill, that stem from those choices. A perceptive and disturbing book. Books for Keeps

The book is illustrated throughout by Levi Pinfold’s beautiful black and white drawings which create a haunting atmosphere, reinforcing the author’s narrative and sometimes reaching even further into a world of horror and the supernatural. Just Imagine

I have a bit of a 'love hate' relationship with books by AF Harrold. I found The Song from Somewhere else difficult to read because of the violent bullying and I shudder whenever I see The Imaginary in a bookstore. That book disturbed me SO much. On the other hand, is earlier books about Fizzlebert Stump were all terrific. 

Here are two other books illustrated by Levi Pinfold who now lives in Queensland. His book Paradise Sands is truly spectacular.

Paradise Sands

The Secret Horse of Briar Hill

Not Nothing Gayle Forman

Before I start, I want to make it clear. He did something bad. Truly bad. I don’t want you to think I’m sidestepping that, or excusing it, or even forgiving it; it’s not for me to forgive, anyhow. But I’m telling you the story so you understand how he got where he did and how I got where I did and how both of us learned to rise to the occasion of our lives.

Alex, aged 12, has done something truly awful. The judge is giving him one more chance or one more opportunity. Alex hates that word and it's one the adults seem to use way too often. Now he finds himself at the Shady Glen retirement home: The Shady Glen residents were the living waiting to die. Places like Shady Glen are antechambers of death, the last stop where you wait for the Last Stop.

Because, honestly, no one had asked him if he wanted to be here. No one had asked him if he wanted another stupid opportunity. But, remembering what the judge had said about him throwing away chances ...

Alex is assigned work in the care home. He finds the residents weird and scary but even worse there is a young girl named Maya Jade also aged 12 who is working there - not as a community service order but as a volunteer - and she is bossy and opinionated and very annoying. The facility goes into lock down and Alex is sent to deliver meals to the residents. He meets Joseph “Josey” Kravitz aged 107 AND we meet him too because this book uses that appealing plot style of alternating voices so we can hear what Alex thinks and hear Josey. This is lucky in two ways because Josey is nonverbal (at least at the beginning of the book) and Josey is able to share the things he really 'sees' about Alex. Josey also opens up to Alex and over the following months he shares his own story - a harrowing story of love, loss and the holocaust.

Alex is suffering at home. He has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle. They are cold, disinterested and show Alex no love or affection. So 'home' is a misery. 

He lived on a lumpy couch with an aunt and uncle who did not want him. He had a judge who had warned him of last chances. He might go to juvie. And his mom… He hadn’t seen her in almost a year. He didn’t know if or when he would ever see her again. How could it get more permanently bad than this?

And the new school is also terrible. 'They' decide Alex is failing and so he is given special tutoring in maths. Alex is good at maths but he has totally switched off because everything in his life is so broken. He is so angry about the tutoring and the tutor. 

This book was published in 2024 and so here in Australia the hardcover edition is priced way beyond a school library budget. I read my copy on a Kindle but hopefully a paperback will arrive eventually. Not Nothing has won a Banks Street Award - Josette Frank Award 2025.  The Josette Frank Award for a work of fiction of outstanding literary merit for young readers in which children or young people deal in a positive and realistic way with difficulties in their world and grow emotionally and morally.

There is a raw honesty in this story - both in the story from Josey and from Alex. I cannot tell you exactly what Alex did but even though it is dreadful Gayle Forman has crafted a story that builds our empathy. I highly recommend Not Nothing for readers aged 12+.

Best-selling award winner Forman interweaves the tales carefully, with striking language and depth of feeling, allowing readers to understand the characters’ changing perspectives as they learn more about themselves and open up to people around them, many of whom become advocates and friends. Powerful, heartbreaking, and hopeful. Kirkus Star review

Book seller blurb: Alex is twelve, and he did something very, very bad. A judge sentences him to spend his summer volunteering at a retirement home where he's bossed around by an annoying and self-important do-gooder named Maya-Jade. He hasn't seen his mom in a year, his aunt and uncle don't want him, and Shady Glen's geriatric residents seem like zombies to him. Josey is 107 and ready for his life to be over. He has evaded death many times, having survived ghettos, dragnets, and a concentration camp--all thanks to the heroism of a woman named Olka and his own ability to sew. But now he spends his days in room 206 at Shady Glen, refusing to speak and waiting (and waiting and waiting) to die. Until Alex knocks on Josey's door...and Josey begins to tell Alex his story. As Alex comes back again and again to hear more, an unlikely bond grows between them. Soon a new possibility opens up for Alex: Can he rise to the occasion of his life, even if it means confronting the worst thing that he's ever done?

Here are a few text quotes:

For three days the boy cleaned banisters, safety rails, doorknobs, coffee tables, more doorknobs, Rummikub sets, book spines, outdoor tables, indoor tables, outdoor chairs, indoor chairs. The bleach stung his eyes, scraped his throat, and stole his appetite. The baloney sandwich his aunt packed him went uneaten. He would’ve thrown it away except he couldn’t bring himself to throw away food.

But then, as the months dragged on, his mom started to go to one of her bad places. He could recognize the signs as easily as the freckles across the bridge of her nose. He’d wake up in the morning and find her in the same chair she’d been in when he’d gone to bed, the TV on the same channel, the dinner he’d left out for her cold on the table. She didn’t cook any meals or eat the ones he put together.

“You shouldn’t separate them, because they love each other,” he continued in a halting voice. ...  So many people in Shady Glen had lost the people they loved, because their spouses had died or their children had moved away. When the people you loved left, that love remained, floating around, desperate for a place to go. And if it didn’t find a place to go… bad things happened. Love turned into anger, fear, hate. This was something the boy at twelve knew all too well. How did the grown-ups not see this?

“I’ll tell you why!” The words felt like a rocket countdown. Ten, nine, eight… “Because everyone who has promised me an opportunity has just made things worse. When I told the people at my old school about me and my mom, they all congratulated me on doing the right thing. Because now they had an opportunity to get us some help. I thought they meant food.” His voice began to crack, but the rocket was lifting off now, and there was no turning back. “But you know what they did? They made me go live with strangers and dragged my mom to a hospital and told her she’d have to get better if she wanted to be my mom. But if you know my mom like I do, you know she can’t stand to be stuck in one place. It’s why she moved so much. It’s why during the lockdown she got so much worse.”

I have also read this story where an elderly character also shares their holocaust experience. This one is for a slightly young audience - 10+.

The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow illustrated by Joe Todd Stanton

that next year will be tough ...

that it's time to knuckle down and focus

that it's all worth it in the end

that it's the most important year of our 

lives so far and we need to act like it ...

that it's time for us to step up and become top of the school

that it's the final year.

You can feel the tone of this writing from this extract near the beginning of the book. It feels a little like a rap song:

See the take-aways and neon-washed litter?

The disfigured pigeons 

huddled under railway bridges and flyovers?

Taxis buses pizza-boxes vape shops?

This is not a place of labradors and lattes and electric Audis

this is a place of staffies and cider

and exhaust-pipe smoke,

a place of one foot in front of the other brother

cos what else ya goona do?

Nathan Wilder (Nate) has two brothers, Dylan aged nearly four and Jaxon aged eight, and each of them has a different dad. Mum had Nate when she was just seventeen. Money is very short but mum is sure she can win at the bingo. Mum also likes to drink. Nate didn't ever meet his dad he just knows his name was Nick and he looks a little like Jesus. Jaxon's dad was a bully and a bouncer and he liked beer, lots of beer. He is now in jail. No one is sure about Dylan's dad. Dylan loves spiderman and he a kid always on the move. Nate loves his brothers, but Nate is also battling his own very serious anger issues. 

Early on we discover, just four little words my pile of books to show Nate is a reader (and a writer). Nate sleeps in the lounge room of their tiny flat - how does a kid like this have books? Why are the books hidden? Later we read "when I need to chill I head to the library." and "I've read everything I can find by David Almond. ... His style like music like poetry." Nate especially loved The Colour of the Sun. (I have added it to my own to read list). Then joy of joys the book his Grade 6 class will study is Skellig.

Notice the title - The Final Year. It is the final year of Primary. Nate has one great mate Parker Smith or PS. But when the new classes are formed the friends are separated. PS seems to have perfect life. Clean house, parents with jobs, food - regular stuff. Nate on the other hand has, in some ways, become a parent to his two young brothers.

Mum's out cold still

the morning after Bingo

so I get the boys ready

like I've done a thousand times before.

At the end of Gade 5 Nate and his class visit the room where they will go next year:

The classroom 

belongs to the old Year 6

stinks of 'em

and I mean stinks.

Their fadin name-tags are peeling off drawers

their work is all over the walls

Nate gets the new teacher Mr Joshua. He has no idea but this is so wonderful. Mr Joshua may be very inexperienced, but he is so wise and he offers gentle and caring support to Nate. He also loves to include music into his classroom which made me cheer. 

The other issue at school is Turner - the school bully and his gang. And now PS seems to be friends with Turner. 

Turner's no learner

he'll fight and he'll burn ya

he's done things that can't be forgiven.

Turner man, Turner

those fists gonna earn ya

a stay in triangular prison.

It is heart breaking to witness the disintegration of the friendship between Nate and PS. Thank goodness for his new friend Caleb. Then everything changes because Dylan is really unwell - seriously very very unwell. You will gasp over these scenes.

How can my head

be so full of stuff, Sir

so full of sadness

so full of questions

so full of danger

so full of pain

yet I am so empty?

Here is a description from their journey to the school camp in Windermer:

As we get closer

the hills are whiter than they looked

snow everywhere

like someone's laid down feathers

on the shoulders of a new world.

This book will break your heart and then mend it again. Please try to find this book and read it then give it to your young readers aged 10+ or pop it on display in your school library. This is one of those truly special books that needs to be in the hands of readers. This might be my book of the year. Teachers will love Mr Joshua and also the subtle commentary about the idiocy of state testing of our students - hooray! When you share this book make sure you find the music for "Every little things gonna be all right" (Bob Marley) and play it with the sound up LOUD. Here are some very detailed teaches notes. Matt Goodfellow introduces his book.

Carnegie shadow judges' notes say:

The Final Year is about …

 • The importance of friendship

 • How it is possible to control your anger

 • The power of writing

 • Putting family above everything else

 • How teachers can be inspirational

 • Growing up

 • How tough life is for some young people

 • Putting a brave face on things

 • The importance of kindness

A poignant exploration of change and loss. Nate struggles to come to terms with the changes facing him in his home and school life during his final year at primary school. His best friend moves class and his home life becomes increasingly uncertain after the tumult and turmoil of his brother being rushed into hospital. Can Nate find his place among a fast-changing world?

Highly accessible, lyrical and life affirming, this is a must-have novel that will authentically resonate with so many under-represented children and perfectly captures what this crucial transition period feels like. As such, it is a must-read for adults as well as the children who will devour it. It will also resonate with children who have made that transition and perhaps help them with their own feelings, as well as encouraging them to write for themselves. Love Reading 4Kids

This incredibly powerful novel, written entirely in free verse, really packs a punch. Nate’s innermost thoughts burst from the pages, enabling readers to really connect with his intense feelings of pain, anger and love. Thoughtful black-and-white illustrations punctuate the text of this spectacular debut novel, which is a heart-wrenching and ultimately uplifting read. Book Trust

Next step for me is to find the sequel published early in 2025 because the final words of The Final Year are ... 

Companion book:

Motormouth (now out of print but is sure to be in many Australian school libraries)

Margot and the Moon Landing by AC Fitzpatrick illustrated by Erika Medina

Margot loves everything about space travel and the moon. She reads every book she can find on this topic and then she just has to SHARE everything she knows with EVERYONE. The problem is her mother has stopped listening and her teacher just seems to be quite frustrated and even angry with Margot.

Eventually, having no one listening to her, drives Margot herself crazy and she grabs her marker pens and writes furiously all over her bedroom walls. Sharing this book with your child this could be the page to stop. How will mum react? Turn the page and you will be surprised. Mum stops and takes the time to read what Margot has written. 

"Margot waited for something to happen but instead mum got very quiet. She read all the words and then read them again."

Margot tries to rub out the words, but mum stops her. She grabs a pot of paint and together they fill the wall with images of space travel and stars and then even better mum attaches two enormous sheets of paper to the walls and shows Margot that these are the places she can write anything she likes. 

Publisher blurb: Margot loves space. Astronauts, the stars, and especially the moon landing. So she can’t understand why all of her attempts to communicate her passion fall on disinterested ears. Her mom is patient but distracted; her classmates would rather play kickball; and her teacher just wants her to focus and pay attention in class. Even so, Margot wishes she never had to talk about anything but space ever again. When she wakes up one morning and discovers she can only recite Neil Armstrong’s famous speech from the moon landing, Margot realizes she has an even bigger problem. How can Margot get everyone to pay attention and—more importantly—to hear what she’s really trying to say? This powerful picture book debut plays with themes of listening and communication to highlight the importance of a space of one’s own, no matter what your passion may be. 

A charming picture book about both a child and her obsessions and frustration, anger, and repair. Kirkus

There are several valuable themes in this book, including listening, communication and forgiveness. The book’s contents cover Margot’s learning to express herself effectively and constructively, and there’s also the lesson for adults in children’s lives – to listen and allow kids to be heard and to meet where they’re at. Canadian Review of Materials (Read this review if you are concerned about the way Margot expresses her anger using strong language). 

You can probably guess why I bought this book. If you are talking about space or the moon landing or want to affirm those quirky kids in your class who obsess (in a good way) over a specific topic, then this book could be fun to share. It reminded me of the way the little girl in Agatha May and the Angler Fish by Nora Morrison knew everything about her own favourite fish. 

Here is the teacher's guide from Canadian publisher Annick Press. Erika Rodriguez Medina is originally from Mexico. She now lives in Canada. You can see some of her books here. 

If you have an older child aged 9+ who, like Margot, is fascinated by the Moon Landing they might enjoy this Australian middle grade novel. 

In the illustration I shared you can see Margot reading a book about Laika. Take a look at my blog post about this famous dog who was sent to space (warning very young children may be distressed to discover Laika did not make it back to earth). You should also visit or revisit this award-winning Picture book from Australia:

Stellarphant

Nobody Hugs a Cactus by Carter Goodrich

If you look at the front and back end papers of Nobody Hugs a Cactus you can see actually 'someone' will hug this cactus but I am sure you won't be able to guess just how this happened.

You can see eight pages from this book on the author web page. Here is the Kirkus review.

Publisher blurb: Hank is the prickliest cactus in the entire world. He sits in a pot in a window that faces the empty desert, which is just how he likes it. So, when all manner of creatures—from tumbleweed to lizard to owl—come to disturb his peace, Hank is annoyed. He doesn’t like noise, he doesn’t like rowdiness, and definitely does not like hugs. But the thing is, no one is offering one. Who would want to hug a plant so mean? Hank is beginning to discover that being alone can be, well, lonely. So he comes up with a plan to get the one thing he thought he would never need: a hug from a friend.

A great pick for grumpy days when you might be feeling a bit prickly yourself. Waking Brain Cells

After reading this book you might like to see some flowering cactus plants.  I used to have a large one on my balcony but it was difficult to move it around because - yes you have guessed - it was way too prickly.

Carter Goodrich was the lead character designer for Brave, Ratatouille and Despicable Me. His picture books include We Forgot Brock!, Say Hello to Zorro!, Zorro Gets an Outfit, Mister Bud Wears the Cone, A Creature Was Stirring, and The Hermit Crab. 

Here in Australia picture books from America are now priced way beyond any school or public library budget. This book was donated to the library where I found it. I have seen this book listed between AUS$30 and AUS$45. Nobody Hugs a Cactus was published in 2019. 

I have previously talked about books and hugs:

Hug Me

Hug me, Please!

The Hug Machine

The Giant Hug

I haven't seen this one but it also sounds perfect:

And here are two other books about prickles and the need for a friend:

Enmore

A Porcupine named Fluffy

Cora Seen and Heard by Zanni Louise

"Do you ever feel like you're living inside a shell? Something hard and impenetrable? You think it's transparent - that people can see you. Then you realise they can't. No one can see you. The real you."

I read this book in one sitting and for an hour or two I was right inside Cora's head listening to her worries and the way she tries to navigate relationships with her peers and her family.

Readers who have had previous experience with books like this - realistic middle grade fiction - are sure to work out the major plot point long before the main character but that just adds to your reading enjoyment as you keep turning the pages desperate for Cora to 'see the obvious' about the old lady who lives just down the road from her new home and also understand why Elle has secrets. 

Just after grandad dies, Cora, her sister Bekah, along with mum Wendy and Dad Hank, have moved from Queensland to a small town in Tasmania. Dad has a talent for renovation, but this project could test him. They have bought an old, run down, disused theatre. In past years this was an important place in the town because it is where the famous jazz singer Clair de Lune once performed. 

Cora finds school difficult - she is always on the outside and she finds it very hard to make friends. Moving to a new school and new town Cora is determined to reinvent herself - moving from Cora 1.0 to Cora 2.0. She does have some ideas about how to do this but once again so many things go wrong. Luckily the kids in her new class, especially Elle, do know how to make a new friend and before long Cora finds herself part of a small team who are chosen to take on a community project. 

Cora 1.0 survived in her previous school by hiding out in the library. When things go wrong in the new school she finds the library again but then the Teacher-Librarian tells her the library is going to be changed into a classroom and there will be no Teacher-Librarian employed next year. Cora knows this has to be her community project. As an aside it is interesting to see which library books are mentioned in this story - Goosebumps; Heartstopper (Young Adult graphic novel); and Okay for Now by Gary D Schmidt. There are also lots of popular culture references to current musicians and bands and television shows such as The Voice. 

Here is some life advice from Cora:

• The louder your voice, the stronger you become.
• Flick your hair confidently as you follow your bestie onto the bus.
• Be amazing. You've got this.
• Find a cause.

Publisher blurb: Cora Lane gets tongue-tied, is often ignored and would rather hide in the library than step onto a stage. However, when her parents decide to renovate an old theatre in small-town Tasmania, Cora realises this is the perfect opportunity for her to reinvent her personality. Enter Cora 2.0, stage left.

When Cora quickly slips back into her old ways and has once again made friends with the librarian. rather than kids her own age, she feels lost. Frustrated she’s not the person she wants to be, she shares her deepest feelings with her imaginary pen pal. The last thing she’d expect is for her letters to go missing. And now, the real Cora Lane is about to go public, but is she ready?

This is one of those books that I have found difficult to pin down in terms of a suggested reader. Soiler alert - Cora does get her first period so that means I would say this book is for 11+. Her sister decides she is bisexual and forms a new relationship with her girlfriend. That means I would say this book is a Young Adult title. It also feels at times there is just one issue to many for the characters to grapple with - Elle has dyslexia; grandma is an alcoholic; and mum is trying to cope with the raw grief of losing her father and helping her elderly mother who now lives over 2000km away. 

The publisher offers this advice: This novel contains references to alcoholism, sexuality, puberty, abuse.

Here is a set of detailed Teacher Notes from the publisher Walker Books Australia. 

Each of these reviews has more plot details:

Brilliant in every way, Zanni Louise has created another amazing novel with a chain of personal stories and happenings about reinvention, loneliness, friendship, and family being the twine that binds things together. Kids' Book Review

Zanni Louise’s latest middle grade book focuses on the confusing feelings young people have at the age of about twelve, when primary school is finishing, when they’re hitting puberty and girls are going through lots of emotional changes and conflicts with friends and family, and where big changes can mean great upheaval – and not just a physical move or change. ... This story is as much about acceptance of the flaws in others as it is about flaws in ourselves, and the coming together of communities to celebrate the past and future. The Book Muse

What a very lovely and warm journey of self-discovery it is, and I am supremely sure that young readers will embrace this one ... Just So Stories

It was rather difficult writing the synopsis of Cora Seen and Heard as it has so many themes, all of which are explored with sensitivity, insight, and cleverly crafted writing. Reading Time

Here is another Australian book with the title Clair de Lune.  You are sure to know the famous music by Debussy but that is not especially relevant to this book because this character Clare de Lune is a jazz singer. I previously talked about another book by Zanni Louise - Queenie in seven moves. 

Companion books:

The Sideways Orbit of Evie Hart

Ode to a Nobody

Greetings from Nowhere by Barbara O'Connor

"Then she used a red marker to put a big X through May 22 on the wall calendar. She had made it through another day."

Can you feel the deep sadness here? Aggie and Harold have owned the Sleepy Time Motel for decades but now Harold has died and the motel is in need of serious repairs and there are no guests and the pile of unpaid bills is growing and growing.

"Nobody had come for a long, long time. Nobody had come since when? Auggie wondered. She flipped open the motel guest book and looked at the last entry. Nearly three months ago Mr. and Mrs. R.J. Perry from Ocala Florida."

It is time for Aggie to sell her home - the motel. 

Meanwhile we meet Willow. It is Willow and her dad now because her mum just left one day. Willow has so many unanswered questions about her mum Dorothy. Her dad just won't talk about her. This is another family filled with sadness.

"His misery grew and grew until it filled up the whole house and seeped out of the doors and windows into the year. It floated over the patch of weeds that used to be flowers that Dorothy grew. It circled the swing set where willow used to play while Dorothy pinned wet sheets on the clothesline. And it snaked around the mailbox where willow waited every morning at ten o'clock."

Willow is so desperate to receive a letter from her mum she even writes them and posts them to herself. Then one morning things completely change. Her father reads an advertisement about a motel that is for sale - yes it is the Sleepy Time Motel in North Carolina. 

The third person we meet in this story is Loretta. She is also looking for some thing so she can make sense of her life. Loretta is an adopted child. She has a beautiful loving family but she really knows nothing about her birth mother.  On the day of this story though, a parcel arrives. Her mother has died and the box contains "all her earthly possessions". A tattered pincushion; a Japanese fan; a silver pocket watch; a picture of a hummingbird; a Bible; tiny scissors; a sparkly poodle dog pin; a pale blue handkerchief with the letter P embroidered in pink; a heart-shaped box made of red velvet and a silver charm bracelet. Oh and there is a photograph of a young girl about the same age as Loretta. The charm bracelet is the key to what happens next. Her mum and dad agree to visit all the places that match the charms. I imagine you have guessed that Loretta and her parents are going to end up at the Sleepy Time Motel.

Then we meet Kirby. Kirby is a troubled boy. His mum does not understand him and he does not like the latest step dad. Things have become so bad that he is now being sent juvenile detention centre/school. His step dad does not come on the long journey. The car is old and yes, it breaks down and yes this happens near the Sleepy Time Motel. Kirby is angry and desperately missing the only person who ever showed him any kindness - Burla Davis - the old lady from next door.

Now you have met all of the characters (the chapters alternate their voices) I invite you to read this wonderful story of healing and new beginnings. I am always drawn to books like this especially ones where places (and people) are in need of repairs. Oh, and this book, even though you know there HAS to be a happy ending, has just the right amount of tension to keep you flying through the pages. Hooray for Barbara O'Connor! This is resoundingly a five-star book.

I often look for character descriptions:

"Her face was lined and leathery, but her eyes were clear and sparkly. She kept pushing the stretched sleeves of her sweater up over her bony elbows."

"The one who smelled like lavender talcum powder. The one who made doll clothes out of dishcloths and cradles out of oatmeal boxes. The one who called her Lulu ..."

Here is the teacher's guide.

As these unlikely folks come together in Aggie’s tumbledown motel, they find something they need through the friendships that form. O’Connor artfully weaves together the hopes, fears, disappointments, sorrows and joys of her multi-generational cast to produce a warm and satisfying conclusion. Kirkus

Publisher blurb: Aggie isn't expecting visitors at the Sleepy Time Motel in the Great Smoky Mountains. Since her husband died, she is all alone with her cat, Ugly, and keeping up with the bills and repairs has become next to impossible. The pool is empty, the garden is overgrown, and not a soul has come to stay in nearly three months. When she reluctantly places a For Sale ad in the newspaper, Aggie doesn't know that Kirby and his mom will need a room when their car breaks down on the way to Kirby's new reform school. Or that Loretta and her parents will arrive in her dad's plumbing company van on a trip meant to honor the memory of Loretta's birth mother. Or that Clyde Dover will answer the For Sale ad in such a hurry and move in with his daughter, Willow, looking for a brand-new life to replace the one that was fractured when Willow's mom left. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all is that Aggie and her guests find just the friends they need at the shabby motel in the middle of nowhere.

Companion reads:

Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel

Front Desk (note this has a very different US Cover)

Louisiana's Way Home

Other books by Barbara O'Connor:

Halfway to Harmony

How to Steal a Dog

Wonderland

The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis

Wish