Annie Cardi

A subtle, but powerful story of what happens when a quiet girl finds safety and welcome at her grandparents church. Tess loves the sense of warmth and faith, but when she becomes pregnant, decides to get an abortion. She's then shunned by the very people she thought cared about her once her secret is made public without her consent. The shunning turns hateful and when her grandparents throw she and her mom out of their home, it looks pretty bleak. What saves Tess is the trio of kids at school who, while a bit prickly, could care less about her choice. She shares their love of music, and they gradually bring her out of her shell, to a point where she not only starts learning to play her late father's guitar, but write and perform her own songs.
When she starts to realize the baby's father may be preying on other vulnerable teens, her newfound music, plus a realization that not everyone from church feels like she's a pariah, helps her begin to move mountains. The ending is extremely satisfying.
We have here a great book about religious hypocrisy, small town gossip, sexual predators and courage. A fine choice for any library.… (mer)

Trigger Warnings: abortion, misogyny, religious bigotry, grooming, adult/minor relationship

After Tess’s mom loses her job, the two move in with her grandparents in Hawthorne. The one condition is that the two must attend church. Tess’s mom isn’t too happy about it, but Tess enjoys the community and quickly finds a place among the youth group and choir.

But after a very personal decision becomes public, Tess faces both harassment and rejection from the church community. After meeting some kids in the band room during lunch - the only place she’s able to find solitude, she learns to find her voice again with their support.

I like that this book had a religious theme, but it wasn’t overly preachy. Tess had a relationship with God before and she spends the duration of the book talking about that and how she wants to reconnect but isn’t sure how to do so.

I appreciated the fact that Annie Cardi addressed the subject of abortion and how it can still be considered controversial today but that it’s not so black and white that some people think it is. The fact that characters changed their views throughout the story was authentic and felt right - now granted, some still had a hard time “accepting” Tess’s decision but it was still nice to see.

This novel also shows how the act of grooming and abuse aren’t always so easily detectable. Predators can be anyone.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. This is unfortunately something that young women can go through and I feel like this will help a lot of girls feel seen.

*Thank you Union Square & Co. for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review… (mer)

It's a good parent-with-an-illness book. Alex's responses felt real, her romance with Jim was sweet without being too good to be true, and the ending wasn't neat or easy. This isn't my genre, but I enjoyed it. Good for Sarah Dessen fans. Maybe a little old for middle school, mostly because it moves a bit slowly and the romance takes a while to get going. (And also because the couple have sex -- in a safe, believable, enthusiastically consenting way -- if that's a thing that bothers you for young teenagers to read. I'd honestly be in favor of middle schoolers reading more sex scenes like this one to balance out the soft-focus movie and TV scenes that feel more about conquest than mutual joy, but that's me.)

I am easily annoyed by audio performers, but this one's voice felt right for Alex. I was happy to have her in my ears for a couple weeks' worth of commutes.… (mer)