Twelve-year-old Caprice (Black) is back in Newark after attending a summer program at Ainsley International School in upstate New York. She loved the school and the kids she met, but she missed her best friend, Nicole, and the community center in Newark that’s the center of her out-of-school social life, and where she’s advocating to start a “women’s group” for girls. It makes deciding whether to accept the scholarship to attend Ainsley full time hard—so hard she doesn’t tell Nicole about the offer. But it’s not the only secret she’s keeping. Her last night at Ainsley, a boy kissed Caprice without consent, and the feeling of powerlessness has brought up memories she’s worked hard to ignore: She’s never told anyone her uncle sexually abused her when she was little. Caprice and her mom were living with her grandma when the abuse took place, and now her grandma is ill, further complicating Caprice’s feelings. The complexities of the plot—around the abuse, but around family and friendship, too—and intense emotions are masterfully handled in this story with layers of revelation for readers and for Caprice and other characters. For Caprice, that revelation provides her with deeper understanding of the past, including how her innocence was manipulated. Speaking her truth marks the beginnings of getting help, and healing. Nuanced characters also distinguish this affecting, ultimately hopeful story.  (Ages 10-13)

From the groundbreaking author of Tyrell, an astonishing middle-grade novel about a girl overcoming the secrets and abuse of her past.

This should be an exciting time for Caprice. She has been offered a place at the school of her dreams, where she's just had a fantastic summer. But this great opportunity coincides with a lot of internal doubt and the disturbing news that her long-estranged grandmother has fallen ill and may be near death. As Caprice tries to figure out her future, she is pulled back toward her past, and the abuse she endured from her uncle when she was little -- an abuse she's never told anyone about.

With extreme sensitivity and honesty for middle-grade readers, Coe Booth has written a painful but ultimately healing novel about finding support from your parents and friends, articulating your truth, and choosing your own path.