LILAC AND THE SWITCHBACK

A novel in verse that explores a period of wrenching transition for a vulnerable 12-year-old.

Lilac Jones has lived with her aunt Truly, uncle Mack, and one-year-older cousin Charla ever since her mother died in a car accident when Lilac was 6. When Truly announces that she’s pregnant with twins, Lilac worries even more than she already does about being a burdensome outsider. Lilac and best friend Callie were inseparable, but the beginning of seventh grade unravels their closeness, just as Truly’s pregnancy complications require months of bed rest. Seeking direction within the upheaval, Lilac explores several new paths, developing curiosity about her estranged father’s Jewish identity (which is shared by new classmate Eli) and joining a hiking club at school called the Trailblazers. The club provides the book’s framework (“Part One: Start of the Trail,” “Part Two: Left Turn,” “Part Three: Spur Leading to a Different Trail”) and illuminates the title (switchback is defined as “a path with alternate / ascents and descents”). But the highs—Lilac’s newfound interest in hiking and burgeoning friendships with Eli and fellow club members—are overwhelmed by the seriousness of her covert attempts to reconnect with her unreliable father, who struggles with addiction. Lilac is a sympathetic protagonist, yearning to feel more secure in her relationships, but the author struggles to balance the myriad challenges and resolves her profound alienation too smoothly. Most characters read white.

An uneven portrait of a girl in distress.