Kyra, Just for Today - by Sara Zarr (Hardcover)

Thanks to the author & HarperCollins Children’s Books for a gifted copy. All comments and opinions are my own. I truly enjoyed this poignant, honest, and beautifully written story about a seventh grader who is an only child of a single mom in recovery. The story is told in the first person, which provides evocative realism as Kyra worries about her mom’s sobriety. In addition to worrying about her mom, Kyra has several issues she’s dealing with, so she reminds herself “It’s okay to dream and have hope.” Then she thinks: “But it’s hard to dream and have hope when your best friend has new best friends who don’t even know her, and your mom might be relapsing but you’re afraid to ask, and the one person you mostly want to talk to is the same one with all those new best friends.” The story focuses on the concerns of middle grade issues – popularity, friendships, clothing, body image, bullying, homework. Kyra is old enough to be home alone, but at the same time she still needs more supervision and reassurance than her mother provides. In fact, she realizes that she is often the one caring for her mother – preparing meals and grocery shopping, reminding her mom to charge her phone, waking her up in the mornings. On some level she knows this isn’t how her life should be, with her taking on so many adult responsibilities. I liked the way the author uses the cooking analogy to describe Kyra’s wish for order and predictability. When she cooks, she says “I clean up first. That’s how real chefs do it: they start with a clean kitchen and keep a tidy work area. Also, they lay out all the ingredients instead of taking them out as they go. You don’t want to find out halfway through a recipe you don’t have everything you need. I wish life could be like that. With a tidy system and a way to make sure you have what you need for any given situation and a clean area before and after.” Kyra’s voice stayed in my head both while reading the novel as well as after I finished. The author writes from personal experience, which gives the story authenticity and will resonate with its intended young audience as well as adults. I'm an enthusiastic fan of Sara Zarr and couldn't wait to read this book from the time I first heard about it. In the interest of full disclosure, I have known Sara since she was ten years old. I hope my five-star rating encourages you to read this powerful yet sensitive story of a young girl learning about herself, life, and family.