About this item
Highlights
- If thirteen-year-old Sage had done one thing differently that day last November, everything would be fine.
- 256 Pages
- Juvenile Fiction, Family
Description
About the Book
Blaming herself for the accident leading to her mother's opioid addiction, thirteen-year-old Sage hopes to fix what's gone wrong by visiting her estranged grandparents, where she learns about the complexity of family relationships, the value of forgiveness, and how to find her way forward with resilience and hope.Book Synopsis
If thirteen-year-old Sage had done one thing differently that day last November, everything would be fine. Only she didn't, so she and her dad had to leave Philadelphia for a new life in middle-of-nowhere Virginia. Her dad has never actually said he blames her for what happened, but how could he not?
Sage is determined to push it all out of her mind, but then, just before summer vacation, she hears from the grandparents she's never met. They want her to visit, and she realizes this could be her chance to mend the rift that's kept everybody apart.
When she meets Grandmother Marion, though, Sage is sure her trip is headed for disaster. Except she wasn't counting on making a new friend or rescuing a sweet stray dog. With them by her side, maybe she can find the courage to face what she's been avoiding all along.
From the award-winning author of It Happened on Saturday comes a heartfelt and empowering story that explores the complexity of family relationships, the value of forgiveness, and how to find your way forward in a tough situation with resilience and hope.
Review Quotes
"Dunlap manages to keep the story breezy while never ignoring the emotional depths of the situation, letting Sage--and possibly readers--come to a place of healing at just the right time. . . . A heartfelt contemporary novel for fans of Jennifer L. Holm's Sunny Side Up and Gennifer Choldenko's The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman." --School Library Journal, starred review
"A compelling, emotionally engaging, heartfelt coming-of-age novel....Racing the Clouds is an original, skillfully written, and fully absorbing novel that is especially and unreservedly recommended for young readers ages 10-14." --Midwest Book Review
"Sad but delicately handled. . . . For readers of Ann Braden's The Benefits of Being an Octopus." --Booklist
"Sage's voice rings with the authenticity of a compassionate, thoughtful kid who's struggling between wanting to take care of everyone else, wanting someone to take care of her, and wanting to just run away and leave everyone to deal with their own toxicity." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Complex emotional themes are handled with a gentle touch in this realistic story of resilience." --Kirkus Reviews
"A riveting novel with crucial themes, Racing the Clouds lays bare the communal effects of drug addiction as a girl seeks generational healing." --Foreword Reviews
"Descriptions of Sage's guilt over the events surrounding her mother's absence, as well as the teen's love for dogs and stellar ping-pong skills, coalesce into a fully fleshed-out character. Her struggles in learning how to cope with current and past events and accept help make for a satisfying emotional journey by Dunlap." --Publishers Weekly