cover image Very in Pieces

Very in Pieces

Megan Frazer Blakemore. HarperTeen, $17.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-06-234839-5

Mathematically gifted Very Woodruff is likely headed to MIT, and she’s also the odd one out in a family of creative types. Her mother is a respected artist, her father is a music professor, her younger sister shows artistic promise, and her grandmother, “Nonnie,” is a famous poet. Nonnie’s impending death is front and center as Blakemore (Secrets of Truth & Beauty) spins a thoughtful story of a family breaking apart. While the Woodruffs watch Nonnie fade away, Blakemore introduces a touch of mystery when someone begins creating a work of art on the side of the their house in honor of Nonnie. As Nonnie’s condition worsens, and Very’s father and sister go AWOL, the typically steady Very loses her footing, too. She ends things with her responsible “good guy” boyfriend, Christian, after cheating on him with Dominic, the school’s sort-of bad boy. It’s a believable and engaging story of the decline of a cherished grandmother and community member, and a girl trying to find her place in her family, her relationship, and life. Ages 13–up. Agent: Sara Crowe, Harvey Klinger. (Sept.)