What She Missed

Sixteen-year-old painter Ebony Jones, who is Black, is struggling to figure out who she is. After being unable to finish a self-portrait assignment at school and flip-flopping between her birth name and chosen name Indigo, she feels as if she no longer sees herself clearly. These feelings of instability worsen when both of her parents lose their jobs in Houston, forcing the family to move to remote Lake Alula, a predominantly Black Texas shore town where her late grandmother lived. Though her childhood friend Jalen is excited to reintroduce her to all the things they did as children, Ebony is haunted by bittersweet memories of her grandmother, causing her to withdraw emotionally. She instead gravitates toward Jalen’s older sister Lena, whose rebellious streak and bombastic personality make Ebony feel more like herself. Lyrical yet grounded prose by Tamani (All the Things We Never Knew) depicts Ebony’s emotional turmoil via a keen first-person POV, while interstitials featuring an omniscient narrator act as between-the-lines glimpses into Ebony’s psyche. Amid the emotional intensity, these unique moments of narrative interjection provide quiet spaces for reader contemplation regarding the things one hides from oneself and the ways in which self-discovery can inspire both fear and feelings of freedom. Ages 13–up. (June)