CANDIDLY CLINE by Kathryn Ormsbee
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I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from the publisher in order to write this review.
As soon as Cline finds out about the singer-songwriter workshop for young people, she knows she has to do it. Unfortunately, two things stand in her way. First, the workshop costs $300, money her family definitely does not have. And second, her mom said no–not just no to the workshop, but no to Cline pursuing a future in the music business, period.
But when a job opportunity falls into Cline’s lap and her grandmother (who is just as much a guardian as her mom, really) offers to advance her the application fee and sign her permission form, Cline takes it as a sign. She is meant to do this workshop. As the honesty of her songwriting leads to Cline write a love song to a girl, however, her world begins to shift. It turns out not everyone is willing to accept Cline for who she is, even people she thought really cared for her. As Cline moves closer to the public debut of her song, and closer to her songwriting partner, Sylvie, will she have the courage to be true to herself?
From the plucky protagonist who won’t give up on her dreams, to the complex mother-daughter relationship, to the sweet glimpse of puppy love between two queer young people–there is a lot to love in this middle grade novel. At the start of the book, Cline already knows she likes girls romantically–and that’s just who she is–but questions of tolerance, how and when to come out (and to whom), and emotional safety run throughout the story. Queer tweens will resonate with and take courage from Cline’s experiences, especially the encouragement she gets from allies to take care of her own mental health and take the distance she needs from hateful people and institutions, and all readers will root for her in her relentless pursuit of her artistic dreams. A must-buy for library collections, I highly recommend this novel to all middle grade contemporary fiction fans and to middle grade book clubs.
Susan the Librarian 