Margin Notes

The Secret to Belonging is both a heartbreaking and hopeful story about family, loyalty, love, and the complicated emotions that come with wanting something different for yourself while feeling responsible for a family that has so often let you down.

At the center of the story is a teenage girl who has spent much of her life feeling invisible in her own family. Her older brother’s drug addiction has consumed her parents’ time, attention, and money. Between his legal troubles and repeated attempts at rehabilitation, there is little left for her. Her parents miss the important moments in her life, and when they spend the college fund her grandparents established for her on yet another stay in rehab for her brother, her future seems to disappear as well.

With encouragement from her best friend, she applies for a scholarship to spend her senior year of high school in Norway. And for the first time in as long as she can remember, she experiences what it feels like to be part of a stable, loving family. She embraces her new school, learns a new language, makes wonderful friends, and falls in love with a boy named Espen. For once, life is about her and the possibilities ahead of her.

But just as she begins to build a life she loves, a family tragedy connected to her brother’s addiction leaves both her mother and brother needing care. Despite desperately wanting to stay in Norway, she returns home to help her father. Before long, she is back working at the same video store, handing over her pay cheques, and putting everyone else’s needs ahead of her own. Her friends want her to understand that her family’s struggles do not have to determine the course of her life. But knowing that and finding the courage to act on it are two very different things.

Freeman makes some interesting choices in how she tells the story. Written entirely in verse and in second person, the novel never reveals the main character’s name. In an interview, Freeman explained that this was deliberate. By addressing the reader as “you,” she invites us to step into the main character’s place. And, if the story is about you, you already know your own name. There is, however, a tiny clue in the novel that allows readers to figure out the name Freeman imagined for her character if they are inclined to do so.

The Secret to Belonging is a great choice for readers drawn to realistic fiction, complicated family dynamics, and characters you can’t help but cheer for. Readers who enjoy novels in verse will appreciate Freeman’s storytelling, and those new to the format may be surprised by just how completely it draws them in. As mentioned, the novel deals with some heavy themes, particularly addiction and its effects on families, but it’s also a story about discovering that you deserve to belong, too.

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The YA novel  is the perfect spooky-season read for anyone who prefers whimsy and cozy cottagecore to darkness and fright.

After being locked out of her house, Margo finds herself at a bizarre and impossibly expansive bed and breakfast that exists between worlds. The inn also sits outside of time: Margo can stay as long as she likes, and no time will have passed when she returns to the human world.

And honestly, who wouldn’t want to check in for a while?

I thoroughly enjoyed my stay with Margo at The Between Worlds B&B. Each time I returned to the book after reluctantly rejoining the real world, it felt like wrapping myself in a cozy blanket and settling in for delightful shenanigans with my besties. I had such a wonderful time reading this book that I can’t help smiling as I write about it.

Although Margo does not realize it at first, every part of her stay has been shaped around what she needs and wants, even the things she has not yet figured out for herself. Along the way, she meets some of the most amazing magical beings, a not-so-evil demon, a woodland fairie, a wizard, and a ghost, and some equally amazing magical animals. Even though the inn is highly unusual, it’s amazing how quickly it feels like home.

Margo not only learns so much about who she is and what is important to her, she helps the other guest staying at the inn do the same. She forms intergenerational and interspecies friendships that are sure to last a lifetime.

Although this coming-of-age tale fits neatly in the YA fantasy genre, I am sure that any reader who loves a good cozy read will find this story as delightful as I did. After reading a more serious and violent historical fantasy with a complicated world building, The Between Worlds B&B was the perfect comfort read.

This would be a fantastic addition to a middle or high school classroom library, especially for readers who enjoy cozy fantasy, found family, magical creatures, and stories that are full of hope. It could also lend itself to conversations about belonging, identity, friendship, and the ways people can help each other grow.

After finishing a serious and violent historical fantasy with complicated world-building, The Between Worlds B&B was exactly the comfort read I needed. It is gentle, funny, imaginative, and full of heart.

I absolutely loved this title.

Oh Brother is a graphic memoir by Georgina (Gina) Chadderton. As the story opens, Gina is spending the summer before she starts middle school moving into a new house with her family. Her brother, Rob, is autistic and has high support needs, so their home has to be set up in very specific ways to keep him safe. Doors and cupboards are secured, and even the fridge and windows have added safety measures. Early in the story, we see exactly why. Shortly after the family moves in, the new neighbours come over to let them know that Rob has somehow made his way into their living room.

You also learn so much about autism simply through the way Chadderton tells the story. Rob does not use many spoken words, but he communicates constantly through sounds, gestures, pointing, signing, and routines his family has learned to understand. The memoir gives readers a real sense of how frustrating it can be to know what you want or how you are feeling but not always be able to make other people understand.

But this is also very much Gina’s story. We experience life with Rob through the perspective of a sister who loves him deeply and can also feel embarrassed, worried, frustrated, protective, and completely overwhelmed. That honesty is part of what made the book feel so vulnerable and important.

There is another layer, too. In the back matter, Chadderton shares that she herself was diagnosed with autism as an adult. Knowing that makes you look back at Gina’s experiences differently and further challenges any narrow idea of what autism looks like.

Published as a middle grade graphic memoir, Oh Brother could be a powerful mirror for students who have neurodivergent siblings and an equally important window for readers who want to better understand autism, communication, family, and the complicated ways we love the people closest to us.

When I saw Jason Reynolds call this book a gift, I knew I was going to love it.

Shook follows Malik “Shake” Page, an eighth grader whose life revolves around basketball. Like many athletes, he knows exactly who he is: a ball player. Then he gets injured and can’t play. Shake is confronted with anxiety, changing relationships, and questions about who he is without the sport he loves. As much as this is a story about basketball, it is also a story about identity, mental health, and resilience.

One of the strengths of Shook is its portrayal of anxiety in the context of sports. Taking away the sport around which his life revolves brings underlying anxiety to the forefront. Randall captures anxiety through both emotional and physical experiences. This helps show that feelings can be difficult to name, especially for young people experiencing them for the first time. I also appreciated the inclusion of therapy, which is presented as a normal and helpful tool for working through challenges.

This is a novel in verse that uses space purposefully. Spacing, shape, font changes, and other visual elements reinforce emotions and experiences while drawing readers into the story. These features make the book accessible while also serving as a mentor text for how writers can use text structure meaningfully and intentionally.

I would recommend Shook to readers who enjoy novels in verse, sports stories, and realistic fiction. It will resonate with athletes, students navigating anxiety, and fans of authors such as Kwame Alexander and Jason Reynolds.