Chris Makes a Friend

Gr 3-7–Chris Rossi is excited to start the summer before sixth grade. She and her best friend Vicky Chan plan to read 72 books—one for each day of summer vacation—as they spend time together. But everything changes when Chris’s mom, who has chronic pain, needs surgery and rest. Instead of staying at home on Staten Island, bibliophile Chris and her younger sister, soccer-loving Becca, are going to stay with their grandparents in Massachusetts who have strict rules about being outside all summer. As the summer unfolds, Chris meets Mia who she spends hours with, reading and talking through her many fears: her mother’s mobility issues, her mother’s nonbinary girlfriend becoming sick of being a caregiver and leaving, losing her best friend, her frustration with her younger sister, and her own identity work. During their stay, Chris and Becca start to find common ground as they navigate their mother’s disability. This poignant middle grade novel is told from Chris’s point of view. The queer family dynamic and antagonistic relationship with a younger sibling will resonate with young readers. They will relate to the vulnerability and uneasiness of the protagonist. The sisters are cued white.