Falling Out of Place

Gr 9 Up—Gabby Herrera is living in the shadow of her seemingly perfect siblings and is now grounded for her terrible grades. Her father is taking away her cell phone, and she has to quit the basketball team and begin an after-school job at a warehouse. Her friendship with her best friend frays, she breaks up with her boyfriend, and she begins drinking on the job and at school. She sneaks out of her window at night to attend wild parties. No one understands her except for her Uncle Mike, who is later disowned by the entire family for coming out. Gabby continues to spiral out of control after continual disappointments caused by everyone around her, and she attempts suicide. In the end, readers see her slowly begin to heal. Teens will empathize with her as she tells her story. This easy-to-read title is another winner in the series.—Lindsay Klemas, JM Rapport School for Career Development, Bronx, NY