Besides the normal issues that a middle girl school faces, Cass's older brother has just shipped out to Iraq leaving her family divided and devastated. Cass's younger brother is a special needs child who was devoted to his brother. Her older sister is wrapped up in her relationship with her "musician" boyfriend. Since their parents are not handling things well, what can Cass do?
One decision she makes is to start communicating with an Iraqi girl through the girl's blog. What starts as a school assignment leads her to question much of what she hears about "The War on Terror".
Cassie's life is complicated and painful during the time frame covered. I found her voice to be fairly authentic and engaging (I teach this age). In the end I wished for a little more development of Cass's mother - what's up with her? Does being beautiful make you weak?
This book covers a lot of topics, maybe too many. There were several threads I wish were meatier, but it is a easy to read story and one that will go on the shelf in my classroom library.
One decision she makes is to start communicating with an Iraqi girl through the girl's blog. What starts as a school assignment leads her to question much of what she hears about "The War on Terror".
Cassie's life is complicated and painful during the time frame covered. I found her voice to be fairly authentic and engaging (I teach this age). In the end I wished for a little more development of Cass's mother - what's up with her? Does being beautiful make you weak?
This book covers a lot of topics, maybe too many. There were several threads I wish were meatier, but it is a easy to read story and one that will go on the shelf in my classroom library.
