a bazillion, or it seems...

The Steps by Rachel Cohn (Aladdin Paperbacks, 2014)

genre: Realistic

ages: 10-14 years

honors: none

review: Annabel is going to spend Christmas with Jack—her dad—in Sydney, Australia, while her mother—Angelina—spends the holiday with her boyfriend. It sounds exciting until she gets to Sydney and has to come to terms with “dad-jealousy.” It starts with her step-siblings and the fact that they are calling Annabel’s Jack “Dad.” Then Angelina calls to tell Annabel that she’s going to have a baby and marry her new boyfriend—thus adding to the ever growing circle of her bazillion “steps.”

opinion: Rachel Cohn presents the ups and downs of blended families in her book. I feel for Annabel because while she was the only child of her parents before they split up, and now she’s caught in a weird spot because she feels like she doesn’t belong in either of the two newly forming families. Her parents come through in the book and make her feel loved amongst all of the “steps.”

ideas: I’d love to give this book to kids who are facing the ever-growing group of blended families. I’d also like to give this book to the parents of those families as a clue that while they move forward, they have to remember the children from their pasts.