a memoir by Katie Wingate
Aladdin
an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division
304 pages
ISBN: 9781665929325
Middle grade readers who love novels in verse are in for a treat: The In-Between. Filled with compassion and honesty, grit and determination, emotion and angst, this novel captures that in-between anxiety of too many questions and never enough answers.
Katie Wingate and her family have been uprooted so many times. When they are evicted from their apartment, they have nowhere to go and no plan to survive. Her mother moves them into an extended-stay motel room--Katie, her younger brother and sister and her mom all sharing a small space, one phone, one bathroom and one desk. Living on top of each other, it's impossible to have a moment alone, so Katie turns to her notebooks. She seeks solace in writing.
Middle school is hard enough without being "homeless." Katie pours her energy into her verse. She feels cramped in quarters that seem to be shrinking by the day and her mother who's usually a dreamer and happy-go-lucky, but who is now sinking deeper and deeper into depression. Mom can't find a job anywhere. Even an Italian restaurant turns her down, telling her she is "over-qualified."
Katie blows up at her mother and runs from the room, hoping to go live with her father. When Dad tells her about the divorce, Katie sees both sides and is able to make amends with her mother. Her mom is doing the best that she can with limited resources. Ramen for every meal is their norm. When they run out of food and money, Katie realizes they will go hungry until the child support check comes in.
In-between is never easy to navigate. Not for Katie, not for her siblings and certainly not for her mother. After what seems like forever, Mom gets "the job" and they are moving again. Katie knows this might not be the last move, but it's a start in the right direction.
Recommended grades 5 and up. A solid pick for reluctant readers.
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