Publication Date: Sep 2017

Synopsis:

Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she’ll have to answer the question over and over again.

Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It’s hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven’s about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms.

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What To Expect:

Readers can expect an upbeat, heartwarming book about a girl born with no arms. She and her adoptive parents move to a new home when she is thirteen, and she has to find new friends and learn her way around a new school. This is a compassionate book that manages to address serious issues in a way that feels upbeat and kind without becoming sugary or offering easy answers to hard questions.

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Content Warnings:

Language: None

Sexual Content: None

Violence: None

Substance Use: None

Prejudices: Moderate – Characters discuss being shamed, stared at, teased, and bullied.

Religious Themes: Vague references to Sunday school

Other Topics: Social anxiety, self-harm (a girl with Tourette’s slaps herself), some discussion of mildly gross things such as spitting food.

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