The World from Up Here

"Our situations weren't the same, but for a moment, I thought I might understand what Silver meant.  I knew what it was like to want a parent to be there.  To really be there, instead of drifting in and out of the shadows the way Momma did all of the time."

This week's book is The World from Up Here by Cecilia Galante.  My daughter received this book from a friend because he thought she'd like it, which she did.  And then she asked me to read it, which I did, because what better way to crawl into the minds of our children a little bit than to read a book that they enjoyed.

12-year-old Wren's life is turned upside down when her mother falls mentally ill and has to go away.  No longer in the care of her parents, Wren, and her younger brother, Russell, have moved in with their happy-go-lucky Aunt Marianne and their cousin Silver.  In Wren's eyes Silver is everything she is not. Beautiful, popular, and, most importantly to Wren, brave.  Wren can't possibly imagine surviving their stay with their newly acquired relatives. But a journey to find the witch that lives on the top of Creeper Mountain shows Wren that Silver is full of surprises and they aren't nearly as different as she thought.  

I thought this book was wonderful.  It gives us a glimpse into the insecurities and doubts of a young girl.  It also shows us how children can often feel like they are bearing the weight of the world.  We see Wren struggling to be strong for her younger brother, who happens to have asperger's, while she tries to wrap her mind around her mother's deep depression.  

This book is great for children because it's a compassionate story that could possibly help them understands the struggles of others while also reminding them to be brave and confident.  It's great for adults because we often forget to see the world through the eyes of child.  We don't always think of how deeply things affect them or how much they understand.  I'll be honest and say that the book even shook me a little.  Not because the story was overpowering.  It was very sweet and definitely age appropriate.  But because it made me look at my own little 12-year-old girl and wonder when she had grown up so much.