Gateway Readers' Award Nominees

The Blogs: 2008-09

A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life

by Dana Reinhardt 

Book Reviews

School Library Journal

Simone's junior year of high school proceeds with common teen issues such as alcohol, a first boyfriend, and sex in Dana Reinhardt's fast-paced novel (Wendy Lamb Books, 2006). Simone has a secure place in a loving family and knows it, resulting in some refreshing and self-aware musing on her part which narrator Mandy Siegfried handles beautifully. Whenever appropriate, she also musters the whatever tone in her voice, giving Simone an authentic teenage sound. Simone has always known she was adopted and that her birth mother is named Rivka, but never wanted to meet her. Something is different now and her parents seem to be pressing for a meeting. Touching encounters soon reveal that her birth mother is dying from ovarian cancer. Simone becomes an angel in Rivka's life and learns how Rivka's conservative Jewish upbringing led her to leave home, give up her baby, and forge her way on her own. Facing the usual teen problems comes into a different focus as Simone encounters life's unfairness, tragedies, and blessings in a thoughtful, well-crafted story. Siegfried offers a sensitive reading that is never maudlin, making the characters come alive. A great read that deals with important teen issues.–Jane P. Fenn, Corning-Painted Post West High School, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly (October 1, 2007)

"In a moving first novel, Reinhardt uses a sure but gentle hand to explore the relationship that develops between an adopted teen and her biological mother.... Readers will quickly become absorbed in Simone's quest to understand her [Orthodox Jewish] heritage and herself," wrote PW in a starred review. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

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