All Our Broken Pieces

April 1, 2019

Gr 9 Up-After the death of her mother and a three-month hospital stay for obsessive-compulsive disorder, Lennon Davis moves from Maine to Los Angeles to live with her father, his wife Claire, and stepsiblings Andrea and Jacob. Once there, Lennon takes up residence in a stark, gray bedroom where she finds security in the number five. If she taps the doorknob five times or switches the light off five times, over and over again, nothing bad will happen. Her neighbor Kyler Benton takes notice of what seems to be a disco show going on in Lennon's bedroom across the street. Kyler has his own issues-he hides a facial scar with hair and hoodies-but finds peace playing guitar and writing songs. When the two come together, a musician and his muse, a love story comes to life. Crichton's foray into young adult literature is nothing short of superb. Clearly well researched and handled sensitively, this novel will have readers in tears as Lennon and Kyler gain strength and acceptance within themselves. Issues are dealt with delicately in this emotionally charged story addressing teenage love, mental illness, physical defects, and more. VERDICT Perfect for fans of Tamara Ireland-Stone's Every Last Word, Louise Gornall's Under Rose-Tainted Skies, and Sophie Kinsella's Finding Audrey.-Erin Holt, Williamson Cty Public Library, Franklin, TN

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2019
Two rich teens--with one flaw each--fall in love in neighboring Los Angeles mansions.When Lennon moves into her father's sprawling home, she's struggling with the lifelong OCD that worsened after her mother's death. She finds her match in bad-boy-next-door Kyler, her partner for a class project on Romeo and Juliet. Like Lennon, Kyler is wealthy, white, a creative prodigy, and separated from hegemonic perfection by exactly one character-defining flaw: a scar from a long-ago house fire. Kyler insists he's hideous and refuses to play with his band in public; Lennon is sure her OCD is what killed her mother. Both characters self-consciously mention their own privilege but seem incapable of imagining that anyone might have bigger problems than they do. Alternating-perspective chapters tell the story from Lennon's and Kyler's points of view in turn, but their voices are so solipsistic and melodramatic as to be interchangeable--readers could be forgiven for thinking they've each fallen in love with themselves. More disturbingly, Kyler shows tendencies toward coercive control over the women in his life, including his sister, whose eating habits he monitors; Lennon's stock-villain stepsister, toward whom he uses misogynistic slurs and physical intimidation; and Lennon herself, over whom Kyler explicitly claims ownership. The hyperbolic voices of the protagonists are both vapid and laborious to read. All characters are white except for a barely-there dark-skinned girl who shows Lennon around school.An overblown love story lacking nuance or depth. (Romance. 14-18)

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April 1, 2019
Grades 9-12 For 16-year-old Lennon, everything must be in fives?taps on a doorknob, the number of times she flicks a light switch, etc. Life grows even more challenging when she moves across the country to live with her dad's family in California. Next door, Kyler, a musician with a dark reputation, hides his face under a hoodie because he was disfigured in a childhood accident. When the two are paired for an English assignment, their lives change as they learn they can comfortably be themselves with each other. Their burgeoning relationship is cut short, however, after a horrible event happens at a school assembly. As much a love story as one about broken teens suffering from mental illness and society's disdain, the narrative shines brightest as Kyler and Lennon gently coax each other to work at becoming whole. This is a delicious story of love, support, respect, and understanding without judgment. Perfect for readers who struggle with hiding something they should embrace and those who love tested romances.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)