Love Like Sky

by Leslie C. Youngblood Narrated by Channie Waites

Overview

"Love ain't like that." "How is it then?" Peaches asked, turning on her stomach to face me. "It's like sky. If you keep driving and driving, gas will run out, right?" "That's why we gotta go to the gas station." "Yep. But have you ever seen the sky run out? No matter how far we go?" "No, when we look up, there it is." "Well that's the kind of love Daddy and Mama got for us, Peaches--love like sky." "It never ends?" "Never." G-baby and her younger sister, Peaches, are still getting used to their "blended-up" family. They live with Mama and Frank out in the suburbs, and they haven't seen their real daddy much since he married Millicent. G-baby misses her best friend back in Atlanta, and is crushed that her glamorous new stepsister, Tangie, wants nothing to do with her. G-baby is so preoccupied with earning Tangie's approval that she isn't there for her own little sister when she needs her most. Peaches gets sick-really sick. Suddenly, Mama and Daddy are arguing like they did before the divorce, and even the doctors at the hospital don't know how to help Peaches get better. It's up to G-baby to put things right. She knows Peaches can be strong again if she can only see that their family's love for her really is like sky.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Readers will fall in love with Georgie and her 'blended-up' family as they navigate tough challenges and new family dynamics."

*"Youngblood's debut is a celebration of intergenerational family bonds. Readers in co-parenting or blended families especially will relate to the conflicts between Georgie's loving but imperfect parents. An openhearted, endearing, and unforgettable debut about the challenges of friendship, growing up, and the boundless love of family."— (starred review)

"Using beautiful prose, Youngblood's debut explores the expansive love only siblings can have for one another, while capturing the heart and soul of what it means to be a blended family. The multilayered characters and compelling story will resonate with readers... Young readers will fall in love with these characters and gain a new favorite author."

"Youngblood gives G-Baby's narration energy and detail, and her desperate longings for approval... are vividly and authentically preteen... The warm and committed... African-American family is good literary company, and readers may hope to see more adventures from G-Baby."—BCCB

Accolades
Winter 2018 Kids' Indie Next List
SIBA 2018 Fall Okra Pick
Kirkus Reviews' Best Middle Grade Family Stories of 2018
Bookish: Brilliant Book Covers: The Best Covers of November 2018, selection
Atlanta Parent: Best Books of 2018, selection
PennGSE Newsroom: The Best Books of 2018 for Young Readers, selection
BNKids: Our Favorite Contemporary Middle Grade of 2018, selection
BookRiot: Black Kids on Book Covers: Middle Grade Edition, selection (2019)

"Brims with charm and compassion. Readers will immediately be rooting for G-Baby, a girl with the biggest heart, trying her hardest to help everyone around her.”—Vashti Harrison, best-selling author of

School Library Journal

09/01/2018
Gr 4–6—Eleven-year-old Georgiana, who prefers to go by Georgie or G-baby, is adjusting to life in her newly blended, African American family. She has moved to the suburbs with her mom and younger sister Peaches to live with her stepdad Frank and teenage stepsister Tangie, whose approval she is trying to earn. Meanwhile, she hasn't seen her dad much since he married Millicent. When Peaches gets sick, requiring a stay at the hospital, Georgie feels guilty for not being there because she snuck out to see a friend. This sweet story features themes of family relationships, friendship issues, testing boundaries, standing up for oneself, and first crushes. The story also touches briefly on difficult subjects including police brutality and racism as Tangie is planning to attend a peaceful protest with her college-age boyfriend. It's rare to find a middle grade novel that puts divorce and the complicated dynamics of blended families at the center of the story, a topic that is relatable to many readers. VERDICT Readers will fall in love with Georgie and her "blended-up" family as they navigate tough challenges and new family dynamics.—Sarah Polace, Cuyahoga Public Library System, OH

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2018-09-17

In the face of a loved one's illness, Georgie struggles with blended-family growing pains and the ups and downs of friendship.

It's summertime, and for 11-year-old Georgie and her 6-year-old sister, Peaches, doing the latest dances offers a respite from the changes that came with their parents' divorce. They have a new stepmom, Millicent, nicknamed "Millipede" by Georgie. Could she be the reason Georgie and Peaches don't see their dad as much as they used to? The girls have also moved from Atlanta to the suburbs with their mother to live with their new stepdad, Frank, and stepsister, Tangie. Tangie is still mourning the sudden death of her younger sister, Morgan, five years earlier, and she's less than thrilled about Georgie and Peaches' arrival in her life. When Georgie accidently makes things worse with Tangie, she reaches out to a "getting-out-of-a-jam" expert, her best friend, Nikki. But even Nikki can't solve the problem when someone close to Georgie falls seriously ill. Feisty, loyal Georgie is determined to make things right in her family and thwart a mean girl's scheme. A budding romance and a timely lesson about social justice round out Georgie's summer. Chock-full of cultural and historical references that reflect Georgie and her family's and friends' African-American heritage, Youngblood's debut is a celebration of intergenerational family bonds. Readers in co-parenting or blended families especially will relate to the conflicts between Georgie's loving but imperfect parents.

An openhearted, endearing, and unforgettable debut about the challenges of friendship, growing up, and the boundless love of family. (Fiction. 8-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170763566
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	03/29/2019
Series:	Love Like Sky , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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