Sign Language

June 13, 2011
This sprawling story, the first YA winner of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, begins with Abby at age 11âwhen her father's cancer is first discoveredâand moves through his decline, death, and its aftermath, continuing into Abby's sophomore year of high school. Abby's friends Spence and Leise are her primary sources of support, though both characters are thinly drawn, existing solely to be there for Abby. As for Abby, her defining qualities are naïveté (regarding both the gravity of her father's condition and Spence's growing feelings for her), denial of the lingering anger her father's death has left her with, and self-absorption, as she pushes away nearly everyone who reaches out to her. Ackley taps into the loneliness of the grieving process, as well as the pain that comes with such a primary loss; while the story suffers from unnecessary length, a ponderous pace, and a third-person narrative that swings between an off-the-cuff, teenage voice and some quirky, stodgy phrasings, readers who stick with it will appreciate Abby's steady journey to acceptance. Ages 12âup.

July 1, 2011

To call this affecting debut a tearjerker is an understatement.

Sure, Abby North's dad has terminal cancer, but that doesn't mean he's going to die. Besides, the young teen from Michigan can always consult her Magic 8 Ball, which she sees as her direct line from God, and it can't be wrong. But Abby's dad does pass away before her freshman year in this heartbreaking story that's divided into the summer before and the two years after his death. The quiet yet steadfast third-person narration becomes intense as Abby refuses to eat, can't find the tears that everyone else wipes away and longs for a sign from her father to know he's still a part of her fractured life. While the focus is on Abby, the book also shows how death can affect family members in different ways, from her older brother's dabbles with alcohol to her mother's guilt for wanting to date again. The grieving process and the newly awakened emotions that come with being an early teen continue to ring true when Abby pushes everyone away, especially her childhood best friend, Spence, who may want to be more than friends after all these years.

Will Abby's story of loss and love gain popularity? Signs point to yes. (Fiction. 12 & up) 

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

September 1, 2011

Gr 6-8-Abby North, 13, lives in White Lake, 30 minutes from Detroit. She has a crush on her older brother's football teammate and a best friend who is surprisingly nice for being one of the popular girls. Her parents are a little older than some (48 and 55), but overall the Norths are a typical, low-key family-until her father has kidney surgery, after which the c-word comes up. The chapters that deal with her his failing health and its effect on the family are realistic and sensitive, although hospice doesn't come off looking too good (at least not through Abby's eyes). She never fully registered what the final result of her father's illness would be, and she has a meltdown at the funeral home, shocked that his body is there. For a close-knit town, there is little mention of neighbors pitching in, with the exception of precocious and likable Spence, Abby's best friend. The novel spans two and a half years, and after several false starts, Abby and her family are moving forward while still honoring Sam North's memory in the closing chapters.-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2011
Grades 7-10 Abby's life is divided into before her father had cancer and after he died. Now she is not sure how to make a life without him, or if she even wants to move at all. Teen readers who enjoy gentle family stories will appreciate Abby's gradual move from clueless at 12 to mature at 16 as she struggles with her relationship with her mother, tries to fit in at school, asks religious questions, and puzzles over her growing feelings for a childhood friend. In her first novel, winner of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, Ackley doesn't wholly capture a teen's authentic perspective, and readers may feel an adult viewpoint in some passages. Still, Ackley ably balances Abby's everyday teen dilemmas with the impossible heartache of a parent's illness and death, and the hopeful ending concludes a tale that is somber but never depressing. Bridging a nice gap between Lurlene McDaniel and Sarah Dessen novels, this should appeal to fans of both.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2012
Ackley chronicles several years in the lives of the Norths, examining how one family copes with cancer, death, and grief. The book focuses mainly on Abby's transformation from awkward and naive twelve-year-old, to prickly, stricken teen, to a young woman willing to love. Abby's experiences are well paced and believable.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)