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Book

Skyscraping

Contributors

Emily P.

Reviewer (text)

Emily P., Teen Board member
Mira is the perfect candidate to be voted “Most Likely to Succeed.” A senior in high school, she is editor of the yearbook, has great grades, has a few good friends, makes all the right choices and has just enough family stress (with a detached mother) to write a great college essay.  This perfect bubble, however, is suddenly popped with a shocking discovery about her parents’ marriage.
 
Dealing with this discovery sends Mira in a downward spiral, destroying everything that previously made her so likely to succeed. She also hides her discovery from her friends and shuts out her family, including her younger sister. As time crawls on, her decisions get worse and worse. Ironically, it takes a serious illness in the family, which would have destroyed her world a year earlier, to force Mira to put the pieces of her life back together.
 
[A] passionate coming-of-age novel that deals with current issues in an interesting format. 
 
Written exclusively in poems from Mira’s point of view, SKYSCRAPING by Cordelia Jensen is a passionate coming-of-age novel that deals with current issues in an interesting format. Poetry allows Mira to show her feelings clearly, in a way that narrative might miss, and provides a deeper interaction between the reader and the novel. The book can be read quickly in one sitting or analyzed and slowly digested for its deeper themes and meanings. 
 
Set in 1993, the novel is timely and a great read for anyone who enjoys the young adult genre. Jensen writes a great portrayal of parent and teenager interaction, sibling interaction and coming- of-age themes, even in the midst of a chaotic, changing life. Even if you don’t like poetry in general, give SKYSCRAPING a try and you just might change your mind.

Teaser

 

Mira is just beginning her senior year of high school when she discovers her father with his male lover. Her world---and everything she thought she knew about her family---is shattered instantly.  Mira distances herself from her sister and closest friends as a means of coping. But her father’s sexual orientation is not all he’s kept hidden. He is HIV positive. As Mira struggles to make sense of the many fractures in her family’s fabric and redefine her wavering sense of self, she must find a way to reconnect with her dad---while there is still time.

Promo

Mira is just beginning her senior year of high school when she discovers her father with his male lover. Her world---and everything she thought she knew about her family---is shattered instantly.  Mira distances herself from her sister and closest friends as a means of coping. But her father’s sexual orientation is not all he’s kept hidden. He is HIV positive. As Mira struggles to make sense of the many fractures in her family’s fabric and redefine her wavering sense of self, she must find a way to reconnect with her dad---while there is still time.

About the Book

A heartrending, bold novel in verse about family, identity and forgiveness.

Mira is just beginning her senior year of high school when she discovers her father with his male lover. Her world---and everything she thought she knew about her family---is shattered instantly. Unable to comprehend the lies, betrayal and secrets that---unbeknownst to Mira---have come to define and keep intact her family’s existence, Mira distances herself from her sister and closest friends as a means of coping. But her father’s sexual orientation is not all he’s kept hidden. A shocking health scare brings to light his battle with HIV.

As Mira struggles to make sense of the many fractures in her family’s fabric and redefine her wavering sense of self, she must find a way to reconnect with her dad---while there is still time.