Ivy June worries that all Lexington girls are rich, arrogant snobs. Catherine fears that all backwoods mountain people lack intelligence, teeth and indoor plumbing. Despite their prejudices, both Kentucky girls volunteer to take part in a seventh-grade school exchange, in which each will spend two weeks as part of the other’s family. Ivy June finds Catherine’s life relatively easy, with few chores, her own cell phone and a loving family—though she recognizes Catherine’s concern for her sick mother. Catherine appreciates the natural beauty and extended community that surround Ivy June, even as she’s shocked by the family’s poverty. This finely crafted novel, told mostly through Ivy June’s eyes, with forays into both girls’ journals, depicts a deep friendship growing slowly through understanding. As both girls wait out tragedies at the book’s end, they cling to hope—and each other—in a thoroughly real and unaffected way. Naylor depicts Appalachia with sympathetic realism, showing readers the harsh, inescapable realities of coal country and the quiet courage of people doing their best. Highly recommended. (Fiction. 9-14)
