When Skye’s brother suffers brain damage in a horrendous car accident, her parents become preoccupied with their own misery and the need to help him recover. Now, instead of heading to her expected Albuquerque middle school with friend Hana, Skye is sent off to stay with Gran in Sierra Madre, Calif. Determined to disappear into the woodwork until life at home returns to normal, Skye’s one great comfort is her sketchbook, where artwork, lists and notes operate as a diary. Of course, being invisible in middle school is not easy: Friendships develop with other “art jerks”; the eighth-grade bullies make trouble. Skye begins to question the obligations of loyalty even as she discovers that absence allows an online relationship with her brother to grow. This tale has a dramatic element, but it’s essentially lighthearted, with most of the plot’s complications arising from normal misunderstandings. A neighbor girl with an unnamed “syndrome” (possibly Asperger’s) adds a subplot that underlines the lessons learned without adding much depth. Illustrations from Skye’s all-important sketchbook add visual humor. (Fiction. 8-12)
