Living separate lives to please her divorced parents, a young girl struggles to define herself. JoEllen’s mother lives in a city apartment while her father lives 42 miles away in a farmhouse. JoEllen (named for both parents) admits “my days . . . are as different as my names.” She spends schooldays with Mom, who calls her “Ellen,” and weekends with Dad, who calls her “Joey.” JoEllen and Mom love takeout. JoEllen and Dad invent their own recipes. In the city, JoEllen plays the sax, watches old movies, wears vintage clothing and works at a secondhand shop with her best friends. At the farm, she trail rides with her cousin, listens to bluegrass, wears work boots and slops out the stable. Split “like an apple’s pale heart / on either side of the blade,” JoEllen decides her two lives need to meet—just in time for her 13th birthday. Embellished with Clayton’s scrapbook-like black-and-white illustrations, the free-verse text traces the hopes and fears of a thoughtful teen who optimistically merges the best of her two lives into an even better “new me.” (Fiction/poetry. 9-12)
