THE SKY IS MINE

A girl and her mother seek empowerment in the wake of several kinds of gendered violence.

After a boy named Jacob sexually assaults Izzy at a party, she feels further traumatized by her inability to talk through the events with those closest to her. Her best friend, Grace, is distracted by a honeymoon period with her first girlfriend, and Izzy’s controlling, abusive stepfather, Daniel, isolates her from her struggling mother. Soon Jacob uses nude photos to blackmail Izzy, and Daniel begins crossing more and more boundaries with her. Her mother seeks help at a women’s refuge, where Izzy hopes to find respite from Jacob’s harassment and her friends’ willful misunderstanding; however, she soon learns that the past can catch up with her all too easily. A new love for rowing and a fresh love interest give Izzy hope, but the crux of the story stays in the family when Izzy has a climactic confrontation with the villainous Daniel. While Izzy’s story touches on prescient subjects, the simplistic characterization and writing style feel condescending rather than empathetic. In an unfortunately common trope, the narration blames Grace, who is black and the sole major character of color, for prioritizing herself and her queer romance over caretaking for white Izzy.

A too-simple take on painful themes; savvy readers deserve more depth.