LITTLE WING

This companion work to Mahalia (2004) presents the story of infant Mahalia’s mother, where its predecessor chronicled her father’s struggles with teen parenthood. Emily, wracked by post-partum depression, has abandoned her five-month-old child, leaving her in the young father’s care. Fleeing across Australia to the home of her godmother, she spends her days sleeping too much, eating little and periodically savoring the pain of cutting herself. A stay-at-home father and his preschooler befriend her and help her—slowly—on the path of healing. When she eventually feels ready to care for her now year-old daughter, she finds much has changed there, with new issues to face. Engaging, sensitive prose follows Emily’s struggle at a slow, deliberate pace that may frustrate some readers, but her depression is believable and readers will be caught up in their concern for her. Horniman shines a light of realism on the two sides of the many struggles teen parents face. As a stand-alone novel this works well, but is even more effective when paired with the companion work. (Fiction. 12 & up)