CENTER OF EVERYTHING

Sixth-grader Ruby Pepperdine always used to be “good at figuring out what she was supposed to do,” but since her grandmother’s death, she’s lost the center of everything.

Growing up in Bunning, N.H., Ruby always listened to her grandmother, Gigi, until the day Gigi died, and Ruby didn’t listen to her. Since Ruby does what’s expected, she thinks she should be back to normal after Gigi’s death. For three months, she’s pretended to be fine, not even telling her best friend “how out of balance she’s felt.” On her 12th birthday, Ruby makes a special wish that everything will be the way it’s supposed to be by the time she reads her prizewinning essay at the Bunning Day Parade. But when the day arrives, Ruby wonders if there’s any such thing as “supposed to.” Maybe listening and connecting are a lot more important. Written in the third person, present tense, Ruby’s story unfolds from her perspective on the day of the parade as she thinks back to what led to her obsessive wish to know what her grandmother tried to tell her. Ruby’s a credible heroine, and her response to her grandmother’s death rings true. Repetitive motifs of circles, centers and holes reinforce the theme of loss.

A poignant, finely wrought exploration of grief.