STUCKSVILLE

Emerald is given a school assignment to write an essay entitled “My New York,” but she feels New York isn’t hers, any more than the many other places she has lived with her actor parents. She has moved so often that she has created an aloof persona in order to avoid the heartache of making friends only to have to leave them. With the help of a never-give-up neighbor and classmate, Emerald forms emotional attachments to the people in her apartment building. She is even inspired by “Stucksville,” her tiny shoebox-sized apartment. Her New York becomes defined by the small-town closeness of her neighbors as they lead diverse, but interconnecting lives. She finds a true home and she wants to stay there. The need for home and belonging is a universal theme that Greenwald presents deftly and compassionately. The characters are engaging and the plot moves along gently, leading to a satisfying happy ending. (Fiction. 8-10)