Excellent first-person narration -- Annie's voice is so specific and believable even though Annie as a character is extraordinary (she's intellectually gifted, she's a neglected and abused child, she is stunningly naive and optimistic, she's dyslexic, she is funny and likable). With the right narrator, this could be an outstanding audiobook. Annie leapt off the page for me.

Annie is the youngest of nine children in a big Catholic family in the 1980s (the Challenger disaster happens with Annie's 5th grade class watching live). As I said, there are very serious and distressing themes of abuse and neglect in this book. Annie's family is near poverty and her parents are there-but-not-there. This looks and feels like middle grade book, but I think it would be best for the more tween/mature end of the middle grade spectrum.

Here's a favorite passage of mine:

"I'm going to find my destiny, and then it will all make sense because even when you're scared, having a destiny means you're going to be okay, because people with destinies don't just shit (fifteen Hail Marys) the bed. I'm not supposed to swear even in my own head, but sometimes you need a word with a little more oomph in it than a regular word, so a swear word is the only thing that will work. This is a swear-word moment. This is the moment I'm going to find my destiny."

In some ways, this reminded me of Shannon Hale's [b:Real Friends|31145178|Real Friends|Shannon Hale|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1503615816s/31145178.jpg|51774817] because there's a terribly bully sister and religious themes. But unlike young Shannon, young Annie has great friends. It's the saving grace of the story, I think. ( )

I think this is a remarkable hopeful story, for one that is so full of dysfunction. I appreciated that even Annie recognized some of the factors/pressures that her family is under that leads to their abusive and neglectful behavior, but it doesn't make the book any easier to read. I also really appreciate that in the end, Annie makes a commitment to work together with her family to try and heal. That is powerful. ( )

Antoinette Elizabeth Bianchi is the youngest of 9 children. 8 girls and 1 boy live in the house on Snow Lane. Their father works several jobs, and also works on the family farm. The kids help out, too. It takes a lot of work to keep a family of 11 going. Antoinette (called Annie) has multiple health problems. She is dyslexic, and prone to fits of vomiting and fatigue.

Slowly as Annie tells the story of her family, the truth comes out. The older children are forced to act as parents to the younger kids. There is never enough money for clothing, food and basic necessities. The children often feel sick or faint because there isn't enough food to eat. Annie can't invite friends over because she is embarrassed about their house and family life.....and other things that they never discuss. Scary things. Through it all Annie remains cheerful, although she always wonders why she is so slow compared to everyone else. Why her thoughts race at strange things. Why she counts and manipulates numbers in her head to calm herself down. Why is she so different?

I grew up Catholic, so I found it cute that every time Annie said crap or some other "bad'' word she listed the number of Hail Marys she would have to say as penance. :) I also sympathized with her for being the youngest in a large Catholic family. I was the youngest of 5, with the others many years older than me. It was awful. I was never physically abused....but there was mental abuse. This story was a bit hard for me to read because I sympathized with the main character so much. I dealt with similar problems at home and at school. I was never physically beaten, but I had a close friend at school who was. Her mother was very involved in the church, but regularly beat her daughter and locked her in a closet for minor infrractions. Finally my friend got pregnant and married in high school just to get away from her parents. Sad....but true. And in the 80's -- the same time period as this story. I don't know what happened to my friend....I lost contact with her during my college years and have never been able to find her again. I hope she is happy wherever she is. Those similarities in my background really pulled me into this story. I was a bit disappointed with the abrupt ending....the story just stops with nothing fully resolved. But...realistically...a family issue like that wouldn't be insta-fixed. The abrupt ending with things up in the air is the proper ending for this story. Disappointing, but more true than a fairy tale fix. This story is well-written. I normally don't like stream of consciousness type stories....but the author did a fantastic job with this one. I do have to admit that I found it extremely depressing though. Maybe because I identified with the main character so much.

Snow Lane is a hard hitting, masterfully written tale about a family....a family in trouble. But even in the darkness, there are bright spots. Annie is definitely a bright spot. She chooses to find the good in all things.....and that attitude and the promise of the life ahead of her is what leaves hope at the end of this tale.

I think I will try one more time to find my friend from school. This book really has me thinking about her. Maybe this time I will get lucky and one of my old classmates might know where she is. I can only try.....

To learn more about this author and her other books, check out her website: http://www.josephineangelini.com/

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan) via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ( )

I just gotta say, this book is weird. I liked it to some degree, but I couldn't quite figure out what this book wanted to be. A book about religion. Child abuse. Dyslexia. It crams a lot of themes into one book.

Annie is the youngest of 9 children, 8 girls and 1 boy. She has dyslexia and according to her sisters she can't do anything right. She's unorganized. She falls out of bed most mornings. She vomits easily. She can't pick blueberries worth a darn. She's socially awkward. Where all of her sisters are olive skinned like her father's Italian side, she got the fair skin from her mother's Irish side. Two of her sisters are especially mean and call her retard, even though she is in a gifted program at school. Most of her other sisters, put some effort into protecting her since she's the youngest (10 to be exact).

More than anything, Annie wants to be good at something. She has one sister who is talented enough to play with the symphony orchestra and another with the Boston Ballet. Her soul searching increases even more when her teacher gives the class an assignment to figure out their destiny.

The family is Catholic and goes to church every Sunday. The religious theme is emphasized often throughout the book. Every time Annie swears, she figures the number of Hail Marys she's going to say for penance. Their mother is very religious, but here's the catch. She doesn't pay attention to any of them. With so many kids, she has decided that raising them is too much trouble. This is a dysfunctional family on every level. The kids basically take care of one another. Since they are poor, one sister uses her babysitting money to buy basics, like shoes, for her siblings. The most extreme case of the parent's indifference, is when one of the sisters runs away and they wait a day and a half before they call the police. Annie is out looking for her immediately, yet her parents sit around thinking about it.

The weird thing is that the kids are abused. There is only one incident in the whole book and it doesn't give any detail, so when a social worker shows up at the end, I'm completely taken by surprise. The only thing I can figure is that the author wanted to make a point that when kids are abused, no one realizes it. The cover doesn't match the book either. Again, maybe the author is trying to show that what you see on the outside may not match what's on the inside. I like the snowy scene with a cute house and a picket fence, but it sets the scene for a much happier story than this book gives you.

The book has a lot going for it, but I don't think there is a market audience. Annie swears and one time she says 'Shit.' I think that's taking it too far for a book geared toward this age. I certainly will not be putting it in my library.

One other note. The book is set in the 80s. If you were a kid in the 80s you will love the mention of Trapper Keepers, Cabbage Patch Dolls, Christa McAuliffe, and Walkmans. Not sure if this generation will appreciate it. ( )

Thanks to @kidlitexchange network for the review copy of this book. All opinions are my own. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟Snow Lane by Josie Angelini. There is no way I can express the amount of feeling this book contains. It is a must own for every library everywhere and there are not enough stars in a rating system to tell you just how much I LOVED this book! In Snow Lane the narrator is Annie, an eleven year old girl that is the baby of 7 sisters and 1 brother. Her world has been upside down from the day she was born. Even on her worst days Annie can find a reason to smile. As she begins the 5th grade her teacher assigns them to think about their destiny. As 5th grade progresses Annie begins to realize life at 17 Snow Lane in 1985 is not normal. There is so much wrong that when Annie gets asked to her first school dance she panics and says no because she doesn't want other people to know how not normal her family is. Until one spring day when her sister makes a choice that Annie can not begin to understand and will change the way Annie sees the world forever. I quickly felt connected to Annie and her story and could not put the book down until I knew what happened next. There are some very real life issues in this book and the way they are written about is so well placed and thought out that you can only want to help Annie succeed at life! There are not words to describe exactly how well written this book is, all I can say is grab this book and read it! Even as an adult you will appreciate the feelings that come alive when you read it. Review also posted on Instagram @jasonnstacie, Goodreads/StacieBoren, Amazon, Go Read, and my blog at readsbystacie.com ( )