All That Shines

Gr 9 Up–The Brooks family has it all; everything money can buy, giving them the perfect lives, especially Chloe, who has always been handed whatever is required to make her dreams a reality. But when it is discovered that her father has been committing fraud, the family loses everything—everything except for the Limestone Apartments, a rundown complex on the wrong side of Lexington, KY. Chloe is sure her life is ending when she and her mom have to move into one of the apartments, but when she meets a group of teens also living there, she begins to learn that money isn’t everything and that her new life could be even better than before. This novel-in-verse explores socioeconomic inequality and the way in that money gets tied up in identity. The portrayal of Chloe and her mother struggling to find who they are without the trappings of money and status is honestly depicted, with a lot of tears, backward steps, and effort on their part. Chloe’s relationships with the other teens, Clint in particular, is a refreshing change of pace as they are never cold or unwelcoming, even in her snobbiest of moments, while gently shutting down her rudeness and challenging her to be better. An undercurrent of a love for music makes the verse writing a nice fit for this work, though a more lyrical tone throughout would have made the novel stronger. With the exception of one teen living at Limestone who is Mexican, race of all the characters is ambiguous.