Her and Me and You

Gr 9 Up—Alex has recently moved to her late grandmother's house in Connecticut with her depressed, alcohol-soaked mother. Dad has been left behind but not alone; much to Alex's disgust, he has his new girlfriend to keep him company. The teen eschews friendship with several "normal" girls and instead is drawn to the eccentric, isolated Bishop twins: charming Fred and his dominant, anorexic sister, Adina. As Fred and Alex become closer, Adina becomes more and more unpredictable. Alex struggles with her own feelings while navigating the twins' complicated relationship. Strasnick walks a fine line between making characters interesting and making them unlikable, with mixed success. Alex, for example, is consistently mean to the people who are nice to her. On the whole, however, the novel has a fresh, modern feel and Strasnick offers an elegant portrayal of one teen's struggle to come to terms with her family, her friendships, and herself. The book contains frequent references to alcohol; Fred and Adina, who have plenty of money, no mother, and an absentee father, share a casual, almost Mad Men-esque attitude toward drinking (not without consequences).—Eliza Langhans, Hatfield Public Library, MA