Laura Tucker

While some might prefer a snappier pace than this offers, I thought it serviced the story really well to take time and space to illustrate twelve year old Olympia’s day to day struggles with her mom’s depression and her father’s absence to give the reader a strong and gradual understanding of how untenable her home life is becoming, how neglected she is at this moment, while at the same time introducing her friends and adults in the neighborhood showing how solid those bonds are, showing that she actually isn’t as alone as she sometimes feels. It was a juxtaposition where you empathize with Olympia, you feel her heartache and her worry especially in the scenes when her mother is at her most unreachable yet there’s also this comforting thread of hope for the reader to hold onto throughout the story thanks to those explorations of her friendships and her connections with adults outside her family.

Initially as I read this, I wondered towards the end if Olympia didn’t accept certain things a little more readily than would be realistic but the more I’ve thought it over since finishing the book the more I could see a kid possibly reacting that way after the kind of weight that had been on her to perhaps be relieved that circumstances were changing since the life she’d known for the last while had been so emotionally challenging.

New York City as well as a vacation setting both came alive so impressively, the scenes of the kids hanging out in the city, exploring an island, the sense of freedom and autonomy very much captured a nostalgic feeling of childhood. As a fan of most things 1980’s I probably would have enjoyed a touch more period detail though it makes absolute sense that a book aimed at a middle-grade audience wouldn’t go overboard in depicting an era completely foreign to its young readers.

The depiction of art in this book, the descriptions of Olympia creating her drawings, her school project, exploring with paint, it was such a pleasure to read through someone’s process and her passion for it. There are a number of books I’ve tried specifically because one of the main characters is an artist but few have fulfilled my desire for that exploration of creativity as well as this one did. Although I’m not anywhere near as talented as Olympia, she had me itching to grab my pencils, watercolors, and whatever else, reading about that part of her life brought renewed inspiration to my own.… (més)

Rebecca Stead blurbed this book, and I understand why. There’s a distinct When You Reach Me flavor to All the Greys on Greene Street - to its benefit, I think. WYRM is, at the end of the day, a fantasy book, and ATGOGS is not, but there is something magical about Ollie’s story and the way Tucker writes it. And boy, can Tucker write. She conveys the feeling of looking at art, at creating it. She plays with tense. She creates characters so believable they threaten to leap off the page. Her style is pitch-perfect and clear, conveying complicated ideas with seeming ease.

From the publisher’s description, I was expecting a mystery, a sort of Chasing Vermeer-style romp, but this book is much more about character than it is about adventure. In fact, there’s not much sleuthing at all. Instead, there’s Ollie, who remains sympathetic even when she’s being unreasonable, and the friends who surround her. My favorite thing about this book was how kind everyone was, and how kindly the narrative treated them. Everyone around Ollie is passionate about something. Alex loves stunts; Richard loves monsters. Tucker treats both of these interests with respect, painting the boys as people with complex inner lives. Similarly, Ollie is a true artist who sees the world in fascinating ways. Her art is real art; Tucker doesn’t patronize her or diminish her passion just because she’s a child, and neither does anyone else in the book. This book is fairly dripping with compassion. Ollie cares for these people, and they care for her, even if they don’t always see eye to eye. In one especially lovely scene, Alex and Ollie wordlessly reconcile while running through a forest on a beach. It’s a joy to read.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that this book is largely about living with a parent who has depression. Tucker handles this issue with nuance. Ollie is, rightfully, hurt and confused when her mother goes to bed and refuses to get up. Those feelings are real, and as with everything else in the book, Tucker does not shy away from or diminish them just because her protagonist - and her audience - is young. At the same time, she does not demonize Ollie’s mother. The ending is not neat; it would not make sense if it were, because mental illness can’t just be solved over the course of one book. But this is, by the end, a positive book, one about the complicated joy of creating and of loving.… (més)