It's a solid book about an important topic, but I just never felt connected to the characters. I appreciated that one sister has severe depression and the other seems to be becoming aware of her own anxiety, but so much of the book was Olivia watching Ruth and trying to gauge her mood. I don't blame Ruth for wanting some agency in that scenario, and it just felt very much like an outsider considering a problem from an outsider perspective -- which is fine. ( )

With care, feeling and depth, this book dives into the problems of depression and the wonders of sisterly love.

Olivia has gotten everything ready for the trip with her aunt and uncle in the RV back to their old 'home' in California. But it's not just the usual vacation joy that's got her wound up. Olivia's older sister suffers from depression, and Olivia hopes the trip will remind her of some of the joys of life. Not only has Olivia prepared a travel pirate hunt similar to the one her sister made for her years ago when they moved, but she wants to end it by digging up a treasure they buried together before the move. Olivia's determined and can only hope her plan succeeds.

This book holds heart. Tons of it. Olivia is a very special girl, who...as her uncle says...has a talent for finding little things which will cheer a person up. She's extremely empathetic and holds her sister in very high regard without the slightest bit of ill thoughts about her sister's depression. But then, all the characters in this book are tuned in with love and care, never crossing borders or pushing her sister too far. Their concern is inspiring and wholesome in every way.

Olivia also packs personality. She has a carefree spirit and a playful manner, which makes her very fitting to the age group. Of course, she grows concerned and thinks about many things, but there are little quirks and whimsical thoughts, which keep her rooted into the age group. The idea of a pirate treasure hunt is something which wins over, and her interest for photography with dreams of making the perfect photos adds just the right amount of interesting to her personality. She's simply a fun character.

The story weaves around depression heavily. Olivia's sister's actions and moods are never over the top but play along with quite subtleness and small snarky comments. But it's still obvious through tiny glimpses that she's the same caring person as Olivia knows and loves, and this adds the needed shine of hope. While I appreciate the depth and really enjoyed getting to know the characters, this heavy concentration on thoughts did slow down the pacing at times. During the first twenty-five percent of the tale, nothing really happens outside of the beginning miles of their RV trip. The rest spins around Olivia's constant watch of her sister, thoughts of her photos and hoping her hunt works. I did find my self skipping sentences more and more often until things moved along a bit quicker. The upper end of middle grader readers will appreciate this one more than the younger side (up age 11 or so).

This one full points on diving deep and helping readers to understand depression much better with characters which are hard not to love.
I received an ARC through Netgalley and found Olivia to be an amazing character. ( )

Olivia is a thirteen-year-old; she is excited for having a road trip with her sister and family, a few years ago they made the same trip and were the most happy memories. Olivia wants to recreate those memories and made her sister happy again. Ruth is the oldest and battles with depression; some days are good, and sometimes she gets into what they name The Pit; Olivia hates it, she only wants to help her sister.

This is a story about sisterhood, Olivia misses her old relationship with her sister, and she keeps monitoring her sister for signs that she is getting worse. She has this perfect plan that if they recreate old games everything will be fine, but things don't go as planned.

Ruth finds refuge in music. Olivia in photography (I would love to see Oli's Instagram and Ruth's playlist.) Olivia sees the world in a special way and wants to share it with the world, especially with Ruth, Olivia always seems optimistic and complacent but in reality she always pays attention to her sister and forgets about her when in reality she matters as much as Ruth, and her family will show her.

It is a beautiful, very realistic and educational book, perfect for everyone. ( )