Next Door to Happy

May 15, 2022
Only child Violet is thrilled to have new neighbors--at first. When the Walkers move in next door, Violet makes friends with all five kids, especially quiet, bird-watching Reggie, who will also be entering seventh grade. However, she's stung when she hears Mrs. Walker call her mother, who has anxiety, "a little strange" and warn Reggie not to go to Violet's house. Violet is a keen observer, especially of adults. As Reggie opens up to her about the way his mother tries to force him to be more like the rest of the family, she realizes that Mrs. Walker isn't as perfect as she seems. When there's an accident, it's Violet's mother who sees that Reggie has the strength to be himself--perhaps the most difficult challenge of all, especially in middle school. This quiet, spare novel focuses on a relatable situation: Violet wrestles with whether she should try to fit in with her old best friend Katie and Katie's new friends or be true to herself and her friendship with Reggie--even if Reggie's mom doesn't approve of Violet's family. Violet's conflict actually mirrors Mrs. Walker's own, and both realize that it's more important to be yourself (or allow others to be themselves) than to try to fit into a mold. Violet is described as having fuzzy brown hair; two of the Walker sisters are described as blond. A tender exploration of a budding friendship between two introspective tweens. (Fiction. 10-13)

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June 1, 2022
Grades 4-7 When a family moves into the house next door, 12-year-old Violet, an only child who lives with her divorced, agoraphobic mother, watches the five kids playing together in the yard and yearns for the "happy family" ideal they represent. Soon she is drawn into their circle and tentatively befriends the younger brother, Reggie, as they enter middle school. Though both are loners and somewhat awkward socially, they gradually bond and spend more time together. But when she overhears his mother, who has always made her feel welcome in their home, say that Reggie should have "more appropriate" friends than Violet, she's stricken. Watching Reggie struggle, she comes to see their home situations from a different perspective, and a crisis makes the contrast even more apparent. Strout creates vivid portrayals of Violet and Reggie as well as several secondary characters, while showing the strengths and weaknesses of the two families. Violet's first-person narrative reveals her personality early on, while readers will come to understand Reggie, his challenges, and his strengths only when she does. A perceptive first novel.

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June 13, 2022
Twelve-year-old Violet Crane is enduring a long, lonely summer when the big, exuberant Walker family moves in next door. Violet’s best friend is at sleepaway camp, her sometimes dismissive father moved out a year prior, and her mother has become increasingly anxious, seldom leaving their home. An only child, Violet sees the Walker brood as a “real family,” complete with a large fluffy dog, and she is delighted when all five siblings befriend her. She initially encourages her mother to meet Mrs. Walker, a former nurse, but soon begins to enjoy having two separate worlds. Fellow rising seventh grader Reggie Walker, a birdwatcher, shares Violet’s introspective nature, and the two form a special bond, until Violet overhears Mrs. Walker call her mother “strange,” and asks him not to visit their home. As Reggie details his own brand of familial unhappiness, involving the way his mother wants him to be more like his popular siblings, Violet works to find herself amid ill-fitting old friendships and this confusing new one. In a softly told debut, Strout captures family chaos, sibling rivalries, and the delicate nature of new bonds via two protagonists who bravely build confidence in their unique identities. Characters cue as white. Ages 9–12. Agent: Steven Chudney, Chudney Agency.