by Sara Zarr
First published 2024
Kyra has always felt like too much of everything. Too tall, too loud, too intense. But she finds comfort knowing her mom has been sober for five years. They attend support group meetings together, where Kyra connects with other kids who have alcoholic parents. At home, Kyra handles the household tasks while her mom runs a cleaning business. This balance makes Kyra feel like maybe she's just enough after all. Then seventh grade arrives and cracks appear everywhere. Her best friend Lu starts spending time with eighth graders instead. Mom becomes withdrawn and starts missing work. She sleeps late and forgets important things. Kyra notices these warning signs but refuses to speak the word "relapse" out loud. Her silence spreads until she stops talking to Lu and skips her support group meetings. As her worst fears seem to materialize, Kyra must confront whether being "just enough" will actually be enough to handle what's coming.
Genres: addiction, contemporary, adolescence, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, resilience
320 pages · Hardcover · Clarion Books
Content warnings: addiction, alcohol-abuse, mental-illness