I love to find books that can be family read aloud books. Books that parents and kids can enjoy together and this fits the bill.

A sweet and quirky coming-of-age novel with diverse and eccentric characters. Nat and her famous father move to a new town, where Nat longs for a good friend. She befriends a transgendered boy, Harry, and is on her own path of self-discovery, including her quest for information about her mother.

The novel made me chuckle out loud a few times, but it also took a few unbelievable turns that pushed me out of being fully immersed in the story.

Aside from the prominent coming of age theme, there are strong themes of acceptance, family, friendship, and privacy. However, due to the storyline and content, this novel is best read privately, as opposed to a shared experience like a read aloud.

The target audience is a bit harder to pinpoint on this novel. I guesstimate the reading level at a middle grade level, but the coming-of-age themes put it more at an appropriate book for tweens. The main characters are 12, which targets readers slightly younger than that. All in all, likely a book best suited to a grade 5 or 6 classroom library or personal collection.

Beautiful coming of age novel. I could not put the book down.