This book feels like it may become a classic.  Big story with serious life problems mixed with humor.  My realistic fiction readers will love this one.

This was a wonderful middle grade debut about a girl, Roona, with a mother struggling with mental illness and father in prison. Gideon, the new boy next door, becomes a fast friend who helps Roona get the help she needs for her mother who is deeply troubled and struggling.

Middle grade readers will like Gideon, a rising 7th grader recently and reluctantly transplanted by a family move from the East Coast to a Las Vegas suburb. Equally likeable is the only other kid in Gideon's new neighborhood, an unconventional and daring girl named Roona. She quickly persuades Gideon to assist her with a wildly ambitious scheme to locate her missing father without involving her loving but mentally troubled mother. Adventures follow, but perhaps too many too quickly, as multiple revelations of secrets weigh on the narrative pace of the book, and neither the potentially interesting cast of characters nor themes of friendship and family are given enough time to develop fully. Note: the publisher supplied an advance review copy via NetGalley in exchange for an objective review.

I liked it, but out of the 3 middle grade books I read that day from Netgalley this was by far the lesser story. It was very short and no one seemed developed quite enough. It reminded me most of About a Boy except with a girl instead of a boy, but the same feelings of sort of manic mother-child relationship and energy due to mental illness, a previous suicide attempt, etc. A lot of plot is crammed into a very short text and it doesn't quite allow for the characters to breathe or develop. I also didn't really like or feel attached to any of the characters in the way that would have allowed me to root for them or care what happened. 

So, it was okay, but not great. I would recommend from the other 2 upcoming reads I got that day Maybe a Mermaid or The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise over this one. (less)