In Miriam Chernick’s new middle grade book, The Zuzu Secret, that comes out today, Josie and Abe are dealing with enough even before the car accident. The Shermans have just moved to Silver Spring where the parents are preoccupied in adapting to new jobs. Josie’s enthusiasm for a vet volunteering job she hopes for gets lost in the chaos. Timing for a parent to sign the consent form gets postponed to later or waylaid repeatedly. This leaves her pretty sure she’s losing ground in her goal of following her hero James Herriott who wrote all the stories about his adventures with animals. Abe’s disability with the rare Prader-Willi syndrome makes the move with them – along with a no-pets-in-this-family rule. The car accident puts into play a whole new series of secrets and deceptions when Josie finds the bearded dragon lizard that caused it.

Josie and Abe take turns telling the story with distinctive voices that bring the reader into their worlds that seem both separate and together. Abe’s lack of independence cuts in on Josie’s dreams as she balances her own goals with care for her brother. Abe’s disability restrictions hamper his independence and fluency, but create an endearing personality all the same. I became fond of a favorite phrase he uses to describe the look of a cheery grin – “smiles with all his teeth out.”

The reader is drawn into the secrets as Josie hides Zuzu, even from Abe, and Abe works on his plan to see his favorite Orioles play, cheer for Manny Machado, and snag a foul ball for his mother. Back matter reveals how Miriam is able to give such a clear understanding of the Prader-Willi syndrome and of the sibling relationship with a note and picture of her with her brother who lives with the syndrome.

While this book that comes out today is labelled for middle grade, if you have a love for a good story, don’t let the age thing stop you!

Sibling relationships hit with heart and soul, and characters to root for until the end.

Josie is three years younger than her brother, but thanks to Prader-Willi's syndrome, she often takes the lead and watches out for him. Their family's move to a small town gives Josie the chance to volunteer at a local veterinarian's office...if she can get her parents to approve. Just as it seems that her dream might come true, they suffer a car accident, which leaves her mother in care for awhile. With only her father to help them settle into the new house and life for awhile, Josie finds herself needing to step up even more when it comes to helping her brother and sacrificing her own dreams and desires. But there is one positive aspect to the entire mess. Josie decided to save a lizard, and keeps it in her room despite the family's rule against pets. Her brother also knows her secret, and together, Josie's hoping her parents will never find out.

These pages beam with sibling goodness and offer an inspiring tale surrounding the ups and downs that family life can bring. While life in the new town, the hospitalization of a parent, and fighting for dreams are already enough themes to create a rich read, this one also weaves in a disability, Prader-Willi's syndrome. This story raises awareness for the disability, but more importantly, it approaches it with a wholesome and inspiring light.

The book is written in alternating points of view between Josie and her brother, Abe. In this way, the reader gets to know both well...and it gives an interesting view into Abe's perception of the world. He's easy to like, has an unique insight into things, and is as enjoyable to follow as his sister. Both characters gain depth, and both are easy to understand, although they see things very differently most of the time.

Then, there's the lizard. While it acts as a bonding point for the siblings and offers a bit of tension when things don't always run smoothly, it also opens the door to some animal facts. Readers learn more about the species as Josie does her best to take care of it. But then, this also opens the door to the entire theme of caring for pets...and harboring secrets from parents.

In other words, it's a read with much to enjoy.