Hyacinth Girls: A Novel

Lauren Frankel received her BA in English from Vassar College. She has worked with young people, as both an educator and a librarian, in the United States and the UK. She holds an MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia, where she won the David Higham Award. Born in Connecticut, she now lives with her family in England.

Rebecca, guardian to 13-year-old Callie, has just learned that Callie has bullied Robyn, a girl from school. Certain that Callie would never do such a thing, Callie's friends stand up for her, and the accusation goes nowhere. When Callie herself becomes the target of relentless bullying, it appears to Rebecca that Robyn turned the tables and has become the bully. Rebecca, treading on very unfamiliar ground, is Callie's guardian because her best friend Joyce was killed in an automobile accident. As the first narrator, Rebecca relates the events in Callie's life while seeking to understand how to handle it based on her own childhood relationships with Joyce. Callie doesn't know the real story behind her mother's accident, or of her father's subsequent suicide. This leaves the girl unsure of who she is and whether or not she might become like the imaginary people she believes they were. Teens' interest will pick up when Callie tells her story. Readers need both perspectives in order to understand how Rebecca, through her struggles to understand, keeps missing clues to what is really going on. Fearing for Robyn's life as much as for Callie, Rebecca is determined to make everything all right, but sometimes, others intervene to make decisions for themselves. Teenage friendships, loyalty, and when to stand one's ground is at the heart of this story. VERDICT The race to the suspenseful end will keep readers reading long into the night; the conclusion will inspire much thought.—Connie Williams, Petaluma High School, CA