Author: Kimberly Willis Holt
Publisher: Square Fish
Pages: 308
Released Date: September 2011
Brief Summary: Isabel, a thirteen-year-old girl living on the island of Guam, and her family try to cope with the death of Isabel’s mother, who committed suicide.
Review
After her mother death, the live of Isabel become more difficult. Her father Tata could not bear Isabel and her brother anymore. Every morning, Tata leaves the house and spend day fishing come back at night then sleeps on the floor where mama’s body was found. He has no time for his family, that’s make Isabel’s life become more difficult in her thirteen age. In addition to, she has brother and sister. Frank, twelve years old, he is smart but introvert boy. Frank spend his night carving “I hate you “ on his bedroom wall. Then Olivia, seven years old, she always wets her bed and wakes repeatedly from nightmares. In the morning Isabel wake up before anyone in the house then take Olivia’s towel and dress and washes them after that she prepares to go to school. After the death of his mother, Isabel has to take her siblings as the replacement of her mother’s role play, whether she wants or not.
Commonly, this condition makes a-thirteen-year old girl changed mentally, affecting mindset, way of thinking, and life style significantly where the little girl like Isabel still enjoy her time playing, studying, and many else. For example, Olivia, she is still seven years old, but knows more gossip than others in same age at St. Cletus while Frank become introvert and spend his nights carving “I hate you” on his bedroom wall. Day by day Isabel entered on her life as a student and single parent for her siblings. Nevertheless, Isabel still enjoy her life as a student like doing homework, talking about gossip with her friends, enjoying her lunch, talking about boys and passing exams she also join with people community in fiesta, watching cock-fight, and dancing with other people in Guam.
Isabel determines to face her problems both in school and in her family. She opens store to fulfill her daily family need. She has a lot of duties that she had to be taken start as she gets up until sleep. Every day she always get up early, make breakfast for her family, take care Olivia, go to school, and tend to store. Nevertheless, she is enjoy with her duties even though it is forceful and takes much of her time, hobby, and interest. Actually, Isabel has interested in diving and she wants to be a good diver one day, but she has no time to do that. Her mother’s death hurts so many people. Those are Frank and his scars, Olivia’s nightmares, auntie’s guilt and Tata's loneliness. And Isabel must fill the space of her mother left. Sometimes Isabel felt angry and confused with this thing. Why she did this? Did she not think about us before she died? Is there no other choice beside commit suicide? Fortunately, after several time Isabel has succeeded change their mentally to be good.
