Hugging the Rock is a nice little story that deals with a mother leaving, mental illness and family dynamics.
You think I'm being sarcastic, but I'm really not. It really IS a nice little story.
While Susan Taylor Brown certainly explores Rachel's feelings about being deserted by her mother, the real focus is on her relationship with her father. As their connection grows and strengthens, it turns into a warmfuzzy book. (Without being mushy, which is KEY.)
It's a verse novel, and while I do think it falls into the category of verse-novels-that-really-are-mostly-just-prose-with-lots-of-line-breaks, it's still a good one for the 8-12-year-old set.
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