"The Girl Who Fell From the Sky" by Heidi W. Durrow

264 pages

If you dislike sad books, I don't recommend this one. It's about an 11-year-old girl named Rachel who is trying to restart her life after a horrific event that destroyed her family. On top of that, she's adjusting to life in a new city and trying to find somewhere to fit in as a half-black, half-white girl in the 1980s. About half of the story is told from her perspective and the rest from the perspectives of various other characters, including her mother, her father, her mother's former boss, and the young boy who witnessed the tragedy that changed her life.

This story held my interest throughout because it's not clear what really happened to Rachel's family and there are hints that build the suspense. However, I didn't really connect with the characters and that prevented me from enjoying the book more. Rachel blocks off her feelings about all that has happened, which makes sense but made it difficult for me to relate to her. On the other hand, this book made me think a lot about guilt, race, identity, and more, and that's always a good thing.