LitPick Review
Kaleidoscope Me is a novel about life after the death of a loved one and learning to grow and accept change. Jadyn and her younger brother, Trenton, are left reeling after a car crash kills their mother. Their father invites aging Aunt Nadine to live with them. Jadyn isn't sure of Aunt Nadine's mental stability, and so she tries to have Aunt Nadine sent away and lies about her aunt to her best friend, Ellie. Jadyn eventually sees that her actions are wrong, but she doesn't know what to do to fix things. Before she can reconcile things with Aunt Nadine, her father, and Ellie, Aunt Nadine and Trenton go missing just as a winter storm hits. Through anecdotes of the past, Jadyn begins her search for Aunt Nadine and Trenton, and she tries to figure out herself along the way-but will it be too late?
Opinion:
This book was very moving. It had a good balance of action and dialogue. The protagonist, Jadyn, was relatable and very vividly portrayed. I felt like I knew her!
I had trouble at times keeping up with the flashblacks and time switches, which made focusing on the actual present time story difficult. However, the book's ending really wrapped up all the flashbacks and left me satisfied.
Overall, it was a perfect book for helping understand family dynamics after death, with just the right amount of suspense and real emotion to bring it to life. I'd recommend it for any teens or preteens going through a difficult time of loss or just looking for a realistic story to read again and again.
