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Title details for Take a Sad Song by Ona Gritz - Available

Take a Sad Song

by Ona Gritz
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It's the summer of 1970, and 15-year-old Jane is still reeling from the death of her father. She starts partying to deal with her grief, but a frantic call from her mother leads to her arrest. Jane awaits her hearing with hope, but instead she is sentenced to a yearlong stay at the New York State Training School for Girls. She faces bullying and solitary confinement, and all seems lost. Then she's introduced to the Racket, an underground world of gender role-play, romantic relationships, and chosen families the inmates have created. She befriends and develops deep feelings for fellow inmate Jo-Jo, who shares her love of music. Jane comes to appreciate the complex lives of people she never would have gotten to know on the outside—but she knows that her new family can be taken away in an instant.

  • Creators

  • Series

    YA Verse

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 13, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781978597433

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781978597433
      • File size: 5212 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      Starred review from August 15, 2024
      A grieving teen finds sanctuary in a home for "wayward" girls. Set in 1970, this accessible work confronts the consequences of the Wayward Minor Act through poems that even reluctant readers will find riveting. Grieving the death of her father, Jane Flynn is out partying with friends on her fifteenth birthday when police officers show up, explaining that her mother has reported her missing. Bewildered Jane arrives at Spofford, "a maximum-security prison for children" in the Bronx, where she's bullied and beaten by another girl. Her mom appears before the judge, trying to bring Jane home, but her original worries about keeping her daughter safe are used to justify continued incarceration. Jane is transported to the New York State Training School for Girls, where she meets the Racket, a group of girls who form a secret chosen family within the devastating system. Beatles fan Jane adopts the moniker Jude and develops feelings for the equally broken Jo-Jo. She also meets Miss Coleman, the first adult since her father's death who listens to her. As Jane grows more comfortable with Miss Coleman, she risks exposing the Racket: With the Stonewall uprising a recent memory, can this adult be trusted? Gritz presents an excoriating critique of the systemic squashing of girls' voices and the silencing of their desires and curiosity. Jane is cued white, and there's diversity in race and sexuality in the supporting cast. A thoughtful must-read that explores grueling attempts to destroy girls' spirits. (author's note, playlist, sources)(Verse historical fiction. 13-18)

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • School Library Journal

      December 1, 2024

      Gr 8 Up-There is something for everyone across these six novels in verse. Songs for the Offseason is about a young man coping with a summer of unbearable loss. Take a Sad Song (yes, that's a Beatles reference) is an inspired-by-a-true-story tale of a young girl sentenced to boarding school. The other books feature young people atoning for the mistakes of their ancestors, fighting demons, surviving a home break-in, and navigating a hostile space colony. The structure lends itself well to the rapid pace of the stories, although, some of the books feel more like prose novels with creative line breaks than stories told in verse. The titles that grapple with complex emotions like loss, identity, and shame are the strongest. The fantasy, sci-fi, and suspense are weaker, but welcome additions to the stories in this format. VERDICT Songs for the Offseason and Take a Sad Song are highlights in this series, but all are worth a try.

      Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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