Rabbit Ears- REVIEW

Rabbit Ears
By Maggie de Vries
Published March 18th 2014 by HarperCollins
ebook, 158 pages
ISBN: 1443416649

Publisher Description:
Kaya is adopted, multiracial, grieving the death of her father—and carrying a painful secret. Feeling ill at ease with her family and in her own skin, she runs away repeatedly, gradually disappearing into a life of addiction and sex work. Meanwhile, her sister, Beth, escapes her own troubles with food and a rediscovered talent for magic tricks. Though both girls struggle through darkness and pain, they eventually find their way to a moment of illumination and healing.                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My thoughts:

Right from the start of this story you can tell that Kaya is very troubled and essentially lost. Her story is told in second person and it makes me read a little more carefully to ensure that I truly understand why she is making the decision she is making at all times.

Kaya's older sister Beth is a second narrator in the story and her parts are told in first person. Beth clearly cares about Kaya and wants to protect her but is unsure of how to do that because she doesn't understand what's going on in her head. Both sisters are dealing with the death of their father and are handling it in entirely different ways.

Kaya meets Sarah while walking away from a bad situation in Vancouver's Eastside. Sarah warns Kaya to stay away from that area. Unfortunately, this just intrigues her more and entices her to return again. Constantly waging a war within herself whether to stay or jump on the bus and go home.

Battling with addiction(in many forms)from prior abuse, Kaya has a hard time walking away and being a normal 13 year old. However, you continue to root for her to make the right decisions and to grieve properly. 

This book is an incredibly powerful read. I highly recommend it.

4 Coffee Cup Stars
Finished August 23, 2014