Review: Girl Unmoored by Jennifer Gooch Hummer

Girl Unmoored by Jennifer Gooch Hummer introduces us to seventh grader Apron who has recently lost her mother to cancer and her best friend to one of the more popular girls in school. When her father remarries and her "evil" stepmother becomes pregnant, it is almost too much for Apron to bear - she becomes unmoored. Fortunately, her friend Mike and his partner, Chad, offer Apron a job in their florist shop and things get a little better. As the summer progresses, however, young Apron begins to see things happening in the lives of the adults around her that force her to grow up very quickly and the comfort she once found in working at the flower shop is eclipsed by the drama she witnesses there in the lives of her friends.

This is a quirky coming of age story that crosses genres - its young protagonist could land it in YA but her precocious observations of the adult situations by which she is surrounded make it more of a contemporary adult fiction. As an adult reader, there are things (such as Chad's illness) that you figure out before Apron but rather than that being a disappointment, there is still interest in watching as Apron is initially blind to these revelations and then seeing her young mind trying to get a handle on these adult situations. I found myself worrying about Apron as I could see things coming down the pike; the pain and awkwardness of being thirteen are palpable as you watch Apron grapple with the loss of her mother, her best friend and even her Dad to the evil stepmom. Despite the many funny moments in the book, I was sad for all that Apron faces and the childhood that she is quickly losing as she copes with all this loss.

Girl Unmoored certainly appeals to adults especially as we can be reminded of how happy we are that the early teens are behind us! I also think, however, that this book could be good for girls in their mid to late teens - they will be close enough in age to Apron to relate and she is a solid heroine who copes with adversity with a lot of pluck which makes for a good teen role model.

The author is offering a unique promotion right now for Girl Unmoored: Now through April 6th, when you comment about Girl Unmoored on Jennifer’s blog at www.jennifergoochhummer.com, you’ll be automatically entered into a drawing to win a tote bag stuffed with gifts that blend the hottest 2012 e-reader with totally rad ’80s memorabilia and more! And if you purchase the book (print or e-book) and forward your receipt confirmation to contests@sparkpointstudio.com, your name will be entered to win 10 TIMES! That’s 11 chances to win the following awesome prizes:

 - A Kindle Fire, just in time for spring break lounging!
 - DVDs of Best Of 80s movies to celebrate the year of Girl Unmoored, 1985
- Copies of Jennifer’s Top 5 YA books: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie; She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb; Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson; The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty; and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
- A gift card to 1-800 Flowers in honor of Apron’s summer job at Mike and Chad’s flower shop, Scent Appeal

The winner will be notified and announced the week of April 23rd.

Thank you to Lisa at SparkPointStudio for the copy of this book she provided for review