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Twelve-year-old Portia Maddox anticipates sibling warmth when she finds out that her sixteen-year-old stepsister Jasmine will be spending three weeks with her. Yet meeting her for the first time, Portia is shocked and hurt by how Jasmine feigns kindness in front of Portia's parents while bullying her behind their backs. Adding insult to injury, Portia cannot even convince her parents of Jasmine's devious behavior. Pitted in a corner, Portia pours out her feelings in her diary and then hides it, as well as her medicine, for fear that Jasmine will pick on her once she learns of Portia's type 1 diabetes. Although she experiences a series of demoralizing situations including Jasmine unearthing her diary, nothing quite prepares Portia when she comes home from a concert only to discover that Jasmine is in the hospital.
The second book in a series of Portia's stories, rising author Emma L. Price creates realistic familial circumstances centered on the topic of type 1 diabetes. Price's first person narrative features Portia, a young girl who is learning how to fit in the world with her insulin-dependent condition. Constantly struggling with one thing or another, Portia's new challenge is her condescending stepsister. Unique to Price's stories is her powerful portrayal of a strong-willed young gal with a chronic, debilitating and often deadly disease who doesn't give up amid trials. Price always keeps her plot fresh and fluid by alternating scenes with Portia's diary entries. Earmarked for youth—ages eight to twelve, Price captures the essence of why she writes: "This book is dedicated to those who braved diabetes, to the families and friends who love them, my mother who died from the many complications of diabetes and especially the young people I know who have type 1 diabetes." Definitely a well-needed addition for home and school environs!
RECOMMENDED by the US Review