Probably the biggest thing to be aware of is that, while it is handled really well, there is a bit of heaviness to the book that you will want to consider for your reader. A huge wildfire occurs and is focused on in some detail. A few other natural disasters are brought up, but not focused on. Maudie hears a loud explosion and wonders if it was “a car full of people”. She also has a secret and as the book unfolds the reader realizes it is that her stepdad abuses her. Even worse, mom knows about it and basically just defends him and asks her not to upset him or tell anyone (heavy physiological manipulation). We hear about past bruises and times where he shook her or even threw her. At the end of the book we see stepdad pick her up violently before someone steps in (again, this is handled very carefully, but important for you to consider for your reader).
For the most part, we get to see the real devastating impact of divorce played out in this book, but there is one unfortunate comment. The author has Maddie say the following of her parent’s divorce at 4-years-old, “I wasn’t upset when they split. I was too young to think or do anything but accept it”. While likely not intentional, the idea of a 4-year-old not being impacted by no longer having her mother and father in the same home is misleading to say the least.
There is a bit of pseudo-spirituality type content. Maudie uses something called a “wishing candle”. At a shop she see a box of small items and she is told “those are milagros. Religious folk charms from Mexico. But you don’t have to be religious to carry them”. Maudie wonders if there is magic in them, “If we made a wish then maybe the magic will protect our cabin”. She does end up wishing on the charm and to make it worse she confusingly refers to this as “prayer words”. At one point Dad says that he can feel Maudie’s “grandmother’s spirit near the water”.
Other things to know about:
Maudie makes the comment, “No s___, Sherlock, as Mom likes to say” (s-word is shown as we have it here in the book, not fully spelled out). The term “BS” also appears.
Mom is incredibly demeaning to her ex-husband throughout the book.
On a streaming show she does, mom shows people how to make the “perfect summer cocktail”. Dad drinks beer. Mom has champagne.
Maudie wonders if she has “bad luck all the way around” and makes other references to luck, including “maybe good luck will shine on me”.
Of the man who she marries to get them out of poverty, “He’s our salvation”. This terrible man is referred to as a “godsend” multiple times.
Near the culmination of the book, where to escape a bad situation Maudie sneaks out of a hotel room in the middle of the night.
Resources and websites for autism and abuse resources are given at the end of the book.
There is a flippant use of “hallelujah” and “my God”.
The terms jerks and idiot are used.
In the list of differences she sees between herself and another girl, Maudie includes “boobs”.
The following are referenced: Star Trek, Star Wars, Marge Simpson, punk bands, sea goddess, “the Madonna”.