The Girl In Between

Carroll, S. (2017). The girl in between. New York: Simon & Schuster Childrens Books.

Overview: The girl in between is a book that covers the topic of homelessness. It is about a girl and her Ma who wonder the streets to find a safe place to stay away from the authorities. They find an old mill that the girl calls their castle. She is not allowed to leave the castle only Ma can. They panhandle for change to survive. The girl spends her day exploring the building. She is fine until her Ma starts to drink and do drugs again. Then her world starts to spiral out of control. This book is for a more advanced middle age reader who is able to make higher level connections to the text. Lots of jumping around in the book between present and past. The ending was unexpected by me, lots of surprises in story for a reader. The book made me think about what it might be like for a family living on the streets, but also at the end the super natural twist made me reflect on the whole book to think about how much of the book was taking place in the present. I still have questions. Is Ma alive or dead? Is caretaker a ghost?

Resources:
Interview with the Author
Publisher Information about the book.
An Article about effects of Homelessness on Youth