The in-between

Title:

The in-between

Author:

Summary:

In the early 2000s, thirteen-year-old Katie Van Heidrich has moved more times that she can count, for as long as she can remember. There were the slow moves where you see the whole thing coming. There were the fast ones where you grab what you can in seconds. When Katie and her family come back from an out-of-town funeral, they discover their landlord has unceremoniously evicted them, forcing them to pack lightly and move quickly. They make their way to an Extended Stay America Motel, with Katie’s mother promising it’s temporary. Within the four walls of their new home, Katie and her siblings, Josh and Haley, try to live a normal life—all while wondering if things would be easier living with their father. Lyrical and forthcoming, Katie navigates the complexities that come with living in-between: in between homes, parents, and childhood and young adulthood, all while remaining hopeful for the future. -- Amazon.

Audience:

009-013

General Note:

"A memoir in verse" -- Cover.

Edition:

First Aladdin hardcover edition.

Physical Description:

295 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Genre:

Autobiographies.

Autobiographical poetry.

Personal Subject:

Van Heidrich, Katie-Juvenile literature.

Subject Term:

Homeless teenagers -- Juvenile literature.

Homeless families -- Juvenile literature.

Poverty -- Juvenile literature.

Families -- Juvenile literature.

Moving, Household -- Juvenile literature.

Publisher:

Aladdin,

Publication Date:

2023

ISBN:

9781665920124

Publication Information:

New York : Aladdin, 2023.

Call Number:

J 362.77 VANHEIDRICH

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003653105	New Juvenile Nonfiction	362.77 VANHEIDRICH	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

For fans of Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle and Life in Motion by Misty Copeland, this middle grade memoir in verse with "stellar writing [and] perfect pacing" ( Kirkus Reviews , starred review) chronicles a young girl and her family who must start over after losing their home.

In the early 2000s, thirteen-year-old Katie Van Heidrich has moved more times that she can count, for as long as she can remember. There were the slow moves where you see the whole thing coming. There were the fast ones where you grab what you can in seconds. When Katie and her family come back from an out-of-town funeral, they discover their landlord has unceremoniously evicted them, forcing them to pack lightly and move quickly.

They make their way to an Extended Stay America Motel, with Katie's mother promising it's temporary. Within the four walls of their new home, Katie and her siblings, Josh and Haley, try to live a normal life--all while wondering if things would be easier living with their father. Lyrical and forthcoming, Katie navigates the complexities that come with living in-between: in between homes, parents, and childhood and young adulthood, all while remaining hopeful for the future.

Author Notes

An Atlanta native, Katie Van Heidrich graduated from Brown University with a BA in Africana studies and religious studies. Upon graduation, she taught fifth grade reading and social studies at a charter school in Charlotte, North Carolina, through Teach for America. Katie relocated to San Francisco, California, in 2015 and continued to teach and coach middle school social studies. Working with underserved children from diverse backgrounds, she is tasked with empowering students to reimagine the world we live in while affirming their place in it. In her daily teaching, Katie aims to help children realize their abilities to advance change. In her free time, Katie is an avid reader and self-proclaimed picture book enthusiast. She and her husband are the parents of two young sons.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

This clear-eyed verse memoir by debut author Van Heidrich follows the "in-between time" during which she lived in a motel with her single mother and younger siblings in the early 2000s. After attending her grandfather's funeral in East St. Louis over winter break, 13-year-old Van Heidrich and her family arrive home in Atlanta to discover they've been evicted from their apartment, forcing them to move into a motel. Once winter break ends, Van Heidrich and her siblings return to school, where they try pretending that everything is normal, even though "going back to school/ from this rather abnormal place/ feels apocalyptic." Friendship and romantic conflicts, and her father's recent whirlwind marriage to a woman Van Heidrich barely knows, incite further emotional turmoil. As Van Heidrich shuffles between school, her father's sterile new house in the suburbs, and the cramped motel room that she currently calls home, she confronts questions of identity and navigates anxiety regarding an uncertain future. With sincerity and care, Van Heidrich skillfully depicts the complexities of housing insecurity, financial precarity, and adolescent growing pains via lyrical text in this unflinching yet hopeful read. Ages 9--13. (Jan.)

Excerpts

1. Things Fall Apart Things Fall Apart With each move, I sort and pack, pack and sort. Everything has its place, its compartment, books and pictures and feelings, too and with each move, there are fewer boxes to carry. I'm only thirteen but I've done a lot of living and moving, finding that all things eventually fall apart, in time, no matter how well packed. Excerpted from The In-Between by Katie Van Heidrich All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.