THE YEAR OF MY MIRACULOUS REAPPEARANCE
Catherine Ryan Hyde
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Fiction
Hardcover: 9780375832574
Paperback: 9780375832611
240 pages

Thirteen-year-old Cynnie has a lot on her plate. In trying to carve out a place for herself in the world, she has to contend with an alcoholic mother who hosts a revolving door of boyfriends (none of whom last very long, which Cynnie is fine with). Cynnie also finds herself being more of a mother to her younger brother Bill, who has Down's syndrome. Add to this her reputation at school for being difficult, her tomboyish behavior that confuses her relationship with the neighborhood boys and a stubborn streak, and it's easy to understand how she becomes overwhelmed.

Try as she might not to become like her mother, Cynnie begins to rely more and more on alcohol to dull her pain after her grandparents take Bill to live with them, believing Cynnie's mom can't handle the responsibility anymore. It takes a drunk driving accident and court-ordered AA meetings before Cynnie begins to understand the trouble she's in and takes the first steps to turn her life around.

In creating Cynnie, Catherine Ryan Hyde has given readers a very real character whose pride continually gets her into trouble until she learns to let it go. The book presents a potent reminder of how easy it is to succumb to the allure of alcohol and, worse, how easy it is to become that which we hate the most.

In a world where the varied dangers faced by teens are growing exponentially on a day-to-day basis, THE YEAR OF MY MIRACULOUS REAPPEARANCE serves as a warning that the old dangers are still very much around.

   --- Reviewed by Brian Farrey

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