Description

Serenity is good at keeping secrets, and she’s got a whole lifetime’s worth of them. Her mother is dead, her father is gone, and starting life over at her grandparents’ house is strange. Luckily, certain things seem to hold promise: a new friend who makes her feel connected, and a boy who makes her feel seen. But when her brother starts making poor choices, her friend is keeping her own dangerous secret, and her grandparents put all of their trust in a faith that Serenity isn’t sure she understands, it is the power of love that will repair her heart and keep her sure of just who she is.

Renée Watson’s stunning writing shines in this powerful and ultimately uplifting novel.

(2019, paperback, 240 pages, 6 and older)

Staff Member Review

Every once in a while, I finish a book and I know I will miss the characters. I feel that way with “What Momma Left Me” by Renee Watson.

This is the story of a middle school girl whose life becomes very complex because of the choices the adults in her life have made and are making. We watch Serenity and her brother as they go through the pain of losing their mother, and having their lives uprooted as they move in with their grandparents.

One of the questions Serenity asks at the start of the book is whether children will be the same as their parents. At the beginning of the book, this question is asked in fear, but throughout the story we watch Serenity wrestle with the mix of pain and happiness and the good and the bad that life brings. As she grows and gains an understanding of who she is, she begins to see her mother differently. In the end, Serenity finds peace.

As a child who grew up in a home where my parents were relative caregivers of my cousin, I couldn’t help but think what a wonderful book this would have been for me to read during that time in our lives. It would have brought perspective and hopefully grown an empathy in me, that I was unable to find on my own as a young person welcoming another child into our family.

As an adult who welcomed children into my home and care, I also believe this is a wonderful reminder of all the emotions that children are going through when they leave their home of origin for another. And it renewed a sense of compassion and understanding in me for the path some young people must walk.

The grandparents in this book are a model of compassion and strength for their grandchildren. At one point in the story Serenity is writing a poem and she says “My grandparents’ house is like a shelter.” To her, their home was a place where she was able to slowly learn how to feel safe again.

I would encourage both youth and adults to read this Young Adult novel. It could even be a good book to read together as a family.

Author: Reneé Watson
ISBN: 978-1-68119-949-8
Count: 1