Being Toffee

Gr 9 Up–Sixteen-year-old Allison has run away from home and her physically and emotionally abusive father in search of the only adult with whom she has ever felt safe. When she is unable to find her father’s former girlfriend, Allison is homeless in Cornwall, England. The teen finds herself sneaking into an older woman’s house in search of food. Gray-haired Marla has dementia and confuses Allison for her long-time friend, Toffee. While Allison finds ways to hide from Marla’s relatives, she develops a strong, caring bond with Marla as her companion and imaginary friend. Allison’s pain is raw, and readers are given an intimate look into her emotions in this first-person narrative told in verse. The sparse language does not provide much in the way of descriptions of the characters. Though readers do not find out the ethnic background of Allison, Marla, or Toffee, we do learn that Allison and Toffee share a large scar on their faces—one that Allison tries to hide with Marla’s bronzer, making her “implausibly tanned—skin the color of apricots.” Between Crossan’s descriptions of abuse, drinking, and strong language, school librarians may find this better suited to high school readers.