Rhiannon

Gr 8 Up–Rhiannon (Rhia) lives with her aunt in a senior trailer park in the desert and looks forward to the summer months when her best friend, a boy named Kit, visits his grandmother’s trailer. But with the two friends reaching the end of middle school, this summer is different. Elizabeth, a punkishly charismatic 17-year-old, is spending the summer with Gramsie, too. Kit and Rhia discover that she is hiding a secret: she is pregnant, she has a plan, and her new, younger friends are part of it. As the summer unfolds, Rhia’s coming-of-age and discovery of her own self-worth and moral compass quietly but deftly emerges. The setting is a character in itself, from the tiny community in the midst of the Southwestern desert, to the touches of 1989 pop culture, such as a mixtape featuring The Cure and The Clash, and much more. Chiki’s expansive illustrations, full of muted pastel colors, include plenty of thoughtful, wordless frames and wide-angle shots, appropriate to the introspective story. Rhia is white; Kit is Native American; Elizabeth is Latina.