No Name Baby by Nancy Bo Flood

Summary:

Sophie remembered last night's dream and the gray stones-a whole row of them like the ones under the trees. Each stone was etched with letters that she couldn't quite read. When her pregnant mother falls, Sophie blames herself for the accident. Premature labor begins, and everyone worries the infant might join the others under the gray stones. Aunt Rae has come to help care for the baby and mother, but her presence only increases the tension in the family. Then Aunt Rae finds her niece talking with the young man from a neighboring farm and confronts her, revealing something that shakes Sophie's world.No-Name Baby is an intimate portrait of a young girl as she discovers the truth about herself and her family.

Summary taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 106 pages

Source: NetGalley Arc

Publication Date: March 1st 2012

This book was surprising, I really didn't expect it to be as good as it was. Maybe it's because while I like the cover, I feel that it just doesn't work for the book itself. If you're a cover snob like I am you may be put off by it too but let that pass because inside is a darling little book about hope, family and learning who you are and how to forgive.

Sophie is an italian immigrant who lives in Illinois just after the Great War. Through a series of events Sophie deals with guilt because she thinks that she is the cause of her mother going into premature labour. She is dreading the news that her mother has lost another baby, and struggling with the fact that though she sees herself as mature her family and most importantly her Aunt Rae still sees her as a child. 

The tension between Sophie and Rae is palpable. It's so thick you could cut it with a knife, but as the book goes on family secrets come out and all is understood. This is a nice read for middle graders, I think girls especially will be drawn to it but, that is not to say that it won't be good read for boys too. It's short, easy and to the point and well written.

I do have a few complaints though, I think that the book should have been longer. The plot was a little too simple, and I wish the book was less rushed. Sophie was a likable character but I wish we knew more about her. This to me seemed more like a 100 page summary of a longer novel. However it was still an okay read.

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*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my free and honest review.

★ ★ ★